Tonga coated in ash from volcano, with communications cut off

Over the weekend a massive volcanic eruption in Tonga coated the country in ash, with tsunami waves swamping the island and communications cut off. Our thoughts are with the 80,000 people caught up in this catastrophic event.

In Australia, gas producers are crowing over current high prices, but the rise of cheaper, cleaner renewables is set to trip them up in the near future. Meanwhile, a new report from The Australia Institute finds that WA’s gassy behemoths like Woodside pay almost no royalties to the West Australian state, in payment for poisoning its oceans and wrecking the climate.

WA’s offshore gasfields pay almost no royalties and stoke carbon emissions, report finds
Australia Institute report finds state received only $430m of its revenue from industry that generated $27bn in exports last year

Pacific volcano: Ash-covered Tonga is like a moonscape say residents
A massive volcanic eruption in Tonga that triggered tsunami waves has smothered the Pacific islands in ash, cut power and severed communications.

Energy crisis lifts LNG giants, but future of gas ‘under pressure’
High gas prices and the rise of renewables will create difficult conditions for the fossil fuel

The sustainability roles that employers are paying big money for
Pressure from investors has motivated Australian employers to offer generous salary packages to professionals who can help them drastically cut their carbon emissions.

Disaster funding flows the wrong way in Australia: report
Almost all taxpayers’ money for natural disasters in Australia goes to the recovery phase, with only three per cent invested in preparation and mitigation, a new report reveals.

Chevron Is Hiring Journalists for Its ‘Newsroom’
The oil giant is looking for journalists to build a “newsroom” to greenwash its activities