Australia’s catastrophic, out-of-control wildfires constitute a stark, prophetic message from the future: a warning to the world about our fate on a planet that is growing hotter, faster than anyone predicted. And they aren’t unique to the Land Down Under. By end of the century, the fire-triggered thunderstorms could make vast swathes of the Earth uninhabitable. Paul Hockenos explains.
All posts tagged: Australia
We can be a carbon-neutral nation by 2050, if we just get on with it
Australia’s path to a carbon-neutral nation could be leveled by 2050. To achieve this, however, Australia has to take drastic actions in the area of reducing CO2 emissions. An analysis written by Anna Skarb and Anna Malos provide clarity.
Australia’s wind farms on track to deliver $10.5bn back to host communities
The shared economic benefits of wind farm development in Australia could deliver an estimated $10.5 billion back to regional communities, a new report has found. In addition, over 6,000 local jobs could be created. Sophie Vorrath takes a look.
Insurance industry must act on the coal sector
Stopping the growth of the coal sector makes more than just environmental sense. If a stable climate translates to fewer and less severe disasters, the financial argument for insurers is just as compelling. Dan Gocher argues that coal projects should be excluded from investments due to their contribution to climate change.
Australia under new pressure to get serious about climate in 2018
The planet is at a crossroads, and Australia can no longer afford to support coal as it has been doing – even building a new coal-fired station. Giles Parkinson takes an in-depth look at Australian energy policies.
Celebrating Clean Tech on Indigenous Peoples’ Day
With special knowledge of their regional environments, indigenous people are a substantial resource to build comprehensive solutions to climate change. So on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, instead of celebrating Columbus’ impact on 10,000-year old cultures, Carolyn Fortuna of Cleantechnica looked at ways that indigenous people are taking direct climate action.
Japan, Taiwan and Korea accelerate demise of thermal coal market
Word is out that Taiwan has attracted $60 billion in foreign capital commitments to renewable-energy projects, adding to the fast-gathering momentum around the electricity sector transition taking deep root across Asia. Tim Buckley takes a look at the impact on coal.
Top global banks still failing badly on climate change
The results are in, courtesy of the Fossil Fuel Finance Report Card, on how the world’s biggest private banks are tooling up (or not) to tackle climate change. While there are clear signs of improvement in many of the banks’ policy coverage, most notably on coal, overall the picture remains bleak and highly concerning. Yann Louvel and Greig Aitken dig into the numbers.
CSIRO says Australia can get to 100 per cent renewable energy
The Australian government’s chief scientific body says there is no apparent technical impediment to reaching 100 per cent renewables for the national electricity grid, and levels of up to 30 per cent renewable energy should be considered as just “trivial” in current energy systems. Giles Parkinson explains.
Marine energy – the renewable energy source of tomorrow (still)
A video made by HuffPost last year praises ocean energy. Today, Craig Morris takes a look at how the technology has progressed – and what is wrong about how that video portrays renewables that work.