Qld enshrines carbon cuts

Legislation – requiring Queensland to cut emissions by 30 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030, 75 per cent by 2035, and reach net zero by 2050 – was introduced by the Queensland government in February and backed by the opposition, and the Greens in a vote yesterday.

Climate change is being blamed for exacerbating the weather system that produced record rainfall in Dubai, which has caused flooding and turned airport runways into rivers. Experts say the extreme rainfall was likely to become much heavier and worse around the world as the climate continues to heat.

By the middle of the century, global emissions from plastic production could triple to account for one-fifth of the Earth’s remaining carbon budget, an analysis has found.

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Queensland passes legislation to enshrine greenhouse emissions targets in law
A target for Queensland to reach net zero by 2050 has passed with bipartisan support. The LNP however voted against legislating the state’s renewable energy targets of 50% by 2030, 70% by 2032 and 80% by 2035, although this passed anyway. The laws do not curtail Queensland’s vast coal export industry.

Speculation 'cloud seeding' caused Dubai record rainfall refuted by experts blaming climate change
Speculation has swirled on social media about whether "cloud seeding" was behind the record rainfall in Dubai which caused flooding and turned airport runways into rivers. The huge rainfall was instead likely due to a normal weather system that was exacerbated by climate change, experts say.

Plastic-production emissions could triple to one-fifth of Earth’s carbon budget – report
The new estimates from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory provide yet more evidence that the plastic industry is “undermining the world’s efforts to address climate change”, said Heather McTeer Toney, executive director of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Beyond Petrochemicals campaign, which helped fund the new report.

WA mining spreading misinformation about nature reforms, Senate hears
The head of a review into Australia’s national environmental laws has accused Western Australia’s mining industry and media of spreading “misinformation” about the Albanese government’s nature reforms.

Australia set for a new normal with a mild winter, uncertain snowfall
The Bureau of Meteorology’s climate manager Dr Karl Braganza said Australia was expecting “typical conditions” for the season - which also meant “a typical chance of extremes”. He said the benchmark for what is typical has changed, so it was likely to be warmer than the 1961–1990 median.