A big spill in Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac could have devastating consequences. But does replacing the pipeline running beneath it make sense in a warming world?
The latest UN climate report makes it clear that the task of limiting climate change is urgent and huge. We must start to transform our economy today, but it will bring rewards as well as challenges.
The UN’s panel on climate change said that technologies to remove CO2 will be necessary to limit global temperature rise to only 1.5 degrees Celsius. But these techniques are largely unproven.
Limiting global warming to 1.5C is a tough challenge but still within reach, according to a landmark report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change commissioned after the 2015 Paris summit.
The world needs to be carbon-neutral by mid-century to give ourselves a chance of holding global warming to 1.5C. With around 1% of the global carbon budget, Australia needs to rapidly do its share.
The first IPCC conference on cities has highlighted the challenges of reconciling science, urban practices and politics. But it was an important recognition of cities’ leading role in climate action.
Climate change imperils food supply in many parts of the world, including South Africa, which has shown major gains in treating HIV/AIDS. Climate change could mean even less food – and more disease.
Negotiators face a daunting task at the COP22 climate talks in Marrakesh: Build on the momentum of Paris and resolve difficult questions over money for poor countries.
How will the world actually deliver on the Paris climate ambition to hold global warming to no more than 1.5°C? It’s a tough scientific and technical challenge.
The Paris climate summit was historic as a political achievement but it’s not clear how and when the hard problems of emission cuts and climate finance get tackled.
Chief Investigator for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes; Deputy Director for the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science; Deputy Director for the Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, Australian National University