UN report highlights rapid climate breakdown

Record levels of greenhouse gases have caused “planetary scale changes on land, in the ocean and in the atmosphere”, a UN agency says in a report that shows the past eight years were the hottest ever recorded on Earth.

​​Woodside, the largest Australian gas producer, is expecting a grilling from shareholders over its response to global warming next week despite agreeing to put its climate strategy up for a non-binding vote every three years from 2024.

A new policy will limit pollution from petrol and diesel vehicles in Australia, but there is debate on where the limit should be set. Greenpeace Australia Pacific say the government should “resist pressure from carmakers” to produce weak targets.

‘Off the charts’: UN report highlights rapid climate breakdown
Record levels of greenhouse gases have caused “planetary scale changes on land, in the ocean and in the atmosphere”, a UN agency says in a report that shows the past eight years were the hottest ever recorded on Earth. 

​​Woodside braces for rigorous questions as climate test looms
Woodside, the largest Australian gas producer, is expecting a grilling from shareholders over its response to global warming next week despite agreeing to put its climate strategy up for a non-binding vote every three years from 2024.

Woodside’s Meg O’Neill says energy users face “tremendous uncertainty” over future gas prices
Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill says Australian energy users continue to face “tremendous uncertainty” over future gas prices as the details behind the federal government’s controversial reasonable pricing rules are thrashed out between industry and government.

Labor to extend $12 gas price cap with exemptions
Labor wants to extend its controversial price cap on east coast gas producers but faces pressure to dilute its heavy-handed “reasonable pricing” rules, amid warnings of a deteriorating investment climate that will freeze new supply. The government will release its proposed mandatory code of conduct as early as Monday.

Woodside's stalled Browse LNG project still 'very attractive' -CEO
Woodside Energy Group Ltd's CEO played down concerns over the status of its long-delayed Browse liquefied natural gas (LNG) project on Friday after the company reported a decline in first-quarter sales revenue relative to the December quarter.

Australia’s motor vehicle ‘problem’: Why the fight for cleaner cars is about to get dirty
A new policy will limit pollution from petrol and diesel vehicles in Australia, but there is debate on where the limit should be set. Greenpeace Australia Pacific say the government should “resist pressure from carmakers” to produce weak targets.

Hybrid to hell: How Toyota went from green darling to activist target
As part of its lobbying for the electrification of Australian transport, Greenpeace Australia has launched a campaign directly attacking Toyota for what it says is the company’s deliberate undermining of climate policy.

Majority of Australians keen to switch from gas to electric to lower emissions, survey finds
The majority of Australians feel positive about switching off the gas and turning to cleaner energy options, with environmental reasons one of the biggest drivers. Of those who expected to buy a new car within 10 years, 25% said they expected it would be an electric car and another 40% expected it to be a hybrid car.

EPA plan would impose drastic cuts on power plant emissions by 2040
The Biden administration is preparing to unveil a proposal to require power plants to drastically reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions by 2040, another attempt to regulate one of the country’s biggest contributors to climate change after the Supreme Court struck down the first effort, according to three people familiar with the plans.

What this week's closure of Liddell power plant means for energy prices and blackouts in NSW
Liddell's closure has been a long time coming, with AGL announcing plans to wind up the plant in 2015. That's meant the energy network has had plenty of time to prepare for a smooth transition.

The Hunter Valley community behind the closure of Liddell Power Station
Almost everyone in the Upper Hunter Valley has a connection to the Liddell Power Station. After more than half a century of helping to power New South Wales and employment in the region, the coal-fired thermal generator will shut down for good this Friday.

Scientists save ancient Arctic ice in race to preserve climate history
Scientists have succeeded in saving samples of ancient Arctic ice for analysis in a race against time before it melts away due to climate change, they said this week. 

El Nino weather event becoming more likely for Australia in 2023
Australia could be set for an increasingly hot and dry few months with a major US federal government department declaring an 80 per cent chance of El Nino developing. El Nino is characterised by extremely hot temperatures that can increase the risk of catastrophic weather events.

Remember that record $443m of funding for the Great Barrier Reef? This is what happened to it
Five years on from the controversy and after pulling remaining money from the foundation, the federal Labor government continues to announce packages of funding, as a part of their $1.2 billion reef election promise.

Conservationists rubbish plan to build a windfarm near protected north Queensland rainforests
In the Atherton Tablelands township of Ravenshoe, conservationists and traditional owners are making a final bid to the federal environment minister to reject a new windfarm that would clear almost 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) of remnant native vegetation.