2 August 2023, The Guardian: Australia is not being ‘singled out’ by Unesco’s in-danger recommendation for the Great Barrier Reef. Australia has the wealth, technology and resources to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Until this happens, it is not doing all it can to protect the reef. The latest update from Unesco on the Great Barrier Reef world heritage area has been widely misreported as a decision to not place the reef on the world heritage “in danger” list. In reality, Unesco has simply postponed the next consideration of an in-danger listing until the 2024 meeting of the world heritage committee. Unesco has acknowledged some recent improvements reported to them by the commonwealth and Queensland governments, such as a promised ban on gill nets as well as some additional investments in culling starfish and small-scale reef restoration. But buried deep within the diplomatic language of Unesco’s latest assessment is an acknowledgment of the slow speed of progress being made on meeting targets for reducing coastal pollution, and of Australia’s inadequate responses to the escalating impacts of climate change. Read more here
Category Archives: Australian Response
August 2023, Climate Council: POWDER KEG: AUSTRALIA PRIMED TO BURN. Australia has long been referred to as a land of “drought and flooding rains”, prone to bushfires as well as intense rainfall events. Periods of hot, dry, windy weather have regularly dried out … Continue reading →
18 July 2023, Climate Home News: Australia will update the ‘fantasy’ net zero plan it inherited. Australian climate and energy minister Chris Bowen has slammed his country’s official net zero plan – lodged by the previous Coalition government – as a “fantasy” as he announces plans to create sectoral decarbonisation plans. Bowen told the Australian Clean Energy Summit on Tuesday that he gad asked the Climate Change Authority to update Australia’s Net Zero 2050 plan and replace it with a new plan that lays out robust actions plans for the electricity, industry, building, transport, resources and land sectors. “As you know, Australia’s currently lodged 2050 plan is a fantasy, invented by the Morrison Government,” Bowen said. “It assumes future technologies will do the heavy lifting without any effort or investment to bring them about.” He said the new sector-by-sector decarbonisation plans would be crucial to laying out a pathway to net zero and to inform Australia’s 2035 emissions targets. But he rejected calls by the Greens – Australia’s green party – and numerous environmental groups to set a net zero target for 2035. Read more here
12 May 2023, The Gurdian. Albanese government approves first new coalmine since taking power. The Australian government has approved a new coalmine development for the first time since it was elected last year. Tanya Plibersek, the federal environment minister, indicated she would … Continue reading →