AEMO urges quicker shift to renewables amid coal failures and soaring fossil fuel costs

As the Albanese government’s climate bill continues to be debated in parliament this week, extreme weather events of the European summer are yet another reminder of why Australia must be a part of global efforts to reduce emissions and build stronger climate action.

Meanwhile, AEMO’s latest Quarterly Energy Dynamics report paints a bleak picture of the risks of relying on the fossil fuel industry, prone to outages, plant failures, soaring fuel costs, and bidding patterns that combined to push the price of electricity to unsustainable levels.

Plus, a recent study has shown the effect black carbon particles from burning fossil fuels is having on melting Arctic glaciers.

The Coalition’s refusal to engage on climate legislation abandons the sensible centre of Australian politics
The Coalition declared early its opposition to supporting legislated targets – in principle and at the 2030 level proposed by the government. By self-deselection it has effectively excluded itself from negotiations with the government and the possibility of making this a bipartisan bill… A missed opportunity for the Coalition to indicate clearly to voters, that it has heard their calls for more action on climate.

AEMO urgers quicker shift to renewables amid coal failures and soaring fossil fuel costs
The Australian Energy Market Operator has called for an accelerated shift to wind and solar, backed up by batteries and other storage, as a devastating combination of coal plant failures and soaring fossil fuel costs and bidding changes pushed electricity prices to unprecedented levels in the June quarter.

Nature’s deteriorating health is threatening the wellbeing of Australians, the State of the Environment report finds
For the first time, the new State of the Environment report explicitly assessed the dependency of humans on nature.

Melting glaciers show us how much climate change is impacting the environment, Dr Heïdi Sevestre says
A recent study has claimed that the North Barents Sea region in the Arctic is warming five to seven times faster than the rest of the world… About 40 per cent of the melting of the Arctic today can be attributed to deposits of black carbon.

Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel announces retirement, says 'these next years will determine our lives'
Vettel, who has become increasingly outspoken on a range of topics from the environment to LGBTQ+ rights, said Formula One was increasingly in conflict with his personal life.