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Australia’s Liberal National govt will use tax-payer funds to promote new and existing coal mines

Coalition signals it will provide taxpayer support for new and existing coal plants. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/13/coalition-signals-it-will-provide-taxpayer-support-for-new-and-existing-coal-plants Katharine Murphy Political editor @murpharoo 13 Dec 2018

Morrison government specifies generation projects will need to be coal, gas, batteries or pumped hydro to be eligible for underwriting The Morrison government has sent a clear signal that it is prepared to provide taxpayer support for both new and existing coal plants, opening registrations of interest in its controversial new power generation underwriting program.

With the government accelerating to cover off major announcements before the Christmas break, the energy minister, Angus Taylor, will on Thursday use an event at a hydro power station in Tasmania to outline the terms of the new program and urge proponents to get their bids in over the summer break – before 23 January.

As well as finalising the criteria for the underwriting program, and calling for expressions of interest, the government is also expected to outline its response to the Ruddock review into religious freedom, and unveil its decision on Australian diplomatic facilities in Israel, before the end of the week.

Taylor will confirm on Thursday that the underwriting program – which has been criticised by business groupsand energy stakeholders – will potentially fund generation projects including new builds and brownfield projects, like upgrades or life extensions of existing coal generators.

Taxpayer support will be made available to projects through a range of financing options such as underwriting floor prices, underwriting cap prices, grants and loans – although the finalised program guidelines makes it clear that the amount of support available under each phase of the program, and the extent of taxpayer liability, will be capped.

The government has not published an upper limit on the size of eligible projects but the minimum eligible project size will be 30MW

The criteria makes it clear that the program is technology neutral but it also specifies that generation projects will need to be coal, gas, batteries or pumped hydro to be eligible for the government underwriting.

The document calling for expressions of interest does not supply any specific guidance on the emissions intensity of the projects. It says only that projects delivering an electricity product at a lower emissions intensity “will be deemed higher merit.”

It also makes clear the program will also be open to foreign investors in the event the proposal can clear Foreign Investment Review Board processes.

As to timing, the document suggests phase one is anticipated to commence in the first quarter of 2019 – which puts some of the decision making pre-election in the event the government goes to the polls in April.

Labor and the Greens are opposed to any taxpayer support for coal projects, and will continue efforts once parliament resumes next year to try and frustrate the Coalition’s program, potentially by attempting to amend the government’s “big stick” divestiture bill, which stalled in the final sitting week, to include a prohibition on power companies receiving commonwealth support.

As well as the underwriting, Taylor has also flagged the possible indemnification of projects from the future risk of a carbon price.

There is speculation around the energy sector that the government underwriting proposal could facilitate an extension of the Vales Point power station near Lake Macquarie in New South Wales. It is owned by Trevor St Baker, who was vocal during a stakeholder session last month convened to discuss the underwriting program.

Ahead of Thursday’s announcement, Taylor said: “This program will drive down electricity prices for householders by increasing competition and increasing supply in the market.”

He said the objective was to produce a pipeline of projects “that will allow us to bring targeted generation into the system in the right place at the right time”.

December 15, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, politics | Leave a comment

Scott Morrison and the Business Council are pushing coal – but on what evidence?

 Guardian, 14 Dec 18 Richard Denniss

Despite plummeting costs of renewables the government and the BCA insist that emissions reduction would be ‘economy wrecking’

Fresh from losing the economic fight about company tax cuts, the Coalition government is doubling down on an economic fight about renewable energy. And yet again, as they march into battle they have the Business Council of Australia as their key source of economic and political advice. What could go wrong?

The cost of renewable energy has fallen dramatically in the past 10 years and will continue to fall for years to come. By some accounts, new renewables with storage are already cheaper than coal fired power stations. Some argue that they aren’t quite there yet. But no one argues that in 30 years’ time a new coal-fired power station that has to buy coal will be able to compete with a solar farm that gets its sunshine for free.

Betting on the future cost of renewables is like catching a falling knife, but if there is one thing that unites the Coalition and the BCA it’s that they aren’t averse to self-inflicted wounds. At precisely the time when the costs of renewables and storage are plummeting and the world is meeting in Poland to discuss reductions in fossil fuel use, the Liberal government and the peak body for the biggest businesses in Australia are united in arguing that a 45% emissions reduction target by 2030 would be – in the words of BCA chief executive Jennifer Westacott – “economy wrecking”.

As with the failed campaign for company tax cuts, the nation’s prime minister is getting his talking points from the nation’s biggest lobbyists. In parliament last week Scott Morrison declared “a 45% target is economy wrecking”, adding to a scare-campaign designed to convince the Australian public that they have to choose between the environment they want for their kids and the jobs they want for them. It is sickening.

Not even the BCA’s own members believe the rhetoric of their peak body. Both Commonwealth Bank and Citi have renewable energy targets of 100% – Citi by 2020. Other BCA members like the CSIRO have put out a transition road map which includes 90% electricity generation from solar PV and wind by 2050 while maintaining reliability in the grid…………https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/13/scott-morrison-and-the-business-council-are-pushing-coal-but-on-what-evidence

December 15, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, politics | Leave a comment

Promoting coal at UN Climate Summit, did Patrick Suckling speak officially for Australia?

Climate Mobilisation Australia, 11 Dec 18, The Australian Ambassador for the Environment, Patrick Suckling, appeared on a panel for a US government side-event pushing clean coal technologies as climate solutions. The session on Monday 10 December was called: “U.S. Innovative Technologies Spur Economic Dynamism – Promoting innovative approaches”.

One must ask was Ambassador Suckling’s presence sanctioned at Ministerial level? His attendance on the panel is hardly good diplomacy for Australia, even given the Liberal Government support for coal and weak climate targets and climate policy.

After about 9 minutes the first speaker was disrupted and youth and civil society delegates unfurled a banner and made their own testimonies on the disruptive and dangerous nature of coal for health and climate.

They chanted “Keep it in the ground” and “Shame on you”, before leaving the session. After they left, there were very few people to listen to the myths being spouted of clean coal.

Watch the Facebook Livestream video of young delegates taking over the side event about 9 minutes in and making their own testimony on the fossil fuel industry.

The Australia Institute Director of Climate & Energy Program Richie Merzian was there to document the session in the tweets below.

“How could this be good for Australia? The Ambassador finding himself in the middle of the largest cultural battle at #COP24” remarks Richie Merzian……  https://www.facebook.com/groups/859848424161990/

December 13, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, politics | Leave a comment

Anger, protests as Australia supports US fossil fuels event at UN climate talks

 https://reneweconomy.com.au/anger-protests-as-australia-supports-us-fossil-fuels-event-at-un-climate-talks-17843/, E.A Crunden11 December 2018 , Think Progress

Protests and boos greeted a controversial U.S. side event promoting fossil fuels at the ongoing annual U.N. climate conference, COP24, on Monday morning in Poland. The event comes two days after the United States joined oil-rich nations in refusing to welcome a dire U.N. climate report released in October.

Trump administration officials and businesses leaders fleshed out U.S. support for an “energy mix” consisting of renewables and fossil fuels alike during Monday’s event.

Entitled “U.S. Innovative Technologies Spur Economic Dynamism,” the event offered a panel widely criticized by environmental advocates. The panel included Australia’s ambassador to the talks, Patrick Suckling.

While the annual U.N. climate conference held this year in Katowice is meant to address the world’s pressing climate crisis, the talks have largely been overshadowed by some nations’ show of support for fossil fuels, including the coal industry — which is dying in the United States.

That support ramped up on Monday during the U.S. panel, which presented fossil fuels as a critical component of the global economy while downplaying the environmental impact of such energy sources.

Trump administration officials speaking included Steve Winberg, assistant secretary at the department of energy, and Wells Griffith, senior director for energy at the National Security Council. Other panelists included Suckling from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs, along with speakers representing natural gas, fracking, and nuclear energy proponents.

Kicking off the event, Griffith heralded “America’s energy renaissance,” highlighting U.S. efforts in expanding fracking, natural gas, and crude oil exploration and extraction.

“If we are serious about eradicating poverty… it is clear that energy innovation and fossil fuels will continue to play a leading role,” said Griffith, as uproarious laughter broke out from the crowd, which consisted largely of activists and journalists.

Research, however, has consistently shown that climate change disproportionately impacts low-income communities across the world, including in the United States.

December 13, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming | Leave a comment

Australia silent, as New Zealand rules out using ‘Kyoto credits’ for Paris

New Zealand rules out using ‘Kyoto credits’ for Paris, Australia shtum, (shtum means silent, non-communicative), Brisbane Times ,By Peter Hannam, 11 December 2018 New Zealand’s Climate Change Minister James Shaw has ruled out his nation using carryover credits to count against its Paris climate target, saying such a move would make it challenging for the world to meet the important goal of reducing emissions.Australia silent

Mr Shaw made the comments to Australasian journalists in a conference call on Tuesday after meeting his Australian counterpart Melissa Price during the climate talks in Katowice, Poland.

As the Herald has reported, Ms Price and her environment department have refused to exclude use of any surplus credit generated during the soon-to-be concluded Kyoto Protocol against Australia’s Paris emissions pledges.

Federal Labor also said it won’t rule out the use of Kyoto credits until it has received advice………

Low ranking

Mr Shaw’s comments come as Australia was named 55th out of 60 nations on a Climate Change Performance Index compiled by Germanwatch, a non-government agency. Saudi Arabia and the US occupied the bottom rankings, while Sweden and Morocco topped the list.

Australia scored particularly poorly for its national climate policy and per capita greenhouse gas emissions – at more than 16 tonnes of CO2 a year – both ranked second-worst.

The Paris target – in which the Abbott government set at reducing 2005 levels of carbon pollution to 26 per cent by 2030 – was rated 12th among the 60 nations.

Tim Baxter, a researcher at Australian-German Climate and Energy College and Melbourne Law School, said it was likely Australia would try to get international backing to use Kyoto credits – and it might succeed………https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/climate-change/new-zealand-rules-out-using-kyoto-credits-for-paris-australia-shtum-20181211-p50llv.html

December 13, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, politics international | Leave a comment

Bushfire threat to vital koala habitat

Salamander Bay bushfire threatens homes, vital koala habitat in Port Stephens, ABC 11 Dec 18  An entire koala population in Port Stephens could be wiped out after a fire devastated their habitat near Port Stephens, an animal rescue group fears.

An estimated 16 hectares of the Mambo Wetlands, north of Newcastle, was scorched on Monday night, according to Port Stephens Koalas.

The reserve is about 40 per cent of the vital koala habitat.

The blaze broke out near the Salamander Bay shopping centre about 6:30pm and dozens of firefighters spent the night backburning to protect homes.

It burnt away more than 80 hectares of swampy scrub, which made access difficult for fire crews.

The fire flared up to a watch and act level at 3:00am, but weather conditions eased in the early hours and the blaze was brought under control.

Carers from the rescue group today surveyed the damage and fielded calls about stranded and injured wildlife.

Simone Aurino, senior carer at Port Stephens Koalas, said the reserve was one of the most important areas in the Tomaree Peninsula.

“It has a viable breeding population and its central to all the other habitats,” she said.

“It’s a really, really essential habitat.”

Ms Aurino said the blaze would lead to significant flow-on effects which may not be known for some time.

“It has the potential to wipe out the population in this area, it’s really quite devastating,” she said.

“The habitat’s been changed, so the animals are going to move…….https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-11/bushfire-threatens-vital-koala-habitat-in-port-stephens/10605160

December 13, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change - global warming, environment, Victoria | Leave a comment

Australia’s Liberal Coalition govt cosying up to coal megaminer Adani

Adani met with environment department 40 times in six months
Coalition ‘holding Adani’s hand’ through mine approvals, Greens senator says,
Guardian, Lisa Cox and Ben Smee, Tue 11 Dec 2018 
 The federal environment department had 40 meetings in six months with Adani representatives to discuss the Carmichael coalmine project, according to responses to a Senate estimates committee.The department met Adani executives in person at the company’s Brisbane offices, as well as conducting teleconferences, on matters including Adani’s groundwater management plans, the mine’s progress and proposals for the management of the threatened black-throated finch.

The environment minister, Melissa Price, and energy minister, Angus Taylor, met the company once each in Canberra. The meetings occurred between 7 May and 7 November this year and were tabled by the department in response to questions on notice from the Greens senator Larissa Waters.

Waters had asked at an estimates hearing in October if the department, minister or assistant minister had “met with Adani representatives or lobbyists in the past six months”.

She said on Tuesday the number of meetings suggested the department was “holding Adani’s hand through the approvals process”.

The number of meetings was evidence of the “cosy relationship” Adani had with the federal government, Waters said.

“The environment department is supposed to be a regulator and protector of our environment yet it’s holding Adani’s hand through the approvals process to get this mega coalmine off the ground.

“It shouldn’t be facilitating the development of a new dirty coalmine, it should be standing up for the best interests of our people and planet.”

The company announced late last month it would self-finance its controversial coalmine but it still requires approvals from state and federal governments for its groundwater-dependent ecosystem management plan and its management plan for the black-throated finch before significant work can start at the site.

The Queensland government is also under renewed pressure to rule out two potential subsidies to Adani.

The Mackay Conservation group released polling of marginal central Queensland electorates on Tuesday that showed 60% of people oppose any form of government subsidy. Only 22% supported subsidies, and 18% were unsure.

An Australia Institute report has found a potential royalties deferment deal would effectively be a low-interest loan to Adani, worth up to $385m.

The report also looked at $100m in road upgrades being considered by the Queensland government. It analysed approval plans for the Carmichael mine and found Adani’s vehicles “would be nearly all of the traffic on the road”.

Researcher Tom Swann, the author of the report, said: “The Queensland government has said repeatedly that it will not provide taxpayer funds to Adani, but Queenslanders are on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars because of these deals.”

The state government’s public statements on Adani have been sceptical in recent weeks since the announcement it would self-fund a slimmed down version of Carmichael.

The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said last month, “We will believe it when we see it”.

The royalties deal, which has not yet been signed, was premised as support for the “first mover” in a coal basin………. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/11/adani-met-with-environment-department-40-times-in-six-months

December 13, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, politics | Leave a comment

8th SNAICC National Conference- hosted by SNAICC – National Voice for our Children

2 – 5 September 2019, Adelaide Convention Centre

About the Conference

“The conference is hosted by SNAICC – National Voice for our Children. SNAICC is the national non-government peak body in Australia representing the interest of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

The conference is convened to assist with the achievement of the SNAICC vision: An Australian society in which our communities are empowered to determine their own future; where the rights of our children, young people and families are protected; where our cultural identity and achievements are valued; and our children and families have access to culturally appropriate services.

As the largest Conference of its type in the southern hemisphere the SNAICC Conference provides the opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, policy makers, researchers, government representatives, other non-government organisations and industry representatives to gather and make renewed commitments to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

The Conference provides a powerful and inspiring learning experience for attendees and features:

  • International and local keynote speakers
  • Over 70 concurrent sessions, yarning circles, panels and workshops
  • Displays, poster presentations, exhibitors
  • Cultural highlights and performances
  • Social events and opportunities to network and connect with peers

It is expected that the 2019 Conference will again attract a diverse audience of 1000 participants from all over the country. This will provide a dynamic networking and learning opportunity for attendees. SNAICC aims to develop a program and conference experience that is culturally rich, interactive and culturally safe.”

Strong Identity, Strong Culture and Strong Connection
Our Mob, Our Lore, Our Country – Our Way

Source: www.snaicc.org.au/conference/

December 13, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | aboriginal issues, AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL | Leave a comment

Australia’s ambassador for environment, Patrick Suckling ridiculed as he joins USA pro coal panel in Poland

The only non-American was Patrick Suckling, the ambassador for the environment in Australia’s coal-enthusiast government.
Protesters disrupt US panel’s fossil fuels pitch at climate talks, Official event praising coal, oil and gas met with laughter and chants of ‘shame on you’  Guardian,  Jonathan Watts in Katowice, Tue 11 Dec 2018

  A Trump administration presentation extolling the virtues of fossil fuels at the UN climate talks in Poland has been met with guffaws of laughter and chants of “Shame on you”.Monday’s protest came during a panel discussion by the official US delegation, which used its only public appearance to promote the “unapologetic utilisation” of coal, oil and gas. Although these industries are the main source of the carbon emissions that are causing global warming, the speakers boasted the US would expand production for the sake of global energy security and planned a new fleet of coal plants with technology it hoped to export to other countries.

The event featured prominent cheerleaders for fossil fuels and nuclear power, Continue reading →

December 11, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, politics international | Leave a comment

Australia quietly sabotages UN climate change message, in Poland

Australia’s silence during climate change debate shocks COP24 delegates, Guardian, Ben Doherty in Katowice, Poland @bendohertycorro, Mon 10 Dec 2018 

Country accused of tacitly supporting oil allies’ rejection of the latest science As four of the world’s largest oil and gas producers blocked UN climate talks from “welcoming” a key scientific report on global warming, Australia’s silence during a key debate is being viewed as tacit support for the four oil allies: the US, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait.

The end of the first week of the UN climate talks – known as COP24 – in Katowice, Poland, has been mired by protracted debate over whether the conference should “welcome” or “note” a key report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Negotiators spent two and a half hours trying to hammer out a compromise without success.

The apparently minor semantic debate has significant consequences, and the deadlock ensures the debate will spill into the second critical week of negotiations, with key government ministers set to arrive in Katowice.

Most of the world’s countries spoke out in fierce opposition to the oil allies’ position. The push to adopt the wording “welcome” was led by the Maldives, leader of the alliance of small island states, of which Australia’s Pacific island neighbours are members.

They were backed by a broad swathe of support, including from the EU, the bloc of 47 least developed countries, the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean, African, American and European nations, and Pacific countries such as the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu.

Australia did not speak during the at-times heated debate, a silence noted by many countries on the floor of the conference, Dr Bill Hare, the managing director of Climate Analytics and a lead author on previous IPCC reports, told Guardian Australia.

“Australia’s silence in the face of this attack yesterday shocked many countries and is widely seen as de facto support for the US, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait’s refusal to welcome the IPCC report,” Hare said.

Richie Merzian, climate and energy program director at the Australia Institute, said widespread goodwill across the Katowice talks was being undermined by “a handful of countries” trying to disconnect the science and urgency from the implementation of the Paris agreement.

“It is disappointing but not surprising that Australia kept its head down during the debate … by remaining silent and not putting a position forward, Australia has tacitly supported the US, Russia and Saudi Arabia’s rejection of the latest science on climate change.”

Merzian said Australia’s regional neighbours, including New Zealand and Pacific islands, had voiced strong support for the IPCC’s report, which was a key outcome of the Paris agreement.

“A number of delegates privately shared their frustration that countries like Australia stood on the sidelines while Trump’s, Putin’s and King Salman’s representatives laid waste to the fundamental climate science.”

Hare said the interests of the fossil fuel industry were seeking to thwart the conference’s drive towards larger emissions cuts.

“The fossil fuel interest – coal, oil and gas – campaign against the IPCC 1.5 report and science continues to play out in the climate talks, but even those countries [opposing welcoming the report] are being hit by the impacts of only one degree of warming.

“The big challenge now is for the Polish presidency to set aside its obsession with coal, get out of the way and allow full acknowledgement of the IPCC 1.5C report, and its implications for increasing the ambition of all countries, in the conclusion of COP24 later this week.”

Australia’s environment minister, Melissa Price, arrived in Katowice on Sunday, with negotiations set to resume Monday morning……..

Australia’s emissions, seasonally adjusted, increased 1.3% over the past quarter. Excluding emissions from land use, land use change and forestry (for which the calculations are controversial), they are at a record high. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/10/australias-silence-during-climate-change-debate-shocks-cop24-delegate

December 11, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, politics international | Leave a comment

Australia’s dirty tricks in Poland: getting away with no reduction in greenhouse emissions

‘Fake action’: Australia’s secret path to hitting Paris climate goals, Brisbane Times, By Peter Hannam,– 10 December 2018 Australia could use a little-known loophole to help meet up to half its Paris climate commitments in a move that analysts warn could undermine the global accord.

Neither Environment Minister Melissa Price nor Labor will rule out counting Australia’s expected credits from beating its 2020 goal under the soon-to-be-superseded Kyoto Protocol against its 2030 Paris pledge.

The analysts say such a move by Australia would encourage other nations to follow suit.

One ex-member of Australia’s negotiating team said the government had considered using the credits for some time even though it went against the spirit of the Paris accord signed in 2015. While not formally on the agenda at the current climate talks in Poland, the issue of Kyoto credits is expected to be discussed in coming days. Continue reading →

December 11, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, politics, politics international | 1 Comment

Health risks due to high salt content in water, in a drought town

Health expert warns residents are at risk from high sodium in water in drought-stricken NSW town of Walgett, ABC News, By Rachel Carbonell, National Regional Reporting Team, Jessie Davies and Danielle Bonica, 10 Dec 18,  Walgett has always been a river town, perched near the junction of the Barwon and the Namoi rivers.But with the drought biting hard, the water from those rivers isn’t making it to this northern New South Wales town.

With nothing to pump from the local weir, Walgett is the latest town forced to go underground for water, a move that health experts say could have potentially serious health implications.

Many locals are worried the emergency supply of bore water is damaging their health.

Dharriwaa Elder, Thomas Morgan, said the water was no good for drinking.

“Too much salt in it,” he said. “The kids, my grandkids, they’re starting to spit it out, they don’t like it.” Continue reading →

December 11, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change - global warming, New South Wales | Leave a comment

Climate change now brings bushfires to Australia’s Northern rainforests

‘Like opening a fan oven’: Australia’s rainforest threatened by bushfires, Guardian, Lisa Cox, 9 Dec 18

As the weather gets hotter and drier, and cyclones increase, those living in Australia’s north will need to adapt to the fire danger……..

This year, early summer heat broke all-time records for Queensland. In Cairns, the tropical port city in the state’s far north, 1,600km (1,000 miles) north of Brisbane, the previous highest temperature in November was 37.2C, set in 1900. On Monday 26 November, the mercury hit 42.6C.

Bushfires are common in Australia but they mostly flare in the south-eastern states of New South Wales and Victoria, where summers can be hot and dry.

But Queensland, much of which is located in the tropics, joins other parts of the globe, such as California and Greece, where unusually hot and dry conditions have fuelled catastrophic fires which are forcing a rethink of what such regions can expect in the future.

But climate change is not only bringing searing heat. Two cyclones in asmany years, including the destructive tropical cyclone Debbie in 2017, have left the region’s tropical rainforest exposed and unable to act as a natural firebreak.

Typically, rainforest should be able to self-protect during fire, with closed canopies that allow little sunlight to the forest floor and that keep the vegetation moist. But the cyclones have shredded the canopies, leaving an excess of fuel from debris on the ground, and a lack of rain meant the forest was dry.

Since 22 November, more than 1m hectares has been burnt across Queensland, much of which lies in the tropics. Since the beginning of its bushfire season in August, more than 3.6m hectares have been destroyed.

The most recent fires occurred on a magnitude never before seen in the state. Over a period of 12 days, the Queensland fire and emergency service said it had attended more than 1,200 fires, with help from crews from every state and territory in Australia.

Andrew Piccone, a nature campaigner with the Australian Conservation Foundation, who did his studies in rainforest ecology, said that Australia would have to consider the future impact of warming conditions on a range of plant, animal and insect species in the wet tropics.

“If catastrophic fire conditions are going to burn the rainforest in Queensland, what that means for the future of the wet tropics world heritage area could be quite concerning,” he said………

Philip Stewart, a fire ecologist with Queensland University’s school of earth and environmental sciences, agrees. He said governments and communities would need to become more proactive in fighting fires and that current processes were too reactive.

“We do need to look at firefighting in a different light,” Stewart said. “We are a fire-prone country and more people are moving into fire-prone areas. We need to have an understanding of the danger of that and look at fighting fire with fire.

He pointed to traditional burning used by Indigenous communities as a model, where prescribed burning occurs on a larger scale than hazard-reduction burns, which focus on reducing fuel in specific areas.

Stewart said areas of rainforest impacted could take decades or even centuries to recover, adding that the next possible threat to those areas was mudslides as the wet season sets in.

“High-intensity fire tends to create a layer within the soil that is hydrophobic and therefore water repellent causing mass soil erosion,” he said.

“We are seeing this very phenomenon in the USA at Malibu where mass soil movement has taken place due to the heavy rains that followed the high-intensity and severe fires there.” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/dec/09/australias-rainforest-under-threat-as-bushfires-rage-in-the-tropics

December 10, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change - global warming, Queensland | 2 Comments

Electric cars, and the hazards of rare earths used in them

The electric-car revolution is here, but is that a good thing for the environment? ABC ,  By environment reporter Nick Kilvert for Life Matters 8 Dec18 “……..Rare earth metals like neodymium are often used in the batteries and magnets of electric cars, but there’s a catch, according to geologist Carl Spandler from JCU.

“There’s an association with rare earth ores with uranium and thorium, and they’re radioactive,” Associate Professor Spandler said.

Rare earth deposits are often found alongside uranium and thorium, meaning when you mine one, you get both.

In 2011, Mitsubishi spent $100 million on a quiet clean-up of a rare earth plant run by subsidiary company Mitsubishi Chemical near the villages of Ipoh and Papan in Malaysia.

From the time the plant opened in 1982, locals complained of eye-watering smoke and foul odour, and as time went on, villagers say they saw increased birth defects and leukemia.

Mitsubishi eventually removed more than 11,000 truckloads of radioactive material from the site, contaminated with thorium.

Despite the name, rare earths actually aren’t very rare at all, and there are significant deposits in Australia.

Australian company Lynas mines rare earths at its Mount Weld site in south-eastern Western Australia.

But the ore is shipped to Malaysia for processing where locals, whose limited experience with the rare-earth metals industry hasn’t been good, are in staunch opposition.

This week, Malaysia set new conditions on the Lynas plant, including that they must remove all radioactive by-products produced at the refinery, from Malaysia.

Some mining in China also has a poor environmental and social track record, according to Dr Spandler.

“They had small-scale operators just strip mining, but they’ve cut down on that quite a bit now because it was really doing a lot of damage to the environment.”

But despite the risks, radioactivity in rare earths is probably not such a big issue for Australian mines like Lynas, according to Dr Spandler.

“The mining companies are very well aware of [the radioactivity issues]. They’re obviously under strict regulations that they’ve got to control the radioactivity of their waste material and have a proper plan in place for how they deal with that waste,” he said.

“All of the [Australian] projects that are in the pipeline or up and coming now, they have fairly low levels of uranium and thorium, so they’re fairly manageable.”……  https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-12-08/electric-cars-revolution-environment/10589270

December 10, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, rare earths | Leave a comment

Northern Territory – legal case over climate change

Maryfield Station’s land-clearing permit becomes first in NT to face legal challenge over climate change, ABC News, 8 Dec 18 

By Jaqueline Breen Potential greenhouse gas emissions from the Northern Territory’s largest-ever land-clearing project were not weighed because their impact on global warming could not be measured, the head of an environmental watchdog says.

Key points:

  • A permit was approved in 2017 to clear more than 20,000 hectares of native vegetation at Maryfield Station
  • The EPA did not request an environmental impact assessment before awarding the permit
  • This decision is facing a legal challenge over potential climate change impacts

Paul Vogel gave evidence this week in a landmark challenge brought against the EPA’s decision to not require an environmental impact assessment of a proposal to clear 20,000 hectares at the Maryfield cattle station south of Darwin.

The case is considered to be the first in the Northern Territory to challenge the approval of land clearing on the basis of climate change impacts.

Lawyers for the Environmental Defenders Office NT argued the authority was wrong in regarding itself unable to consider the impact of the clearing’s emissions because the Northern Territory had no climate policy and because the emissions would not have a nationally significant environmental impact.

The Supreme Court heard that estimates of the likely emissions were not provided to EPA members in the briefing papers prepared for them, despite officers from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources calculating an estimate of 2.3 megatonnes or 18.5 per cent of the NT’s total annual emissions for 2015.

Dr Vogel said while the EPA seeks to ensure that proponents keep emissions as low as possible, the impact of activities from individual projects on climate change is not measurable………..

Proposal raised ‘flashing red’ concerns: EPA member

The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) lawyers also argued the authority’s decision was invalid because the EPA had not followed its own meeting procedures nor voted on the final decision.

Emails discussed in court between the EPA decision-makers, who mostly live outside the Territory, revealed concerns raised by a number of members.

“For many projects with a much smaller area involved we have required extensive flora and fauna surveys.”

Mr Wallis said the land-clearing proposal should be exposed to public scrutiny through an assessment process.

Another EPA member suggested the authority clear the project for approval only on the basis that it ensure recommended conditions were met.

Recommendations were made but some of the conditions were then rejected by the Pastoral Land Board, which ultimately approved the clearing.

The matter will return to court later in December.  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-08/nt-land-clearing-climate-change-legal-stoush-supreme-court/10590808

December 10, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change - global warming, legal, Northern Territory | Leave a comment

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PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government

No Nuclear Weapons in Australia

Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/235274195556

19 May – Webinar- Webinar: No Nuclear Weapons in Australia

Start: 2026-05-19 18:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)

End: 2026-05-19 19:30:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)

20 May – Webinar – The dangerous world of AUKUS, US, military occupation and suppression of dissent

National Webinar, 20th May, 2026, 6.30pm AEST. Confronting laws restricting/suppressing protest speech and action

Speakers: Former Sen. Rex Patrick, Lawyer Nick Hanna ,Arthur Rorris ,Jorgen Doyle, Sen David Shoebbridge,

Facilitator Kelley Tranter.

of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)

​To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity

– go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com/

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