UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response

Collaborative efforts among universities are paving the way for Australian and Pacific governments to successfully host COP31, but there’s a lot of work to do before then, writes Ben Newell, Director of the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response.

Next month, Australia is expected to be named as host of the United Nations climate summit in 2026, in partnership with Pacific Island countries. We have just two years to shape an ambitious agenda to manage the risks and opportunities of climate change, and we must start now.

Hosting the world’s climate talks is a unique opportunity for Australia to shine as a climate leader. Realising this potential requires us all to be on a shared pathway – government, industry, and society. Universities can help ensure we maximise our moment in the international climate spotlight.

The UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response is holding an Industry Forum that exemplifies this shared approach and highlights the strengths of working together toward a climate-positive future.

Embracing climate action

The lead-up to the global summit will help focus the national conversation on climate action. Australians overwhelmingly support hosting COP31 and are world leaders when it comes to rooftop solar – one in three households have solar panels. Our electricity grid is also changing as coal-fired power is replaced by wind, solar and storage. But more difficult behavioural changes are ahead.

Chair of the Climate Change Authority Matt Kean, one of the speakers at the Industry Forum, is clear that climate action is about “behavioural choices governments, businesses, communities, households and individuals make about which technologies are used, when and how.”

To make deep progress cutting emissions, we will need to make different choices about what, and how much we consume, what we eat and how we move about our cities.

Behavioural scientists at UNSW are helping us to understand Australian attitudes toward climate action. A recent global study of almost 60,000 individuals (including nearly 1000 Australians) found simple behavioural interventions – such as writing a letter to an imagined member of a future generation, describing the actions being taken to ensure the inheritance of a healthy, habitable planet – can shift beliefs and increase policy support.

Helping business understand climate risk and opportunity

Australian businesses are increasingly focused on climate action and will be key partners if COP31 is to be a success. The federal government has passed new regulations requiring business to report on the risks, and opportunities, that climate change poses for their operations and assets.

Researchers at UNSW are helping businesses understand what climate models can and cannot tell us about the risks they face in a warming world. A key focus for the Industry Forum is discussion of ‘storyline’ techniques for risk assessment that combine climate model projections with other types of evidence to help businesses make well-informed decisions.

Supporting a successful UN climate summit

Universities are working together to support Australian and Pacific governments to host the UN climate talks. A COP31 Universities Alliance has been established as a partnership between Australian and Pacific universities to coordinate the contribution of the higher education and research sector toward COP31.

The UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response recently published a briefing note, Working Together: Australian and Pacific universities helping to deliver a successful and ambitious COP31 climate summit, which explains how Australian and Pacific universities can help deliver a successful UN climate summit.

Hosting COP31 is a unique opportunity for our region to build genuine, long-lasting climate action. A shared pathway is crucial. Universities will play a key convening role, bringing government, industry and the public together to shape an inclusive and ambitious agenda. Today’s Industry Forum is a small but important step along the path to a positive climate future.

Ben Newell is Professor of Behavioural Science in the School of Psychology at UNSW Sydney, and Director of the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response.

Climate Council Media Release

NEW REPORT: The World Energy Outlook 2024 from the International Energy Agency has found:

• We are moving at speed into the Age of Electricity, which is underpinned by clean energy sources like solar and wind.
• Global investment in clean energy is approaching $US2 trillion – almost double the combined amount spent on new coal, oil and gas supply.
• While there is record growth in solar and wind energy, this is occurring alongside growth in energy demand.
• Climate pollution from coal, oil and gas is expected to peak by 2030, but needs to be rapidly falling instead to protect everyone from worsening unnatural disasters.
• We are heading for a global glut in oil and gas supplies in the 2020s with anycontinued build out of gas only serving to increase demand unnecessarily for this polluting fossil fuel, and displacing much-needed renewable energy.

Climate Councillor, energy expert and former President of BP Australasia, Greg Bourne said:

“Australia doesn’t need any new coal or gas. The International Energy Agency laid out our energy options and all of them point directly to building out clean sources of energy like solar and wind, which Australia has in abundance. Rapidly cutting climate pollution from polluting coal and gas is imperative so Australia keeps up with the global trend.

“Our own research echoes this, showing that if Australia stopped opening new gas projects today, supply from existing projects could meet our shrinking domestic gas needs for more than six decades – a clear signal that it’s time to power past gas, and turbocharge our switch to clean energy.

“The 2024 World Energy Outlook shows in the five years to 2023, Australia’s increase in renewable energy generation was the most rapid globally. With millions of Aussie households and businesses taking up rooftop solar, and thousands of household and community batteries installed, it’s not hard to see why.

“Our coal-fired power generators are on the way out as global demand for coal and gas enters a decline. Expanding coal and gas in Australia is a recipe for climate and economic chaos. Countries that buy most of the fossil fuels we export, like Japan, South Korea, and China, are switching to renewables to cut climate pollution. There has never been a clearer signal to work with countries in our region to grow clean energy, and stop further development of coal and gas.

“This is the right moment for Australia to power past fossil fuels like coal and gas and build out more renewable energy projects. Taking advantage of Australia’s clean energy advantages is critical to strengthening our energy security and affordability as the world electrifies.”

Bushfires are one of Australia’s greatest challenges and are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change.

Hazard reduction burns are used to reduce the likelihood and severity of bushfires, but the task of identifying suitable windows of opportunity for prescribed burns is an increasing challenge for fire management agencies due to shifting seasonality or a narrow window of opportunity.

Now scientists are trialling cost-effective sensors which will empower bushfire managers to efficiently monitor the moisture content of bushfire fuel in real time, therefore helping them to better identify prescribed burn opportunities and monitor fire risk.

The Real Time Fuel Moisture Monitoring Using Low-cost Internet of Things Devices project is being led by Dr Nicholas Wilson from the Bushfire Centre of Excellence at the Australian National University.

“Fire agencies currently monitor the moisture content of bushfire fuel using direct measurement, which often involves considerable travel time and results in limited location data,” Dr Wilson says.

“The ANU’s Bushfire Research Centre of Excellence has developed prototype low-cost devices for bushfire smoke detection which have temperature and relative humidity sensors that can estimate the moisture content of bushfire fuel in real time.

“These will be trialled as part of this project to better understand the challenges to their operational deployment, and how they can complement satellite derived fuel moisture monitoring.

Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action Media Release

BUSHFIRE SURVIVORS FOR CLIMATE ACTION (BSCA) has spoken out in response to the news that Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has approved three new large coal mining projects in NSW: Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri thermal coal project to 2066, MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant thermal coal project to 2058, and Yancoal’s Ashton coal project to 2064.

The Albanese Government’s three new coal mine expansions will emit 1.4 billion tonnes of carbon pollution, more than three times Australia’s total annual emissions. The Government refused to consider the climate impacts of these massive coal projects, and is refusing to fix Australia’s environment laws to consider climate change and protect nature.

Just two months ago Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action delivered a joint BSCA-Climate Council petition to the Environment Minister with over 11,000 signatures asking the government to fix these laws and to pause approvals of coal and gas projects until they adequately considered climate impacts.

And in 2023 the tiny charity, founded and led by bushfire survivors, challenged Whitehaven’s Narrabri project in court by challenging the decision of the NSW Independent Planning Commission on the grounds that in the face of the climate impacts already being experienced by the people, environment and economy of NSW, the approval was legally unreasonable. The group lost the case.

“We’ve done everything we can to protect our homes – even to the extent of taking on a massive coal company in the courts.” said Serena Joyner, Chief Executive Officer of Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action.

“We can’t do anything more, and yet the Government keeps raising the risk level. This is a cowardly decision by the Albanese Government that is actively failing to take real climate action to protect our communities from worsening fires, floods, and extreme weather. If this government won’t stand up to the coal billionaires and polluters, then who will? Who will say no to these projects?”

Speaking from her new home on the mid-north coast of NSW Fiona Lee has said she is devastated. “Nearly 5 years ago I lost my home to the climate-fueled bushfires of 2019-20. Now Tanya Plibersek has the audacity to greenlight three more coal mines. Approving coal while we brace for even worse fires? That’s not leadership—it’s betrayal.”

Jo Dodds, President of Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action has spoken about the impact on locals of the Narrabri mine expansion. “BSCA visited the Narrabri community during preparation for our legal action to stop the expansion of the Whitehaven coal mine. We talked to locals, business owners, First Nations people, farmers and politicians. Not one person we talked to was happy about the mine.

“They feared the impacts on water, the damage to the land, the pollution to the very air they breathe. They feared more frequent, more destructive bushfires. With the Government’s approval of these three mines, the fears of this community have been realised.

“Even as we mark the 5 year anniversaries of so many who lost everything in the Black Summer fires, bushfire survivors are having to face the fact that the Australian Government is failing to take genuine meaningful action to protect them from climate-fuelled fires and wondering who will? It’s a huge slap in the face. It’s hard not to take it personally – in fact we do.”

Climate Council Media Release

IN A DAMAGING MOVE, the Albanese Government has approved three massive coal mine extensions in New South Wales, locking in decades more climate pollution that “our children will not forgive” says the Climate Council.

The federal government has approved three coal mine extensions in the Hunter Valley: Whitehaven’s Narrabri Stage 3 Expansion, MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant Optimisation, and Glencore and Yancoal’s Ashton-Ravensworth Extension.

Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said: “At the midway point of the crucial decade for climate action, it’s shocking that 7 coal mines have been given the green light since Labor has come to power. Every decision like this betrays future generations. Our children will not forgive us for locking in more climate pollution for decades to come.

“These projects are forecast to pump out over a billion tonnes of pollution until 2048 – more than double Australia’s total annual emissions. Mount Pleasant will become Australia’s largest black coal mine, dwarfing Adani, while Narrabri could add 259 million tonnes of pollution and destroy 500 hectares of critical koala habitat.

“Under Labor, Australia is making strong progress on clean energy, but approving coal projects undermines our momentum. They can’t have it both ways – continuing to invest in fossil fuels pours more petrol on the out-of-control fire that is the climate crisis.

“Approving polluting coal mines undermines the government’s reputation as the world shines a spotlight on climate and environmental leadership at the upcoming Global Nature Positive Summit. It’s astonishing that Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek will represent Australia on the global stage after green-lighting coal mines, a contradiction that harms Australia’s credibility on nature and climate.

“Climate scientists could not be more clear; coal, oil and gas are causing immense harm and this will only get worse if we do not stop burning them. Australia must not approve new coal, oil and gas projects. If the government fails to listen to this advice, future generations will pay the price.”

The Climate Council Media Release

THE CLIMATE COUNCIL HAS LAUNCHED a new plan to seize the sun and capitalise on Australia’s rooftop solar strengths, double our solar power capacity and install two million household batteries by the end of the decade. Supercharging rooftop solar will slash household and business energy bills, cut climate pollution further and faster, and keep building our clean energy workforce.

The report comes as a YouGov poll for the Climate Council shows:

• More than 80% of people who already have solar would recommend it to their families and friends, underlining the real benefits millions of Aussie households are already experiencing.
• Rooftop solar is popular across the board, with 73% of Australians who don’t yet have it saying they want to get it in the future.
• An overwhelming majority of almost three-quarters of Australians support the federal government going big on policies to drive a new wave of solar and storage installations now.

Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said:

“Australians love the bill-busting benefits of rooftop solar and strongly support government action to expand it. Our ‘Seize the Sun’ report is full of bright, popular ideas on how to give more Aussies access to solar. All sides of politics should get behind rooftop solar in the run up to the next federal election.

“Supercharging rooftop solar is a triple win for Aussie businesses and families. It slashes power bills, cuts climate pollution, and powers our clean energy workforce.”

Climate Councillor, Associate Professor Tim Nelson said: “Australia leads the world in rooftop solar, with around 3.6 million Aussies already turning sunshine into savings and shaving a collective $3 billion from power bills every year.

“With Climate Council’s bright ideas for the Aussie Solar Drive and the Australian Energy Corps, we can extend the bill savings to millions more homes and businesses now, backed by household and community batteries and other technology like smart hot water systems that stabilise our grid and cut climate pollution.

“Rolling out more rooftop solar is the biggest opportunity we have right now to keep building on Australia’s clean energy momentum. It should be at the top of the agenda for all parties during the next term of parliament, and we can get the ball rolling with clear commitments today.”

More information on YouGov polling: YouGov polling, commissioned by the Climate Council in August 2024 surveyed more than 1500 Australians. A further breakdown is attached and also available here.

University of South Australia (UniSA) Media Release

A team of international scientists alarmed by the loss of biodiversity across the world due to climate change has proposed a new approach to managing vulnerable landscapes, focusing on sites that are least impacted by changing weather.

Known as climate change-refugia, these places experience weather conditions that are the most favourable for their survival and could hold the key to reducing species extinctions, ecologists say.

In a new paper authored by scientists from Australia, Canada, the United States and Hungary, the researchers have laid out a framework to identify, protect and restore refugia from climate change.

The paper, published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, calls for an alternative to traditional conservation efforts, which have focused on creating static protected areas.

Conservation biologist and lead author, Associate Professor Gunnar Keppel from the University of South Australia, says the speed and scale at which climate change is progressing demands a new approach.

“Our planet is changing rapidly,” Assoc Prof Keppel says. “Events like the large-scale dieback of trees, mass bleaching of corals on the Great Barrier Reef, unprecedented heatwaves, rapid thawing of glaciers and more frequent fires highlight the potential for major changes in biodiversity and ecosystems.

“The speed and scale of this change is challenging traditional approaches to conservation. For example, traditional protected areas may not shield threatened ecosystems from extreme droughts,” he says.

Instead, vulnerable ecosystems should be assessed along more practical lines to identify the places least impacted by drought stress, for example. It is here that species will have the best chance of resisting climate change, the authors argue.

“However, without support, species in these least impacted places may also struggle to survive as climate change progresses. Support for species could be in various forms, such as providing limited watering to trees in a valley during an extreme drought.

“The degree of management intervention required will depend on how well refugia can resist climate change impacts and on how severely they are affected by other disturbances. Refugia could potentially help to prevent the extinction of numerous species.”

Oxfam Australia Media Release

Four young grassroots climate leaders from the Asia-Pacific region and the Kimberley will today meet with Australian political leaders in Canberra calling on them to urgently ban fracking, phase out fossil fuels and address the climate crisis affecting their communities.

Hosted by Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network and Oxfam Australia, the young climate advocates spent time in Melbourne before arriving in Canberra today, with Sydney as their final destination. Along the way, they will meet with key political decision makers to discuss climate issues such as climate finance and loss and damage.

The timing of the tour aligns with critical climate policy movements and events, including the lead-up to COP29 in November, the next federal election, and COP31, which Australia has bid to host in 2026 in partnership with the Pacific. Headlining the tour is a Parliamentary Forum event at Parliament House for the speakers to address these discussions.

The young advocates have also spend time with climate, Pacific, and First Nations grassroots organisations to strengthen international networks and explore strategies for climate advocacy from the grassroots level.

Tanya Afu from the Solomon Islands and Grace Ann Enriquez from the Philippines have been personally impacted by climate change fuelled disasters, such as super typhoons and storm surges. Peter Griffiths-Sebastian and Eduardo Maher, both hailing from the Kimberley, are passionate about protecting Country from impacts of the fossil fuel industry and fracking.

Tanya’s community, from Foueda Island, an artificial island in the Lau Lagoon, Malaita province of Solomon Islands, has been deeply affected by the crisis.

“Our community, known as the ‘Himola I asi’ or people of the sea, is deeply connected to our surroundings. However, climate change is altering everything – the sea, the land, even our food. I’ve witnessed the sea slowly devouring our home, destroying houses, and submerging our village during high tides,” she said.

“Despite this, my people resiliently rebuild and adapt to the changing environment. As a young woman working in the climate change space, I’m driven to be a voice for my community and future generations.”

Eduardo Maher, of Yawuru, Jabirr-Jabirr, Bardi-Jawi, and Nyul-Nyul heritage, says climate change has become an ongoing issue in the Kimberley community.

“The country we live on, and are connected to, has begun to be unrecognisable to our Elders. Wet seasons are shorter and during the wrong times of the year, fire seasons are becoming more dangerous due to the lateness of the vegetation drying, post the wet season. Elders are no longer sure how their cultural knowledge will be passed on to the next generation, this affects communities on a social level. It has been shown and predicted by scientists that a rise in extreme heat conditions will affect the Kimberley, and that the region will soon become unlivable for extended times of the year.”

Ebony Pierik, a proud Jabirr-Jabirr and Bardi woman from Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network highlights the importance of connecting communities to government decision makers.

“It’s important for mob to share their stories and experiences when it comes to witnessing climate change. We contribute the least to the issue, but more often than not we’re the first and worst impacted. This speakers tour isn’t only an opportunity for us to share our story. It is an opportunity for politicians and city dwellers to hear first-hand what it’s like to live regionally and under threat of becoming a climate refugee on our own Country, and to connect with us on a deeper level for meaningful change.”

Oxfam Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Lyn Morgain, highlights the significance of this tour in fostering allyship and meaningful change.

“This tour represents a crucial opportunity for Asia-Pacific and First Nations climate leaders to unite and share their first-hand experiences. By fostering these connections, we can build a stronger, more diverse and inclusive climate movement that can drive meaningful change for all our communities. It couldn’t come at a better time with Australia likely to co-host the UN climate negotiations with the Pacific in two years time.”

By Roger Chao

Plastic Apocalypse

Where the tide leaves in sorrow,

where the oceans weep

beneath the sky’s wide and endless dome,

Lies a silent affliction,

a slow creeping bane

that shrouds the earth

in synthetic foam.

It slithers through rivers,

it clings to the trees,

a cursed creation

of humanity’s lore,

An eternal ghost

of our desires,

a fragment of dreams

now festering

on every shore.

Borne on the breath

of a ravenous world,

where consumption reigns

with a ceaseless hand,

Plastic, the spectre,

arises unseen,

entwining our fate

in a synthetic strand.

Its birth was a promise

of convenience and ease,

a future where life

could be cased in a shell,

Yet this fragile veneer,

so deceptively bright,

became the harbinger

of a living hell.

In the depths of the sea

where the corals once bloomed,

now lies a desert

of toxic remains,

The fish swim through fields

of translucent death,

their bellies distended

with poisonous grains.

The albatross soars

over islands of waste,

where its kin fall prey

to a cruel disguise,

Their nests

are of bottles,

their food but shards,

and with each new generation,

the hope dies.

The forests that once breathed

the earth’s sweet breath

are choked by a lattice

of threads unseen,

The trees wear garlands

of plastic decay,

their roots entwined

with the human machine.

Even the winds,

once pure and free,

now carry the burden

of man’s decree,

For every breeze

that kisses the land

leaves behind

a residue of misery.

In the urban sprawl

where the streets are alive

with the hum of progress

and ceaseless pace,

We wonder through the gloom

of our own design,

blind to the slow suffocation

we embrace.

Our markets are brimming

with treasures galore,

each trinket encased

in a polymer shell,

But the true cost

is hidden beneath the sheen,

a price we pay

as we march toward hell.

For every bag

that is tossed aside,

every straw

that is carelessly thrown,

Adds to the mountain

of waste we create,

a monument

to the seeds we’ve sown.

And though the earth

cries out in pain,

her tears lost

in the slothful deed,

We continue to carve

our path of despair,

indifferent

to the warnings

we fail to heed.

In the dark of night,

when the world is still,

the ghosts of our folly

murmur their tales,

Of creatures that lived

in harmony

with the earth,

before the advent

of plastic’s veils.

But now those voices

are drowned

in reactor vessels,

and the clamour

of endless desire,

And the world

we once knew,

the world that was green,

is consumed

in a microplastic pyre.

Yet there is still time,

though the clock ticks away,

to turn back the tide

of our self-made fate,

To reclaim the world

that we’ve lost to decay,

and restore it

to a brighter state.

But it will take more

than a passing whim,

more than a token

of fleeting care,

It will take a revolution

of the heart,

a new way of being,

a collective prayer.

For the plastic apocalypse

is not a storm

to wait out

and watch,

It is a slow

and suffocating plague

that brings the world

to its knees.

But within us lies the power

to change,

to break free

from the bonded monomer curse,

To heal the earth

and ourselves,

to find a new path,

and to live in a world

where care comes first.

So let us rise,

let us stand as one,

and cast off

the yoke of our plastic sin,

Let us breathe new life

into the earth,

and let the healing

of the world begin.

In the end, when the plastic is gone,

and the earth is green

and whole once more,

We will look back

on this time of change

and know

that we played a role in the cure.

For we will have saved

ourselves from the brink,

and given the world

a new lease on life,

And in doing so,

we will have found

our redemption,

and ended

the reign of plastic’s strife.

ActionAid Media Release

Nuku’alofa, TONGA – At least US$1 trillion is needed to support low-income countries bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, according to a new report – Seizing the Moment: A New Climate Finance Goal That Delivers for the Pacific.

The report’s release by a coalition of NGOs coincides with the attendance of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the annual Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting, taking place in Tonga this week.

This year will see the finalisation of a new target for climate finance at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29).

The report reveals that the Australian Government must exponentially increase its support for global climate solutions, and demonstrate its solidarity with Pacific neighbours who are struggling to deal with rising sea levels, disasters like floods and cyclones, as well as significant disruption to ecosystems, food harvesting and traditional ways of life.

Acknowledging Australia’s role as a major polluter with plans to host the climate talks in 2026, the report calls for Australia to support a US$1 trillion global climate finance goal, and to contribute to the global Loss and Damage Fund, which was established at COP28. The report highlights a range of approaches to mobilise the needed finance, including ending fossil fuel subsidies that globally amount to US$7 trillion each year.

With the current global finance goal expiring in 2025, the exact figure of a new post-2025 climate finance goal will be the central issue on the agenda for world leaders at the upcoming COP29 climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan later this year. Australia’s leadership could play a key role in building the confidence of all countries to agree on an ambitious goal, breaking a deadlock between wealthy and low income countries.

Climate impacts are already costing low income countries heavily. Investment levels must rise if we are to achieve our climate goals, funding resilience and a clean energy transition globally. The decisions made now will be crucial in determining whether global warming can be limited to 1.5°C, as outlined in the Paris Agreement, and in addressing the climate impacts on the most vulnerable communities.

Michelle Higelin, Executive Director at ActionAid Australia says:

“We can’t tinker around the edges when it comes to climate finance. The climate crisis is already pushing Pacific countries into excruciating debt, and deepening gender inequality. Low income countries are bearing the brunt of climate impacts despite doing the least to cause the climate crisis and urgently need finance to adapt and mitigate against climate impacts.

“It’s time for Australia to step up and support our Pacific neighbours on the frontlines of the climate crisis. The Government must go to COP29 advocating for an ambitious goal and committing to contribute our fair share. This leadership will encourage other rich countries to do the same.

“We must ensure Pacific communities have the resources needed to build resilience, and address the growing loss and damage they are already experiencing as a result of the lack of climate action by polluting countries like our own.”

Lyn Morgain, Chief Executive, Oxfam Australia says: “Australia, one of the wealthiest and highest per capita emitters of climate pollution, contrasts starkly with Pacific communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, who bear its harshest impacts yet receive only a fraction of the needed climate finance – highlighting the urgent need for more accessible and just global rules.”

Rufino Varea, Regional Director, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network says:

“As a Pacific regional network, we are united in our call for a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) that truly delivers for the Pacific. As we approach the halfway mark of this crucial decade for climate action, the NCQG must address the escalating needs of Pacific communities, who are enduring some of the world’s worst climate impacts despite contributing the least to the crisis.

“As this report outlines, extreme climate events have already cost the Pacific Islands between US$2.7 and 7 billion from 2000 to 2022, and with this number expected to rise as our planet warms, Australia and New Zealand must deliver their fair share as PIF Members as well as support our NCQG priorities – The NCQG must be ambitious, equity-driven, and centred on grants-based finance that prioritises adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage for the most vulnerable. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity to secure a safer, more resilient future for our Pacific communities and the world.”

The report – Seizing the Moment: A New Climate Finance Goal That Delivers for the Pacific – was authored by Climate Action Network Australia, the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network, the New Zealand Climate Action Network, ActionAid Australia and Oxfam Australia and has been endorsed by more than 50 organisations across Australia, Aotearoa, and the Pacific.

Healthy Futures Media Release

Today, the Australian Government took a significant step towards improving the integrity of Australia’s emissions reporting by committing to creating an expert panel to advise on fixing under-reporting methane pollution and removing outdated estimate-based methods for calculating methane emissions.

This comes after Healthy Futures, one of Australia’s leading health and climate advocacy organisation, delivered an open letter signed by over ten peak health bodies, representing over 350 000 health professionals, urging the government to strengthen methane regulations.

Methane, a potent greenhouse gas with over 80 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide, is a major contributor to climate change and a significant public health threat. The health professionals’ letter emphasised the urgent need to address methane emissions from the coal and gas sector, highlighting the respiratory risks associated with ground-level ozone, a precursor to smog, and the public health emergency posed by climate change. Coal and gas companies pollute far more methane than they currently report, and addressing this discrepancy in transparency and accountability is an important first step.

“Healthy Futures is pleased with the Government’s commitment to improving methane measurement and reporting,” said Bronwyn McDonald, Campaign Manager at Healthy Futures. “This is a crucial first step, but we urge the government to go further and implement a national methane target and methane action plan focusing on abatement as soon as possible. We also have serious concerns about the ongoing approvals for new coal and gas projects, especially when considering the likely extent of under-reporting of methane pollution from mining”.

Health professionals across Australia are deeply concerned about the health impacts of climate change and the role of methane in accelerating the crisis. “Methane from coal and gas extraction contributes significantly to climate change, which is the greatest global health threat of our time,” said Dr. Harry Jennens, GP. “We need abatement of methane pollution to protect public health.”

The Healthy Futures open letter called for stronger methane reduction measures to protect public health, including accurate measurement, reporting, and verification laws, ensuring transparency and accountability in methane emissions and a National Methane Action Plan to strategically address methane emissions across sectors and including national methane targets in line with international commitments.

The Government’s full and principled acceptance of 24 of the 25 recommendations from the Climate Change Authority signals a positive step towards greater climate action. However, to achieve the necessary emissions reductions and safeguard public health, the government must build on this momentum and implement comprehensive regulations that actually reduce methane emissions from coal and gas production as soon as possible.

Environment Centre NT Media Release

The Senate Inquiry into the Middle Arm Industrial Precinct handed down its final report today, issuing a damning indictment of the project, its impacts, and the integrity of its implementation.

The Middle Arm Industrial Precinct has been plagued by controversy ever since the announcement of $1.5 billion in Commonwealth Government equity support for the project.

Hundreds of Territorians gathered in April when the Middle Arm Senate Inquiry convened in Darwin. Traditional Owners, scientists, doctors, nurses, teachers and unions gave evidence regarding the potential impacts of the project to cultural heritage, the environment of Darwin Harbour, human health, and climate.

Today, those concerns have been vindicated by many of the recommendations issued by the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee.

Key takeaways from the report include:

• Senator David Pocock has called for an investigation into the circumstances in which the $1.5 billion Federal funding commitment was obtained, pointing to “significant questions around integrity and transparency” and evidence that the commitment was made without evidence of “clear value for money and without a proper evaluation of the significant risks.” Similarly, the Greens have asserted that the Federal decision to subsidise the project was “was based purely on pork-barrelling and dodgy deals and not the best interests of the local community or the planet.”
• The Greens expressed serious concern about the health impacts of the proposed project, noting that NT regulators “cannot be relied upon to enforce safety regulations to protect the health of the Darwin community”. Senator Pocock also asserted that “the NT’s health system cannot cope with any worsening of health or conditions for residents of the NT,” and that evidence that the project “would not have an adverse impact on the health of Darwin residents was thin”.
• Senator Lidia Thorpe found that “there has been a real lack of genuine consultation and a disregard for the need to obtain Free, Prior and Informed Consent”. This sentiment was echoed by the Greens and Senator Pocock, who both made recommendations to ensure free, prior, and informed consent is central to any future development at the Middle Arm peninsula.

Kirsty Howey, Executive Director of the Environment Centre NT says:

“The Middle Arm gas hub simply cannot proceed, based on what was revealed in this inquiry and what has now been recommended in its report.

“This report confirms what the community has been saying for a long time — the Middle Arm gas hub poses unacceptable risks to the wellbeing of Territorians, our climate, and our harbour.

“The shocking information revealed by the inquiry should make it clear to the Federal Government that their $1.5 billion subsidy must be redirected away from the Middle Arm gas hub. Evidence submitted to the Inquiry showed that we can spend this money here in the NT in a way that doesn’t sacrifice people’s wellbeing and will actually create more sustainable jobs.”

Background

The project

The Middle Arm gas and petrochemical precinct – if it goes ahead – will be the biggest industrial development in Darwin’s history. Despite the NT Government previously deleting the word ‘petrochemicals’ from all government websites, documents submitted to the environmental regulator and Infrastructure Australia by the NT Government confirm that the precinct would consist predominately of gas processing and petrochemical industries. The full list of industries included in the referral are: a carbon capture and storage (CCS) common user hub, an LNG train, blue hydrogen, green hydrogen, ammonia export plant, methanol export plant, condensate refinery, phosphoric acid production facility, ethane cracker, urea, and lithium hydroxide processing.

Documents revealed last year showed that the Albanese Government was aware that the precinct would be a “key enabler” for fracking in the Beetaloo basin when it announced a $1.5 billion subsidy for the precinct, given in the form of an equity investment.

The Petroni Report into the proposed Middle Arm development found a range of health risks associated with the proposed petrochemical development so close to nearby populations in Palmerston and Darwin.

What was learned from the inquiry

The Senate Inquiry was announced in September 2023 following a series of controversies regarding the proposed development in Darwin Harbour.

More than 200 submissions were made in the initial phase of the inquiry, the vast majority of which opposed the development of the Industrial Precinct and called for the federal funding to be redirected.

Inquiry hearings took place in Darwin and Canberra in April and June of this year, hearing from a range of witnesses including Traditional Owners, environmentalists, scientists, academics, tourism operators, doctors, unionists, nurses, teachers, students, and local residents, as well as the Northern Territory Government, regulator, and gas industry representatives.

Issues that were raised throughout the inquiry include concerns raised by Larrakia Traditional Owners about poor consultation and threats to country and culture. Academics and environmentalists spoke to the integrity of the project’s planning and funding, including the way in which the NTG hired gas industry lobbyists to obtain federal funding. Explosive documents were tabled that revealed major cost blowouts for the project and an extremely marginal cost-benefit ratio, as well as a dubious calculation of the project’s very viability.

Doctors, nurses, and health professionals gave evidence about the health impacts of the project, including the capacity of the Northern Territory’s environmental monitoring program to monitor risks and the preparedness of the health system to respond to an increased disease burden.

The impacts of the project on marine and terrestrial ecological values, and the economic activities with which they are associated was discussed by ecologists, who warned that further industrialisation of the harbour could worsen the observed decline in marine species.

Environment Centre NT and Arid Lands Environment Centre Media Release

Conservation groups Environment Centre NT and Arid Lands Environment Centre are calling on the Federal Government to establish a Royal Commission into water management, deforestation and impacts on the rights of Traditional Owners in the Northern Territory.

The calls follow revelations aired by ABC’s Four Corners program, ‘Water Grab’, into the mismanagement of water licences in the Territory, land-clearing laws riddled with loopholes, and shocking conflicts of interest regarding government decision-makers.

The groups are calling on the Federal Government to immediately commit to:

• Support the Northern Territory Government to implement an immediate moratorium on new water licensing and water allocations in the Roper system and land clearing permits on pastoral leases.
• A Royal Commission into water management, land clearing and deforestation in the NT and the impacts on the rights of Traditional Owners.
• A Commonwealth-funded First Nations-led governance project for the Roper catchment.

Quotes from Kirsty Howey, Executive Director of Environment Centre NT:

“This national scandal has exposed a fatally compromised system of land and water management in the Northern Territory,” said Executive Director of Environment Centre NT Kirsty Howey.

“This is a complete dereliction of duty from Northern Territory decision-makers and raises serious questions about just how far the NT Government are willing to change the rules to accommodate big business. The Federal Government can’t sit on the sidelines – urgent action is required before the Northern Territory’s iconic savanna is trashed, rivers are destroyed, and Traditional Owners rights are undermined. We don’t have time to wait.

“Territorians have made it clear they don’t want to see what has occurred down south happen to Top End rivers. 72.5% of NT residents say large cotton companies shouldn’t be allowed to expand operations until they fix the problems they have caused in the Murray Darling,” said Ms Howey.

“The Northern Territory’s savanna is a national treasure and the world’s largest remaining intact tropical woodland – but it’s at risk of being bulldozed by cotton producers. Big cotton devastated the Murray Darling Basin – we mustn’t be bullied into making the same mistakes here,” she concluded.

Quotes from Adrian Tomlinson, CEO of Arid Lands Environment Centre:

“The Northern Territory is now a national embarrassment when it comes to environmental protection. It’s time for a complete overhaul, but we simply can’t trust the Northern Territory Government to do the job. We’re calling on the Federal Government to step in and publicly probe this unfolding disaster before it’s too late.

“The Northern Territory is known around the world for its iconic natural treasures, including our free-flowing rivers and underground aquifers. But the policies of successive governments have paved the way for massive amounts of water taken from aquifers in central Australia and river systems – threatening groundwater dependent ecosystems and cultural values, as well as fishing, tourism, and our Territory lifestyle,” said Arid Lands Environment Centre CEO Adrian Tomlinson.

“Whilst the spotlight placed on this scandal by Four Corners is certainly welcome, this is by far not the first time that both the NT and Federal Governments have been warned of these matters, including by communities themselves. The 2022 release of the Georgina Wiso allocation plan resulted in 17 of the nation’s leading water scientists writing to the Chief Minister warning of ‘particularly poor and regressive’ approaches.

“Enough is enough. We need to ensure that we do not lose what makes the Territory so special – our amazing and unique natural environment,” he concluded.

Media Release

Cooperative Research Australia (CRA) today launched an independent study that confirms the venerable Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program is generating billions of dollars in C0₂ abatement outcomes and decarbonisation-focused economic activity, creating thousands of jobs by unlocking substantial private sector R&D.

The report, undertaken by ACIL Allen, showcases the contribution of 13 CRCs/post-CRCs who are directly or indirectly supporting Australia’s decarbonisation goals.

“Australia’s globally renowned CRC Program is at the forefront of efforts to achieve our ambitious climate change targets, with more than $1 billion of private and public investment in research and development to help Australia reach Net Zero by solving gnarly industry problems.” said Jane O’Dwyer, CEO of CRA.

ACIL Allen estimates that this investment, which is only a subset of the full CRC investment, will generate an estimated $4.8 billion in additional economic output for Australia, $3.3 billion in cumulative undiscounted CO₂ abated, and thousands of jobs, from 2017-2032.

“These CRCs have extraordinary reach throughout the economy, bring together over 1,600 partners and project participants across research, industry and government, with links into more than 18 countries across Europe, the America, Asia and Oceania.

“The CRC model provides a well-established mechanism for unlocking private-sector R&D investment and fostering productive industry-research collaboration. That co-investment with industry, and collaboration across industry and research, is critical to Australia being able to meet its decarbonisation goals.

“But, there is still significant work to be done if we are to reach these ambitious climate targets. CRCs provide important national capacity that is readily scalable to accelerate change and innovation. With relatively little additional Federal investment and increased flexibility, the CRCs can supercharge our decarbonisation efforts across a huge breadth of sectors from concrete to transport, from heavy industry to future fuels, from the oceans to finance,” Ms O’Dwyer added.

The report, titled Mapping and quantification of CRCs’ work on decarbonisation, forecast that the contribution of this group of 13 CRCs over 2017-2032 will:

• Generate substantial economic activity: an increase of $4.8 billion in Australia’s economic output (GDP)
• Raise economic welfare across Australia: an increase of $1.7 billion to Australia’s real economy as a result of industry-led decarbonisation research and innovation.
• Create significant employment opportunities: 3,705 job years to 2032 are delivered (an average of 265 FTE jobs years per year).
• Provide significant value for money: $5.80 generated in additional economic output (GDP) for every dollar of investment and in-kind contributions.

“Decarbonisation is a highly complex global issue with a wide array of policy, market, and social considerations at play,” Ms O’Dwyer said. “What we can clearly see is that the extent to which CRCs are helping propel Australia towards a sustainable, prosperous, and decarbonised future; one where Australia realises its emissions goals.”

The decarbonisation challenge

A 2023 review by the International Energy Agency into Australia’s energy targets¹highlighted that while recent policies support decarbonisation, significant changes will be needed to reach net zero by 2050.

Under current projections, Australia is expected to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 37% below 2005 levels by 2030, well short of our reduction target of 43% from 2005 levels by 2030.

“Achieving a Net Zero economy will require a collective and collaborative effort across all sectors and sections of society – the CRC model is well placed to facilitate this collective action,” said ACIL Allen Director of the Science and Technology practice, Dr John Söderbaum.

“Australia has a suite of decarbonisation-related policies and strategies aimed at supporting Australia’s national decarbonisation goals. The work of the CRCs is strongly aligned with these goals and there is strong potential to further enhance their work programs to expand the CRC contribution to realising Net Zero outcomes,” Dr Söderbaum added.

CRCs a ready-made solution

Chair of the study’s Steering Committee and initiator of the project, CRC TiME CEO, Dr Guy Boggs, said CRCs represent an important lever to support more rapid progress toward Australia’s decarbonisation goals.

“CRCs provide an effective and flexible mechanism for stakeholders from different sectors to work together, leverage their collective expertise, and address complex challenges through collaboration and strategic investment in delivery, translation and commercialisation of research,” Dr Boggs said.

“The CRC model is a ready-made solution that is already delivering significant impact. Mobilising this collective capacity is an immense opportunity, with additional and more flexible funding models needed to help further drive this collaboration across CRCs to deliver even more benefits for the Australian economy as we transition to Net Zero.”

The report highlights several ways that the Commonwealth-funded CRC Program is bringing together industry, universities and government to apply evidence-based research to help reach Net Zero.

For example, Blue Economy CRC is harnessing clean energy to fuel offshore commercial vehicles as they operate out at seas; Future Fuels CRC is undertaking world-leading work on supporting adoption of Net Zero emission fuels; iMove CRC is accelerating electrification in mass transport; and SmartCrete CRC is developing technologies to transform hard-to-abate sectors such as concrete and cement.

“This work shows CRCs to be a critical part of the nation’s research and innovation infrastructure. In particular, they are a responsive and integral partner on the path to Net Zero, committed to collaborative actions to help deliver on Australia’s decarbonisation mission,” Dr Boggs said.

“The activities of CRCs have evolved over time to meet Australia’s growing decarbonisation needs and industry priorities, demonstrating the flexibility of the CRC model. Working across multiple sectors, there is potential for the CRCs’ individual and collective capability to be leveraged to contribute even more toward our ambitious climate goals.

“The opportunity is now to develop a shared action plan across government to further harness this infrastructure and draw on the capacity and capability of the CRCs towards Net Zero.”

View the Report, Fact Sheet and Case Studies Booklet on the project website.

¹ International Energy Agency (2023). Australia has raised its climate targets and now needs to accelerate its clean energy transition, says new IEA review. https://www.iea.org/news/Australia
-has-raised-its-climate-targets-and-now-needs-to-accelerate-its-clean-energy-transition-says-new-iea-review.

Traditional Custodians on the frontlines of fossil fuel extraction and survivors of climate disasters are converging in Parliament House to put the Albanese Government on notice over coal and gas approvals. The delegation of 20 representatives from communities across the continent is calling for urgent reform of Howard-era environment laws to include a climate trigger.

The community members say they feel betrayed by the Albanese Government’s abandonment of major reform to national environment laws earlier this year, following pressure from coal and gas companies.

A Senate Inquiry is expected to report next week on scaled-back Nature Positive bills currently before Parliament, and the government is yet to commit to a timeline for the major reform promised. It was reported yesterday that the Coalition will reject the government’s current bills, meaning the Government will need to negotiate with the Senate crossbench.

Gomeroi Traditional Owner Raymond Weatherall said: “The government ran a referendum to provide a voice for Aboriginal people. Now Gomeroi people are speaking out against the Narrabri Gas Project but the government doesn’t want to listen.“

According to Gomeroi Traditional Custodian and Narrabri Coordinator for Lock the Gate Karra Kinchela, “Gomeroi people are before the Native Title Tribunal right now arguing that Santos’ Narrabri Gas Project should not proceed because it would fuel dangerous climate change. Santos wants to damage our sacred Pilliga Forest just so it can build this polluting gasfield.

“Increasingly severe weather events like droughts, fires, and floods are already having a devastating impact on our land and waters – we can’t let Santos’ gas make it any worse.”

Gurridyula Gaba Wunggu, a Nagana Yarrbayn Cultural Custodian and Gadabama (representative) of Waddananggu, a Tribal Estate inside Wangan and Jagalingou Nation, said: “This is urgent. Adani’s Carmichael mine on our homelands is contaminating and drawing down the water in our sacred Doongmabulla springs. The springs are the final resting place of the Rainbow serpent Mundangarra and an ancient spring system that has been running since the dawn of time.

“We’re here in the belly of the beast of the Australian Government – Parliament House – to tell the politicians to do their job and save our sacred sites and the water for everybody.”

Regional Pacific Campaigner for 350.org, Jacynta Fa’amau, said, “The Pacific will not stop fighting. The Pacific will continue to prepare, and ensure our stories are heard, whether it is in these Parliament halls or on the frontlines of climate disasters. You will continue to hear our voices, our demands, until our future is safe and secure.”

According to President of Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action Jo Dodds, “Climate impacts are already taking an incredible toll on communities around Australia. Supporting and implementing the climate trigger is the most critical opportunity we have – right now – to slow and prevent fossil fuel emitting projects, and to keep communities safer from catastrophic fires and floods.”

The community representatives warn the government is facing backlash in marginal seats and communities impacted by fossil fuel extraction and climate disasters.

Recent polling in five Labor-held seats facing pressure from the Greens shows more than two-thirds of voters believe the federal government should be able to reject developments if the climate impacts will harm Australian wildlife.