While the Nationals drag their heels over whether they will commit to Scott Morrison’s net zero by 2050 policy, Australia’s agriculture and mining sectors are already getting stuck-in to their own net zero targets. The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C laid down a dire warning about … Continue reading International pressure, not national leadership, is driving Australian companies to aim for net zero
Category: Climate
The great carbon capture and storage debate: can Santos make it work?
When Sylvia Little fried her eggs at her Adelaide home one November morning in 1969, she became Santos’s first customer for natural gas from Moomba, 800 kilometres north in the Strzelecki Desert. Today, in subterranean reservoirs depleted by millions like Mrs Little since, the company plans to bury millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide. It … Continue reading The great carbon capture and storage debate: can Santos make it work?
So long Sydney Opera House, bye bye Buckingham Palace
A new study uses extensive global elevation data to predict what familiar places around the world will look like in years to come if sea level rise caused by human-induced climate change continues apace. The results support the assessment of sea level rise in the major Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released earlier … Continue reading So long Sydney Opera House, bye bye Buckingham Palace
The plastic wrap
From the deepest ocean trenches to the peaks of the highest mountains, plastics can now be found everywhere, and figuring out how to manage them has become a pressing problem. Several new studies have been released this week addressing the global plastic problem. One predicts how airborne microplastics will have an impact on the climate, … Continue reading The plastic wrap
What is COP26 and why does the fate of Earth depend on it?
By Wesley Morgan, Griffith University In just over two weeks, more than 100 world leaders will gather in the Scottish industrial city of Glasgow for United Nations climate change negotiations known as COP26. Their task, no less, is to decide the fate of our planet. This characterisation may sound dramatic. After all, UN climate talks … Continue reading What is COP26 and why does the fate of Earth depend on it?
Neighbourhood watch: what are the other countries in our region doing about carbon?
While the Australian government continues to wrangle with their internal divisions over whether or not to set a target of net zero emissions target for 2050, our nation neighbours to the north are unveiling new policies and goals to tackle their emissions. Malaysia has unveiled ambitious climate-reduction targets, Singapore is considering raising the price … Continue reading Neighbourhood watch: what are the other countries in our region doing about carbon?
Did we underestimate the health effects of the Black Summer bushfires?
Research led by the Australian National University (ANU) has discovered undocumented health problems among people exposed to bushfire smoke. This suggests that the physical and mental impacts of the Black Summer fires were more extensive than previously thought. The team surveyed more than 2000 residents of areas around Canberra, Australia’s capital city, who were affected … Continue reading Did we underestimate the health effects of the Black Summer bushfires?
AI confirms over 85% of the world is affected by human-induced climate change
Eighty-five percent of the world’s population lives in areas impacted by human-induced climate change, according to an international team of researchers. They used a new machine learning approach to identify more than 100,000 scientific studies on the effects of climate change across every continent. This massive literature review created a global map of impacts, which … Continue reading AI confirms over 85% of the world is affected by human-induced climate change
Oral vaccines, rare ecosystems and microplastic map
Black summer bushfire research, a vaccine against a childhood virus and a science education program for Indigenous students are among the winners of the 2021 Eureka Prizes, announced Thursday night at a virtual ceremony. Presented annually by the Australian Museum since 1990, the Eureka Prizes recognise scientific excellence of both individuals and organisations. Seventeen prizes … Continue reading Oral vaccines, rare ecosystems and microplastic map
Cities of the future
How does where you live affect your health? Those of us who live in cities probably don’t notice the thought – or lack of thought – that has gone into city planning, but a growing body of research is paying close attention, striving to make cities healthier and more sustainable. This is a particularly urgent … Continue reading Cities of the future
Scorching cities: Deadly urban heat has tripled
The world is heating up, and cities are bearing the brunt of it. A new study of more than 13,000 cities has found that exposure to a deadly combination of heat and humidity has tripled since the 1980s. The trend affects nearly a quarter of the world’s population, according to the research, which appears in … Continue reading Scorching cities: Deadly urban heat has tripled
Mapping floods on every street in the world
Accurate, street-level data on flooding risk is tremendously useful when preparing for natural disasters. But this data can be very hard to come by, especially in poorer nations. Enter the World Flood Mapping Tool, a new site developed by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). The tool contains detailed 3D … Continue reading Mapping floods on every street in the world