NewsBite

Climate crisis

This Month

Coal miners halt climate fund donations citing lack of projects

Australia’s cashed-up coal miners have put the brakes on contributions to an industry decarbonisation fund and the decision will be reviewed “periodically”.

  • Peter Ker
COP29 isn’t looking likely to be a high-visibility climate summit.

Why no one is turning up to this year’s climate summit

COP29 is meant to land a $US1 trillion deal to fund poor nations’ fight against climate change. But political and business leaders are a widespread no-show.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
Trump has pledged to increase oil drilling, such as at Oil Search’s Alaskan site.

Pressure on other countries to lead on climate after Trump win

Experts say Trump’s election means countries will need to engage with US businesses and states to ensure the energy transition continues.

  • Hannah Wootton
A private jet in Dallas, Texas, earlier this year. There has been a surge in their use, with the US by far the most popular destination.

Private jet use jumps – and so do emissions (even to a climate summit)

A peer-reviewed study has found carbon emissions have risen almost 50 per cent in four years, and wealthy Australians are disproportionately represented.

  • Ayesha de Kretser
Martijn Wilder, Pollination’s chief executive. The firm has announced a new investment from Japanese bank Mizuho.

Japanese giant Mizuho takes $30m stake in green advisory firm

Australian-founded investment bank and consultancy Pollination focuses on financing the transition from fossil fuels and already counts ANZ as an investor.

  • Primrose Riordan
Advertisement

October

Spanish floods kill 95 as extreme weather keeps coming

Highway pile-ups and submerged farmland caused chaos in Valencia as a storm – mostly likely caused by climate change – dumped a year’s worth of rain in eight hours.

  • Andrei Khalip
A new report has warned of reduced average snow depth in Australian alpine regions over coming years

New climate findings bad news for Aussie snow bunnies

Years of high-quality, deep snow cover across Australian alpine regions are becoming rare.

  • Tom Rabe

Australians can expect more hot days, more often

Australians are in for longer, hotter heatwaves this century, and greater risk of dangerous fires.

  • Tom Rabe

Climate change is killing buildings in slow motion

It’s not just the brute impact of wind, flood and hail; there’s also the insidious, ongoing creep of damage to infrastructure that’s triggered by changing climates.

  • Patrick Sisson
After Bawley Point was ravaged by bushfires in 2019, residents were determined to become more energy resilient.

The microgrid delivering energy resilience to bushfire-prone community

Endeavour Energy has worked with government and residents to develop an $8 million battery scheme on the NSW south coast.

  • Gus McCubbing
Former investment banker Keith Tuffley on his four-month voyage through the north-west Arctic Passage.

This Aussie banker jacked it in for an Arctic journey like no other

Keith Tuffley, a former Goldman Sachs Australia boss, gave up an exec role at Citi in London to sail his schooner on a four-month voyage in the Arctic. But his adventure had a purpose, too.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
Hurricane Milton leaves a trail of destruction.

Hurricane-hit Florida reels from $148b damages bill

The US state has woken up to power outages, flooding and destruction, as Kamala Harris accused rival Donald Trump of trying to politicise the devastation.

  • Isabella Volmert and Darlene Superville
Daniel Delgado, top, is comforted by his son, right, as he mourns the loss of his wife, Monica Hernandez, who died at Impact Plastics during flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.

Insurers’ Hurricane Helene loss estimates leap to more than $20b

Private market insured loss estimates from Helene have climbed higher as insurers prepare for more devastation from Hurricane Milton.

  • Alexandre Rajbhandari
Peter Dutton says a Coalition government would “turbocharge” mining and gas projects.

Fortescue mulls whether to take $50m carbon free-kick

Andrew Forrest’s disdain for carbon offsets is clouding the company’s willingness to seize on a lucrative windfall under Australia’s new carbon credit scheme.

  • Peter Ker

Naive to think Labor should have delayed Voice vote

Readers’ letters on the failed Voice referendum; home loan serviceability buffers; NDIS claims; cloud seeding; and landlord tax reform.

Advertisement
Experimental nanomaterial is released during a demonstration cloud seeding flight over Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.

The storm chasers trying to save the world from drought

Everyone agrees the planet needs more water. So why is cloud-seeding so controversial?

  • Jeremy Miller

September

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will visit Sydney and Canberra in October.

King Charles to spotlight climate change during Australian visit

King Charles, who has undergone cancer treatment, and Queen Camilla will visit Sydney and Canberra in October.

  • Andrew Tillett
A Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan. The company has become the latest to start walking back commitments to diversity and inclusion, as part of a backlash from ESG initiatives in the US.

Wall Street’s ESG backlash does little to dent Australia’s enthusiasm

Analysis from Jarden shows ASX-listed groups increased their mentions of environmental, social and governance commitments in the last earnings season.

  • Joshua Peach and Joanne Tran
Matt Kean after being named the new chair of the Climate Change Authority.

Matt Kean unveils plan to achieve net zero by 2050

The Climate Change Authority’s landmark report downplayed the Coalition’s nuclear ambitions and said wind and solar generation needs to move faster to ensure Australia’s net zero ambitions are not derailed.

  • Ronald Mizen and Angela Macdonald-Smith

August

Tesla founder Elon Musk.

Musk, Abbott just the tip of the iceberg of climate inaction

Readers’ letters on ‘climate claptrap’; Greens pushing to own mines; the urgency of power grid modernisation; the sad end of Black Caviar; and international student numbers.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/climate-crisis-6g9x