Australia’s Renewable Energy Target looks likely to be weakened or even axed, with the Prime Minister saying the scheme needs to be reviewed because it is causing “pretty significant price pressure”. But…
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim warns investors not to ignore climate risks.
EPA/Chris Kleponis
If you haven’t heard about the growing campaign for fossil fuel divestment, and what it means for both your retirement funds and for the global economy, it’s time to pay attention - because now even the…
Dredging at Abbot Point will create three million cubic metres of spoil.
AAP
By the end of this week we will know whether the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority will allow dredge spoil from the Abbot Point port redevelopment to be dumped within the park’s boundaries. The…
Despite being the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, China is increasing its renewable sources of energy.
AAP/HOW HWEE YOUNG
John Mathews, Macquarie Graduate School of Management and Hao Tan, University of Newcastle
China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) has just released some remarkable data on the addition of new electric generating capacity in 2013. China’s electric power system has been growing at a tremendous…
The Queensland government is preparing the way for more coal ports, but there are indications coal production and profits are on the way down.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
If the Abbot Point expansion is approved by the Commonwealth Environment Minister next month, port dredging will go ahead. Private investment in coal ports and rail may no longer stack up, as BHP Billiton…
Burning coal is the one of the main sources of greenhouse gases, but mining expansion continues apace in Australia. Given the all-but unqualified support of federal and state governments for new mining…
In June 2013, author, activist and academic Bill McKibben is visiting Australia and New Zealand as part of the Do the Maths tour. He has been discussing the carbon bubble, fossil fuels, climate change…
McKibben has calculated that the world can emit 565 more gigatons of carbon dioxide and stay below 2°C of warming — anything more than that risks catastrophe for life on earth, he says.
http://maths.350.org/
US environmentalist and scholar, Bill McKibben, has crunched the numbers: we can emit 565 more gigatons of carbon dioxide worldwide if we want to stay below 2°C of warming, he says. However, the world…
Contrary to rumour, the future of Australia’s coal industry is looking pretty solid.
Joost J Bakker IJmuiden
Is coal in trouble in Australia? The Bureau of Resource and Energy Economics recently revealed A$150B-worth of mining and energy projects have been mothballed in the last 12 months. The media is reporting…
The lack of transparency for the economic modelling of the Galilee Coal Project means the public must rely on the word of Waratah Coal.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Clive Palmer’s Waratah Coal claims its Galilee Coal Project, which will create four underground mines, two open-cut mines, and 468 kilometres of railway line in central Queensland, will bring economic…
Will the Great Barrier Reef be declared ‘In Danger’? We’ll have to wait until next year to find out.
AAP Image/Catlin Seaview Survey
UNESCO, the body that lists world heritage areas, continues to express extreme disquiet about the state of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. But it has now postponed to February 2014 consideration…
After a year long public campaign, the Future Fund has today announced plans to end its $222 million investment in tobacco. The decision follows much debate about whether the Future Fund should engage…
Coal mining is crowding out industries that could bring more benefits to more Australians.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
Last week, Greenpeace released a report calling for a halt to Australia’s burgeoning coal exports and pointing to the catastrophic climate impacts they would cause. In response, Mitch Hooke, chief executive…
How will ASIC cope with the pressure it’s under to punish coal hoaxer Jonathan Moylan?
State Records NSW
Will anti-coal activist Jonathan Moylan receive justice if he is charged over his hoax? ASIC, which will formally interview Moylan next week, is under enormous pressure to “make an example” of the 24-year…
Governments don’t seem to take seriously the health effects of coal mining.
Ian Sanderson
Anti-coal protester Jonathan Moylan has said the main reason for his ANZ sharemarket hoax was his concern about the health impacts of coal mining at Maules Creek. He stressed the impact of the mine on…
Do you value this? The Energy White Paper doesn’t.
Green MPs
Burn it all. That is the plan in Australia’s new Energy White Paper. Released yesterday by Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson, it talks about responding to climate change while planning the…