There is a way for governments to find out the consensus on global issues such as climate change. But it involves painstaking, complex work, and an end to the adversarial clash of competing ideologies.
Australia needs a better guardrail to stop emissions increasing.
Erica Zabowski/Flickr
How realistic are expectations about Africa’s economic prospects? There are several reasons why we should be both optimistic and cautious about the continent’s future economic performance.
California has been inundated with stranded, hungry sea lion pups, a result of warm waters causing fish to move.
Michael Fiala/Reuters
The “warm blob” of remarkably warm water in the Pacific is changing weather patterns and impacting marine life, providing clues to how ecosystems may change in a warmer future.
Australia has committed to a long-term global average temperature increase to no more than two degrees Celsius – yet often envisions a future in which its is a major coal exporter.
EPA/FEDERICO GAMBARINI
When it comes to climate change and Australia’s economic future, different crystal balls can produce vastly different results.
Breaking the ice: while scientists increasingly understand why Antarctic sea ice is growing, it remains tricky to forecast.
Australian Antarctic Division
Five million shorebirds migrate between Australia and the northern hemisphere, threatened by habitat destruction, and rising seas. How can we protect this natural marvel?
Presidential debates around climate change will likely be a referendum on EPA proposals to lower carbon emissions from power plants.
powerplant via www shutterstock com
The American public appear to be of two minds on climate change in politics: supportive of policy action but unconvinced climate change is an urgent priority.
The drop in oil has not sparked the nadir of green energy.
David Clarke/flickr
Since 1993, satellites have been used as well as tidal gauges to monitor sea level. A new calibration of this satellite record now shows that the rise in sea level is gathering pace.
Nations need to focus on the global carbon budget, not on what their neighbours are doing.
Andriano/Shutterstock.com
Australia’s emissions target will inevitably be compared with other leading nations. But a fair target should be calculated not on a basis of comparison, but on the world’s shared 2-degree climate goal.
With sea levels rising, a managed retreat from the coastline is necessary.
EPA/Kim Ludbrook
In areas vulnerable to sea level rise and storm surges, developments are at increasing risk of inundation and permanent damage over coming years.
The cost of low emissions technology is falling faster than modelling five years ago expected, lowering the cost of reducing carbon emissions.
Bas/Flickr
Scientists and policy makers are struggling in some countries to gain the support that will lead to meaningful action on climate change. Could art be the answer?
Bjorn Lomborg seems to irritate the hell out of many environmentalists.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
An analysis of the world’s longest-running temperature record suggests that England is many times more likely to experience more record-breaking hot years like 2014 than it was a century ago.
The mountain rainforests of Australia’s Wet Tropics are extremely vulnerable to climate change.
kara brugman/Flickr