World close to ‘irreversible’ climate breakdown, warn major studies

Key UN reports published in the last two days warn urgent and collective action is needed. The climate crisis has reached a "really bleak moment" one of the world's leading climate scientists has said. Meanwhile, profits at the world’s biggest oil companies have soared to nearly £150bn so far this year as Russia’s war on Ukraine pushed up energy prices, according to estimates from analysts.

Global carbon emissions from energy will peak in 2025 thanks to massively increased government spending on clean fuels in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to an analysis by the world’s leading energy organisation. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that government spending on clean energy in response to the crisis would mark a “historic turning point” in the transition away from fossil fuels, in its annual report on global energy.

Plus organisers of a nationwide schools science roadshow say they have dropped gas company Santos as its main sponsor after a senior climate scientist said the fossil fuel funding was inappropriate.

Carbon emissions from energy to peak in 2025 in ‘historic turning point’, says IEA
Global carbon emissions from energy will peak in 2025 thanks to massively increased government spending on clean fuels in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to analysis by the world’s leading energy organisation. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that government spending on clean energy in response to the crisis would mark a “historic turning point” in the transition away from fossil fuels, in its annual report on global energy.

World close to ‘irreversible’ climate breakdown, warn major studies
The climate crisis has reached a “really bleak moment”, one of the world’s leading climate scientists has said, after a slew of major reports laid bare how close the planet is to catastrophe. Collective action is needed by the world’s nations more now than at any point since the second world war to avoid climate tipping points, Prof Johan Rockström said, but geopolitical tensions are at a high.

Australian schools science roadshow drops Santos as naming rights sponsor
Organisers of a nationwide schools science roadshow say they have dropped gas company Santos as its main sponsor after a senior climate scientist said the fossil fuel funding was inappropriate. The Science Schools Foundation, which runs the Santos Science Experience, told Guardian Australia its board had decided not to renew the gas company as its naming rights sponsor for next year.

Labor's first budget back in government will make income inequality worse, and the stage 3 tax cuts are mainly to blame
The financial benefits of the Albanese government's major tax and welfare policies will flow overwhelmingly to Australia's richest households, making income inequality worse.

Profits at world’s seven biggest oil firms soar to almost £150bn this year
Britain’s Shell and France’s TotalEnergies on Thursday reported profits for the first nine months of 2022 of $59bn (£51bn). US rivals Chevron and ExxonMobil are expected to report year-to-date earnings approaching $70bn on Friday, while 2022 profits at Britain’s BP could break the $20bn mark on Tuesday.

Shell paid zero windfall tax in UK despite record global profits
Shell has paid zero windfall tax in the UK despite making record global profits of nearly $30bn (£26bn) so far this year, prompting calls for the government to overhaul a scheme that was supposed to raise billions to tackle the cost of living crisis. The UK-headquartered oil company said it had not paid the levy and did not expect to throughout 2022, because its British corporate entity did not make any profits during the quarter, in part, because of heavy spending on drilling more oil in the North Sea.

Air pollution 'silent killer' in African cities: study
Pollution in Africa's fast-expanding cities is deadlier than thought, yet green solutions could save tens of thousands of lives and avert billions of dollars in damage, a report said Thursday.

Bar-tailed godwit flies 13,500km from Alaska to Tasmania, breaking the world record for non-stop bird flight
A five-month-old bar-tailed godwit smashed the record for long-distance migration following a non-stop, 11-day flight from Alaska to Tasmania. The 13,560-kilometre journey beat the previous record — also held by a godwit — by around 500 kilometres and was documented by researchers across the world.