Traditional owner challenges Woodside's seismic testing

A Federal Court judge is expected to decide this week on a traditional owner's challenge to Woodside Energy's plan to begin seismic blasting off northern Western Australia as part of its Scarborough Gas Project. Traditional custodian Raelene Cooper filed for a judicial review in August of the regulator's decision to approve Woodside's blasting plan. On September 14 Justice Craig Colvin granted an urgent interlocutory injunction preventing Woodside from starting blasting until September 28.

Sea ice that packs the ocean around Antarctica hit record-low levels this winter, according to the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), adding to scientists' fears that the impact of climate change at the southern pole is ramping up.

Fears are growing that Australia will continue to be a dumping ground for dirty and inefficient vehicles, as the federal government designs laws to limit the carbon emissions of new cars sold. Australia is one of the only industrialised markets that doesn't have these sorts of standards.

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Traditional owner challenges Woodside's seismic testing
A Federal Court judge is expected to decide this week on a traditional owner's challenge to Woodside Energy's plan to begin seismic blasting off northern Western Australia as part of its Scarborough Gas Project. Traditional custodian Raelene Cooper filed for a judicial review in August of the regulator's decision to approve Woodside's blasting plan, arguing the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) made a legal error. Alternatively, Ms Cooper argues Woodside did not meet a condition of NOPSEMA's approval - that she be properly consulted. On September 14 Justice Craig Colvin granted an urgent interlocutory injunction preventing Woodside from starting blasting until September 28.

Antarctic winter sea ice hits record low, sparking climate worries from scientists
Sea ice that packs the ocean around Antarctica hit record-low levels this winter, according to the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), adding to scientists' fears that the impact of climate change at the southern pole is ramping up. Researchers warn the shift can have dire consequences for animals such as penguins which breed and rear their young on the sea ice, while also hastening global warming by reducing how much sunlight is reflected by white ice back into space. Antarctic sea ice extent peaked this year on September 10, when it covered 16.96 million square kilometres, the lowest winter maximum since satellite records began in 1979, the NSIDC said on Monday. 

Major car brands accused of trying to write 'loopholes' into Australia's looming fuel efficiency laws
Fears are growing that Australia will continue to be a dumping ground for dirty and inefficient vehicles, as the federal government designs laws to limit the carbon emissions of new cars sold. Australia is one of the only industrialised markets that doesn't have these sorts of standards already, even though they were first flagged here about 15 years ago. The federal government has been meeting with environmental groups through to car manufacturers about what its final policy should look like. The Australian government's recent public consultation on the looming standards received about 2,700 submissions. "We're focusing on getting the design of the fuel efficiency standards right," the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen recently told the ABC's Q+A program. "And that is a complicated exercise."

The Philippines is the most dangerous country in Asia to defend the environment, Global Witness report says
11 land and environmental activists were killed in the Philippines last year, according to a recent report by international NGO Global Witness. For the 10th consecutive year, the report has ranked the Philippines the most dangerous country in Asia to be a land or environment defender. The country is the fifth-most dangerous globally this year, and third for cumulative killings in the past decade, with 281 environmental and land activists killed or disappeared between 2012 and 2022. Many of these deaths were caused by police, military, and other state forces, while private security forces also posed a threat, according to the report.

Extinction Rebellion protester pleads guilty over abseiling stunt that caused traffic chaos in Adelaide's CBD
An Extinction Rebellion protester who abseiled from a bridge causing traffic chaos in Adelaide's CBD has pleaded guilty to obstruction of a public space. Meme Caroline Thorne was arrested in May during a protest outside the Adelaide Convention Centre, where a gas and oil conference was being held by the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA). Appearing in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday, Thorne pleaded guilty to one charge of obstructing a public space, while police dropped two other related allegations.

RuralDrought preparations start early as regions given tailored plans to manage El Niño impacts
As farmers around Australia brace for another El Niño, communities are starting drought preparations early to avoid the pitfalls of the past. At a national drought forum in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia's agricultural leaders are working on plans to help regions cope with a return to dry conditions. Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said the government would focus on droughts in regard to climate change.

Supreme Court orders VicForests to halt salvage logging in Wombat State Forest coupe
A Supreme Court justice has ordered VicForests to temporarily halt the harvesting of fallen trees at a site in Victoria's west, after a community group alleged it had not surveyed for threatened species. Wombat Forestcare began court proceedings last week seeking an injunction for the site in Wombat State Forest, alleging VicForests had not checked the area for species of owls, quolls and reptiles. She said Wombat Forestcare had established "serious questions to be tried" that planned timber harvesting in the coupe would not comply with VicForests' code, in relation to surveying for endangered mountain skink and three species of forest owls. 

Snubbed by Solomon and Vanuatu, Biden renews pledges to Pacific islands
US President Joe Biden has met Pacific island leaders for a second White House summit in just over a year, as part of a charm offensive aimed at curbing inroads by China into a region Washington considers strategically crucial. Before welcoming the island leaders, gathered under the umbrella of the 18-nation Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), Biden announced US diplomatic recognition of two more island nations, the Cook Islands and Niue. He pledged to work with the US Congress to provide $US200 million ($311 million) more in funding for projects in the region aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, spurring economic growth, countering illegal fishing and improving public health.

Record growth in solar, EVs leaves open ‘narrow path’ to net zero
Record growth in solar energy and electric car sales since 2021 has left open a narrow path in the energy sector to net zero emissions, the International Energy Agency has found, but a tripling of renewable capacity is needed in the coming decade to remain on track. Should the world achieve the goal, fossil fuel demand would be driven down by 25 per cent by 2030, lowering emissions by 35 per cent, compared with the all-time high recorded in 2022. By 2050, fossil fuel demand would fall by 80 per cent.