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In a world awash with toxic chemicals, Sydney is the perfect place to start the clean-up | Sydney Morning Herald (Opinion)
Sydney residents were shocked last week by a report revealing unsafe levels of industrial pollutants – including arsenic, lead and mercury – in the sludge on the harbour floor. Cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were also present at up to 20 times the safe level for aquatic life, and tributyltin – a banned ‘gender-bending’ chemical that can cause female snails to grow male sex organs – was found at up to nearly 600 times the safe level. The report also warned that “the water could become unsafe for swimmers, sailors and divers”. To those of us working to clean up Australia and the planet, this is no great surprise. Every major industrial city carries a toxic legacy from yesteryear in its soils, its groundwater and its waterways.
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Sydney Harbour’s sludge is a toxic stew. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
Climate Action
Bill Gates: Solving Covid easy compared with climate | BBC News
Fifty-one billion and zero - the two numbers Bill Gates says you need to know about climate. Solving climate change would be "the most amazing thing humanity has ever done", says the billionaire founder of Microsoft. By comparison, ending the pandemic is "very, very easy", he claims. Mr Gates's new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, is a guide to tackling global warming. Don't underestimate the scale of the challenge, he told me when we spoke last week.
Climate denialism, ‘doom porn’, deflection and The New Climate War | Sydney Morning Herald
At the heart of the new book by one of the world’s most famous climate scientists, Michael Mann, is the assertion that climate change denialism is now a spent force and, instead, action is being hampered by distraction and what he calls “doom porn”. Professor Mann asserts in The New Climate War that, with the impacts of climate change now obvious to those living through it, those fighting effective action are determined to deflect and delay rather than deny. Proponents of deflection, he argues, range from the fossil fuel industry and their allies in the media across the political spectrum to purveyors of what he calls “doom porn”, who, in defiance of good science, preach that a climate cataclysm is inevitable and imminent.
Source: Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Climate crisis: Scottish government must have ‘more devolved approach’ to hit net zero emissions target, experts say | The Independent
UK - The Scottish government must take a more devolved approach to the climate crisis if it is to reach its 2045 net zero emissions target, researchers have said after studying the strengths and failures of a centralised response to the Covid-19 crisis. Academics at Edinburgh University have suggested that by allowing local authorities including city regions to take the lead, Holyrood will be able to cut emissions and reach net zero faster than the legally binding 2050 target set by the Westminster government for the UK as a whole... In order to make progress towards the 2050 net zero goal, the Scottish Government has set an interim target of cutting emissions by 75 per cent by 2030 - while both Edinburgh and Glasgow have committed to reach net zero by the same year.
No point complaining about it, Australia will face carbon levies unless it changes course | The Conversation
AUSTRALIA - Reports that Britain’s prime minister Boris Johnson is considering calling for carbon border levies at the G7 summit to be held in London in June have produced a predictable reaction from the Australian government. The levies would impose tariffs on carbon-intensive goods from countries such as Australia that haven’t adopted a carbon price or a 2050 net-zero emissions target. Appearing to be shocked by the news, Energy Minister Angus Taylor declared that Australia is “dead against” carbon tariffs. They were a “new form of protectionism designed to shield local industries from free trade”.
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Don’t cut farmers out: NSW, Victoria demand climate action role for agriculture | Sydney Morning Herald
AUSTRALIA - NSW and Victoria’s agriculture ministers are warning the federal Nationals Party that agriculture must be able to share in the economic opportunities of climate action, contradicting warnings from Morrison government MPs that the sector would suffer if its greenhouse emissions are capped. NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall lambasted his federal Nationals colleagues who had called for agriculture to be excluded from any emissions reduction deadline, saying it was “nothing but political point-scoring”.
Glencore to hold shareholder vote on 2050 net zero plan | BusinessGreen
Anglo-Swiss mining giant Glencore has promised to hold an advisory shareholder vote over its climate action strategy in April, in a move hailed by investor groups as "another big step" in the company's transition away from fossil fuels and towards net zero emissions. The commodities group has pledged to align its business with the goals of the Paris Agreement, backed by a strategy launched in December to achieve net zero by 2050, alongside targets to slash its emissions by 40 per cent by 2040 compared to 2019 levels.
A ‘think tank’ of truck drivers to change the world | Newsroom
NEW ZEALAND - It all started with Johnny Baxter from Temuka Transport. In September 2017, in Gothenburg, Sweden, then-27-year-old Baxter was crowned the most fuel efficient on-road truck driver in the world. He beat more than 4000 truckies from 13 countries in the Volvo Trucks Fuelwatch Challenge, a kind of world championship for carbon efficient driving. Not only that, he outperformed his nearest rival by more than 10 percent… Between McCoid and Wood, and inspired by Baxter’s environmental driving feat, a competition for truck drivers and the road freight industry was born. Launching today, “Trucking toward a better future” aims to get truck drivers and others in the road freight industry thinking about what they can do to reduce CO2 emissions – not just in their own cabs, but right across the economy.
Big freight trucks account for nearly 25% of NZ's road transport greenhouse gas emissions. Photo supplied
Environment and Biodiversity
Plastic in the ocean kills more threatened albatrosses than we thought | The Conversation
Plastic in the ocean can be deadly for marine wildlife and seabirds around the globe, but our latest study shows single-use plastics are a bigger threat to endangered albatrosses in the southern hemisphere than we previously thought. You may have heard of the Great Pacific garbage patch in the northern Pacific, but plastic pollution in the southern hemisphere’s oceans has increased by orders of magnitude in recent years. We examined the causes of death of 107 albatrosses received by wildlife hospitals and pathology services in Australia and New Zealand and found ocean plastic is an underestimated threat.
Koalas are 'at risk of extinction' in many parts of Australia, but we can stop it | ABC News
First of all: are koalas really at risk of extinction or is that a beat-up? We don't know exactly how many koalas were in Australia when Europeans arrived. But to get an idea of how many were in Australia in the mid to late 1800s, records from the koala fur trade tell a shocking story. In Queensland alone, 500,000 skins were collected in the 31 days of the last open season in 1927. Australia wide, as many as 8 million koalas were killed for their pelts during the late 1800s and early 1900s, according to the Australian Koala Foundation… So is it fair to say koalas are at risk of extinction? Koala expert and zoologist Bill Ellis from the University of Queensland says in many parts of Australia, especially Queensland and New South Wales, it is: "The short answer is yeah, we should be particularly worried," Dr Ellis said.
Koala researchers say habitat destruction needs to stop if we're going to keep koalas from going extinct. (ABC News: Stephanie Zillman)
Researchers want help to locate and protect elusive platypus populations | ABC News
AUSTRALIA - The platypus may well be "elusive with few relations and fewer friends" as the famous Banjo Paterson poem suggests, but some current-day platypus devotees are encouraging people to seek them out… Researcher Gilad Bino, from the University of NSW (UNSW), said it was vital for people to share the locations of their platypus sightings instead of keeping them secret.
Water
Water injustice runs deep in Australia. Fixing it means handing control to First Nations | The Conversation
AUSTRALIA - It’s widely understood that rivers, wetlands and other waterways hold particular significance for First Nations people. It’s less well understood that Indigenous peoples are denied effective rights in Australia’s water economy. Australia’s laws and policies prevent First Nations from fully participating in, and benefiting from, decisions about water. In fact, Indigenous peoples hold less than 1% of Australia’s water rights. A Productivity Commission report into national water policy released last week acknowledged the demands of First Nations, noting “Traditional Owners aspire to much greater access to, and control over, water resources”. The commission suggested a suite of policy reforms. While the recommendations go further than previous official reports, they show a lack of ambition and would ensure water justice continues to be denied to First Nations.
Northern Territory faces legal action over decision to reduce security bond on McArthur River mine | The Guardian
Traditional owners and conservationists have launched legal action against the Northern Territory government over its decision to cut $120m from a bond held as insurance against any future environmental damage from the contentious McArthur River lead and zinc mine. Lawyers for Jack Green and Josephine Davey Green, residents of the remote community of Borroloola, will argue the territory government’s November 2020 decision was unlawful.
Josie Davey Green, Samuel Oakley (4), Casey Davey and Jack Green beside the McArthur River in Borroloola: taking on NT over McArthur River mine. Photograph: Rebecca Parker
Economy and Business
ISS updates proxy voting policy against directors who fail to address climate crisis | The Guardian
Major financial investors are to be urged by the world’s largest shareholder advisory firm to vote against company board members if they fail to address global heating in their roles, amid renewed pressure on firms with poor environmental track records. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which issues advice to some of the world’s biggest fund managers, has updated its proxy voting policy including changes that allow it to recommend votes against company directors over “material failures … including, demonstrably poor risk oversight of environmental and social issues, including climate change”.
Jaguar car brand to be all-electric by 2025 | BBC News
Jaguar Land Rover's Jaguar brand will be all-electric by 2025, the carmaker has said. The company will launch electric models of its entire Jaguar and Land Rover line-up by 2030, it added. The firm said it would keep all three of its three British plants open as part of its new strategy… The company plans to spend about £2.5bn a year on new technology for its cars. Like other manufacturers, it is under pressure to reduce the CO2 emissions from its fleet, as new regulations come into force in Europe and elsewhere.
Waste and the Circular Economy
Business struggles to go green because no-one will take its plastic | Stuff
NEW ZEALAND - A Masterton business trying to do the right thing and responsibly dispose of its waste plastic containers has been stymied at every avenue, highlighting a nationwide disposal problem. Jamie Watson of Printcraft said it was hard to present themselves as a sustainable and environmentally sound company when they were not able to deal with their plastic waste properly. “There must be other companies across the country having the same trouble, and when the purpose of what we're doing is simply to try and be environmentally responsible, the lack of options is really inexcusable in 2021.”
Jamie Watson of Printcraft in Masterton says there is no way they can responsibly dispose of these common plastic containers. Credit: Piers Fuller/Stuff
Politics and Society
'Educate, inspire, and involve': Could citizens' climate juries help fix the Green Homes Grant scheme - and a lot more besides? | BusinessGreen
UK - It is widely acknowledged the next stage of decarbonisation of the UK's economy is going to require much greater participation by citizens. Unlike the decarbonisation of power, the greening of heat, transport, and buildings is going to be far more invasive to everyday citizens' lives and, as such, will require effective engagement with the public and a broader social mandate. The good news is that evidence to date suggests informed citizens have a strong appetite for bolder climate action, provided it is carefully crafted and communicated. The results of the UK's first national Climate Assembly - published last year - revealed significant public support for policies that can accelerate the development of a net zero emission economy, provided that local communities are consulted and the costs and benefits associated with the green economy are fairly shared.
India: activist arrested over protest 'toolkit' shared by Greta Thunberg | The Guardian
INDIA - Indian police have charged a 22-year-old climate activist with sedition over accusations she edited and circulated a document tweeted by climate activist Greta Thunberg relating to India’s ongoing farmer protests. Swedish climate activist Thunberg tweeted her backing this month for the farmers, who have been demonstrating since December against agricultural reforms they say will harm their livelihood but benefit large corporations. She shared a document which she said was a toolkit to create and spread awareness about the farmers’ complaints. The toolkit caught the attention of the Delhi police who began a criminal investigation, claiming the document was evidence of a conspiracy “to wage economic, social, cultural and regional war against India”.
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TUC calls on Raab to reject Australian candidate to lead OECD | The Guardian
UK - The TUC has urged the UK foreign secretary to reject the Australian candidate to lead the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), saying it would set back the fight against poverty and the climate crisis. Frances O’Grady, the head of the trade union body, said she was concerned that the UK was preparing to vote in favour of Mathias Cormann, the former Australian finance minister who has a reputation for defending Australia’s mining interests and opposing urgent action on climate change.
Barnaby Joyce pushes clean energy finance amendment to allow coal investment | The Guardian
AUSTRALIA - Barnaby Joyce has said he will attempt to amend his own government’s legislation to allow the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in coal. The former Nationals leader, now an outspoken backbencher, added himself to the Speaker’s list in the House of Representatives on late Tuesday afternoon, and tabled an amendment intended to allow for new investment in “high efficiency, low emissions” coal-fired power.
Bushfire article in the Australian that fuelled misinformation cleared by press council | The Guardian
AUSTRALIA - Australia’s press watchdog has ruled an article in the Australian newspaper that fuelled misinformation that arsonists were a major cause of the Black Summer fires was not misleading. The Australian Press Council found the article, which appeared in print and online in the middle of last summer’s unprecedented fires, had not breached the council’s general principles.
Energy
'Permanent stain’: NSW seeks to allow new powerline in Kosciuszko park | Sydney Morning Herald
AUSTRALIA - The Berejiklian government wants to amend the management plan of the Kosciuszko National Park to permit new electricity transmission lines to be built, an act critics describe as “wilful vandalism”. The changes, proposed in a plan that is open to public comment, come as four independent MPs have written to Planning Minister Rob Stokes and Environment Minister Matt Kean calling for the powerlines linking the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project to the grid to be buried underground.
Built Environment
How new design patterns can enable cities and their residents to change with climate change | The Conversation
Our cities, designed for one set of climatic ranges, are increasingly “out of place” as average temperatures rise. The days above 40℃ and nights above 30℃ are increasing, especially in the expanding suburbs of Australian cities. This presents us with a massive redesign project. Our Cooling the Commons research project, funded by Landcom, has launched a new approach using design patterns to guide how we design, and redesign, how we live in response to a changing climate.
Running air conditioners forces people to stay indoors to remain comfortable while adding to the heat outside. Konstantin L/Shutterstock
First UK homes with hydrogen boilers and hobs to be built by April | The Guardian
UK - The UK’s first homes to be fitted with boilers and hobs that run on hydrogen rather than fossil fuel gas will be built in Gateshead by April. The semi-detached houses in the north-east will use 100% hydrogen for heating and cooking in appliances including boilers, hobs, cookers and fires under a new government scheme intended to offer the public a glimpse into “the potential home of the future”.
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