Climate Council

We should use Australia's environment laws to protect our 'living wonders' from new coal and gas projects

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, September 28, 2023

Federal laws made in 1999 to better protect the environment are failing.

Key Points: 
  • Federal laws made in 1999 to better protect the environment are failing.
  • These shortcomings have prompted a volunteer environment group to mount a legal challenge against federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek “to protect our living wonders from coal and gas”.
  • Read more:
    Times have changed: why the environment minister is being forced to reconsider climate-related impacts of pending fossil fuel approvals

Australia’s national environmental law

    • The primary objective of the EPBC Act is to:
      provide for the protection of the environment, especially those aspects of the environment that are matters of national environmental significance.
    • provide for the protection of the environment, especially those aspects of the environment that are matters of national environmental significance.
    • However, climate change is not considered directly in the EPBC Act as one of the factors affecting matters of national environmental significance.
    • According to the Climate Council report, since 1999, 740 new projects to extract coal, oil and gas have been approved or passed, with 555 of them not having undergone detailed environmental assessment.

Climate risks to Australia


    In 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the most recent comprehensive global assessment of climate change risks. The special fact sheet about climate impacts on natural and human systems in Australia and New Zealand provides a helpful summary of that assessment. It lists nine key risks in Australia associated with climate change. Of these, the top five risks for our living wonders are:
    That last one is particularly relevant to the EPBC Act.

A legal challenge is underway

    • Last week, the environment council challenged Plibersek’s rejection to reconsider two of the three coal mine expansion projects, both in New South Wales.
    • A decision from the judge on this case is pending and should be provided in the next few months.
    • A spokesperson for the minister has advised the media they would not comment “as this is a legal matter”.

Protecting our living wonders means fixing Australia’s environment law

    • We need a national environment law that genuinely protects our environment by stopping highly polluting projects and enabling ones that can help us rapidly switch to a clean economy instead.
    • Read more:
      Australia’s environment law doesn’t protect the environment – an alarming message from the recent duty-quashing climate case

Fear and Wonder podcast: the solutions needed to address climate change already exist

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, May 10, 2023

“The problem is getting worse,” explains Greg Nemet, a Canadian renewable policy expert and IPCC author.

Key Points: 
  • “The problem is getting worse,” explains Greg Nemet, a Canadian renewable policy expert and IPCC author.
  • In this week’s episode of our climate podcast Fear and Wonder, we speak to Greg about the pace of change in the solar industry and whether it can be replicated for other technologies.
  • Finally, we ask Greg and Yamina about carbon dioxide removal, one of the most controversial technologies assessed by the IPCC.
  • Fear and Wonder is sponsored by the Climate Council, an independent, evidence-based organisation working on climate science, impacts and solutions.

Fear and Wonder podcast: where to next on climate change? – Live bonus episode

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, May 3, 2023

“I’m often asked if I feel hopeful for the future,” says Lesley Hughes, climate scientist and former Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) author.

Key Points: 
  • “I’m often asked if I feel hopeful for the future,” says Lesley Hughes, climate scientist and former Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) author.
  • All three guests have been at the forefront of climate science in Australia for decades.
  • They trace how climate science went from a relatively peripheral topic to one of central importance to scientists and governments around the world.
  • Fear and Wonder is sponsored by the Climate Council, an independent, evidence-based organisation working on climate science, impacts and solutions.

Fear and Wonder podcast: how species are responding to climate change – and how humans can help

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Around half of all life on Earth is on the move because of climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Key Points: 
  • Around half of all life on Earth is on the move because of climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
  • This staggering statistic shows just one of the ways climate change is impacting species at both ends of the Earth.
  • In this week’s episode of The Conversation’s climate podcast Fear & Wonder, we travel from the Arctic to Tasmania to see how these changes are playing out.
  • Fear and Wonder is sponsored by the Climate Council, an independent, evidence-based organisation working on climate science, impacts and solutions.

Join us for the Fear & Wonder podcast live bonus episode

Retrieved on: 
Friday, April 21, 2023

Global temperatures are now 1.1℃ above pre-industrial levels, and they’re likely to reach 1.5℃ in the early 2030s.

Key Points: 
  • Global temperatures are now 1.1℃ above pre-industrial levels, and they’re likely to reach 1.5℃ in the early 2030s.
  • In this live bonus episode of Fear & Wonder, The Conversation’s new climate podcast, I’ll speak to three current or former IPCC authors to find out: Lesley Hughes, Frank Jotzo and Mark Howden.
  • Click here to access the Facebook Live stream
    This episode will be live-streamed on Facebook Live via the link above.
  • Catch up here:
    Read more: Introducing Fear and Wonder: The Conversation's new climate podcast
    Fear and Wonder is sponsored by the Climate Council, an independent, evidence-based organisation working on climate science, impacts and solutions.

Fear and Wonder podcast: how climate change is affecting rainfall, droughts and floods

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 20, 2023

That’s one of the key messages from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report on how climate change is impacting the Earth’s water cycle.

Key Points: 
  • That’s one of the key messages from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report on how climate change is impacting the Earth’s water cycle.
  • They explain how climate change is intensifying wet and dry extremes, and how human influences like air pollution and land degradation are impacting regional rainfall patterns.
  • As temperatures increase over land, water evaporates more readily which can cause drier conditions and lead to more severe droughts.
  • Fear and Wonder is sponsored by the Climate Council, an independent, evidence-based organisation working on climate science, impacts and solutions.

Fear and Wonder podcast: how scientists attribute extreme weather events to climate change

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, April 12, 2023

But when an extreme weather event hits, how certain can we be that it was made more likely by climate change?

Key Points: 
  • But when an extreme weather event hits, how certain can we be that it was made more likely by climate change?
  • In this episode, we’re delving into one of the major shifts in the public communication of climate change – the attribution of extreme weather events to climate change.
  • Although in the past we knew climate change was making extreme weather more likely, advances in climate modelling now allow scientists to pinpoint the influence of natural and human-caused factors on individual weather extremes.
  • Fear and Wonder is sponsored by the Climate Council, an independent, evidence-based organisation working on climate science, impacts and solutions.

Leading Players Prioritize ESG Investments In The Edtech Industry: Astra ESG Solutions

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Notably, the prevalence of online learning against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted industry leaders to achieve ESG goals.

Key Points: 
  • Notably, the prevalence of online learning against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted industry leaders to achieve ESG goals.
  • AI-based learning tools forayed into the mainstream education landscape, encouraging investors, venture capitalists and other stakeholders to prioritize ESG goals.
  • A host of global organizations expects their vendors to adopt ESG goals, while stakeholders are demanding that startups define and focus on ESG strategy.
  • Discover more regarding the practices and strategies being implemented by industry participants from the EdTech Industry ESG Thematic Report, 2023, published by Astra ESG Solutions
    Investors are bullish on the prospect of edtech providing an immersive learning experience to K-12 students (kindergarten to 12th grade).

Leading Players Prioritize ESG Investments In The Edtech Industry: Astra ESG Solutions

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Notably, the prevalence of online learning against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted industry leaders to achieve ESG goals.

Key Points: 
  • Notably, the prevalence of online learning against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted industry leaders to achieve ESG goals.
  • AI-based learning tools forayed into the mainstream education landscape, encouraging investors, venture capitalists and other stakeholders to prioritize ESG goals.
  • A host of global organizations expects their vendors to adopt ESG goals, while stakeholders are demanding that startups define and focus on ESG strategy.
  • Discover more regarding the practices and strategies being implemented by industry participants from the EdTech Industry ESG Thematic Report, 2023, published by Astra ESG Solutions
    Investors are bullish on the prospect of edtech providing an immersive learning experience to K-12 students (kindergarten to 12th grade).

Pioneering the First Mass Timber Carbon Removal Methodology

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, September 29, 2022

SEATTLE and ZURICH, Sept. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Timber Finance Initiative, Green Canopy NODE, South Pole and Gordian Knot Strategies are pleased to announce they have joined efforts in creating the first mass timber carbon credit methodology. They are developing a globally applicable carbon credit methodology for mass timber construction in Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) GHG crediting Program. Verra will serve as the independent standard-setter for the methodology.

Key Points: 
  • They are developing a globally applicable carbon credit methodology for mass timber construction in Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) GHG crediting Program.
  • A rigorous carbon methodology will help realize the climate value of stored carbon in mass timber construction and help scale mass timber as a negative emissions technology and low-emissions building material.
  • The successful introduction of a mass timber carbon methodology is key to help finance the shift to carbon storing, green buildings."
  • A rigorous carbon methodology will help realize the value of stored carbon in mass timber construction and further clear a pathway to scale mass timber as a climate-smart building material.