Commercial landlords to cut gas out of buildings by 2040

For decades, "natural gas" has sold itself to families as the fastest, most-efficient way to cook. But now there's a battle for your kitchen stove, and a push to get you to embrace electric for your health and for the planet. A coalition of chefs, doctors, climate scientists and real estate developers have joined forces to push back against the gas industry's marketing, with the aim of removing gas from kitchens worldwide. And that coalition thinks that if they can rid kitchens of gas, they'll rid homes of the fossil fuel altogether. The Global Cooksafe Coalition is being launched in Sydney today and announcing partnerships with developers, Lendlease and GPT, who have agreed to stop putting any gas in new buildings by 2030 and to retrofit existing buildings by 2040.

A study commissioned by the Australian Conversation Foundation, states that more than 6800 square kilometers of land in Queensland, was cleared in 2018/19. About 4212sq km likely to be threatened species habitat was cleared for pasture. "Almost all (96 percent) of the MNES habitats destroyed, were destroyed for livestock pasture expansion on thousands of properties without evidence of any referrals or approvals." More than one-fifth of the cleared land was likely to be koala habitat, the report said, triple the amount of approved koala habitat destruction in the decade to 2021.

Anthony Albanese has accused Peter Dutton of “dog-whistling” and boosting the re-election chances of teal independents and Greens over Liberals after the opposition leader attacked Labor for supporting a 'Loss & Damage' fund to help the developing world recover from climate catastrophes.

The battle for your kitchen: Why a new coalition wants you to stop cooking with gas
A coalition of chefs, doctors, climate scientists and real estate developers have joined forces to push back against the gas industry's marketing, with the aim of removing gas from kitchens worldwide. The Global Cooksafe Coalition is being launched in Sydney today and announcing partnerships with commercial landlords Lendlease and The GPT Group, who have agreed to stop putting any gas in new buildings by 2030 and to retrofit existing buildings by 2040.

Habitat destruction lacks oversight in Qld
The Queensland pastoral industry has destroyed vast areas of threatened-species habitat protected under federal law without consequence, a report says. More than 6800 square kilometers of land, an area larger than the Sultanate of Brunei, was cleared in 2018/19, according to the latest state government data. About 4212sq km likely to be threatened species habitat, known as matters of national environmental significance (MNES) habitat, was cleared for pasture, according to a study commissioned by the Australian Conservation Foundation. Under federal law, it is illegal to clear MNES habitat without referring it to the environment department for approval. More than one-fifth of the cleared land was likely to be koala habitat, the report said, triple the amount of approved koala habitat destruction in the decade to 2021.

Anthony Albanese accuses Peter Dutton of ‘dog-whistling’ after an attack on Cop27 climate damage fund
Anthony Albanese has accused Peter Dutton of “dog-whistling” and boosting the re-election chances of teal independents and Greens over Liberals after the opposition leader attacked Labor for supporting a fund to help the developing world recover from climate catastrophes.

How electric vehicles will change cities
Underground charging stations for electric cars, more public parks on top of them and libraries, restaurants and vegetable patches populating what used to be petrol stations. This is the reimagined future for Australia according to a design initiative posed by Mini and answered by six architectural groups and RMIT design students.

Dead dolphins spotted near WA oil slick not our fault, Santos claims
A claim by gas producer Santos that three dead dolphins floating belly-up near oil it spilled off the West Australian coast died of something else has been dismissed as “brave or foolish” by a dolphin expert. In March, about 25,000 litres of oil leaked from a hose Santos used to load a tanker moored off its Varanus Island gas processing facility, 75 kilometres from the Pilbara coast.

Only 239 Qld drivers take advantage of $3000 EV rebate
Only 239 Queenslanders have so far benefited from a Palaszczuk government electric vehicle rebate scheme that was meant to help up to 15,000 people buy new zero-emission vehicles. The $3000 rebate is only available for EV purchases up to $58,000 – but now the Transport Department has indicated the cap could be lifted amid increasing EV prices.

Several challenges to reducing emissions
The logistics sector could make rapid emissions reductions with more supportive government policies, transport sector players say. Transport makes up about 17 percent of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions and freight accounts for about 20 percent of that, mostly road freight. “With the right policy settings, we could start reducing emissions in transport today,” says Samuel Marks, senior adviser, infrastructure and sustainability at the Logistics Council. There are immediate emissions reduction gains to be made in replacing smaller last-mile urban delivery trucks with electric vehicles, he says.

Alarming pollution findings at Australia's largest gold mine threaten expansion plans
Australia's largest gold mine could be spewing alarming quantities of potentially-toxic pollutants into the Orange skyline. That's the verdict of a recent independent air quality audit at Cadia Valley Operations.