A Canopy announcement and today's climate news

Some news from The Canopy team at Greenpeace Australia Pacific:

It’s not goodbye, it’s see you soon! This is the final edition of The Canopy, as we sign off from our daily newsletter. It has been a joy and an honour to bring you the biggest environmental news stories from across Australia and the Pacific over the years, but it’s time we wrap up as we sail towards new horizons.

Stay tuned! We have something very exciting in the pipeline, and we look forward to sharing our new project with you in the coming months. In the meantime, make sure you follow us on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn. You can visit our website at any time for our latest news and updates. 

In the words of the great, late Douglas Adams, so long, and thanks for all the fish! And from all of us here at The Canopy, thank you for sharing your mornings with us. 

One last time before we dim the lights, here are today’s top news stories:

UN warns of ‘climate abyss’ as scientists predict 2.5C this century

Hundreds of the world’s leading climate scientists expect global temperatures to rise to at least 2.5C above pre-industrial levels this century, blasting past internationally agreed targets and causing catastrophic consequences for humanity and the planet, an exclusive Guardian survey has revealed. It has prompted the UN to warn the world is on the verge of a ‘climate abyss’.

The Albanese government has announced it will lock in new fossil gas for decades to come with its ‘Future Gas Strategy’, which doubles down on drilling and exportation of dirty new gas into 2050 and beyond. Greenpeace Australia Pacific has called out the strategy as a betrayal to Australia and the Pacific. The strategy will support new gas projects such as Woodside’s $16.5 billion Scarborough.

And a story that sounds like satire but is certainly no joke, cattle producers will draft their own definition of deforestation in an attempt to ensure continued access into the European Union ahead of beefed up laws. Greenpeace Australia Pacific likened it to a ‘fox guarding the henhouse’.

Top stories:

World’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target
An exclusive Guardian survey of hundreds of the world’s top scientists has revealed the planet is headed for at least 2.5C of heating with disastrous results for humanity. It comes as the largest ever recorded leap in the amount of carbon dioxide laden in the world’s atmosphere has just occurred.

Australia backs gas beyond 2050 despite climate fears
The announcement comes despite global calls to phase out fossil fuels, with experts stressing the need for huge declines in gas use to reach climate targets.

Cattle group at loggerheads with EU on deforestation
The EU will bring in new legislation in January that bans goods that have come from deforested areas.

ANZ hardens policy against bankrolling oil and gas projects
ANZ has hardened its stance against funding new oil and gas projects, joining other major banks in aligning lending with the Paris commitment to limiting global temperature increases to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius.

Controversial carbon capture and storage project opposed by Gina Rinehart causes high-level Coalition split
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley has hit back at a colleague's claim that she made the wrong call about a controversial carbon project in government, exposing a split at the highest levels of the Coalition. 

Around Tasmania trees are dying. Researchers are trying to work out what it might mean for the future of forests
Huge patches of forest in Tasmania have rapidly turned brown over recent months, with many trees dying after a dry summer. As climate change causes hotter and drier weather, can we expect more tree deaths in the future? 

'Really exciting': Orca calf spotted near Ningaloo Reef for first time in years
Having waited years for a new calf at Ningaloo Reef, researchers say the sight of a new baby killer whale is especially good news after several calves were lost on WA's northern coast.

Op Ed: I weep for the corals, but what I saw on the Great Barrier Reef gives me hope
Earth’s greatest living structure is dying. But the humanity of reef scientists is as beautiful as any coral I’ve ever seen, writes Kerrie Foxwell-Norton.