7 May 2020 On top of countless human tragedies, there will be many long-lasting social and economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Perhaps none will be more profound, though, than the death of free-market fundamentalism and the return of the State. Why now? After all, there have long been moral, social, and environmental risks posed […]
7 May 2020 By now, we’re all familiar with the rationale that we’re undergoing these Covid-19 limits to our personal freedoms and employment in order to ‘flatten the curve’, thereby saving lives and avoiding overwhelming our health system. Present indications suggest that we have succeeded in avoiding the worst outcomes, and talk is now turning […]
Natasha Chassagne University of Tasmania Every aspect of our lives has been affected by the coronavirus. The global economy has slowed, people have retreated to their homes and thousands have died or become seriously ill. At this frightening stage of the crisis, it’s difficult to focus on anything else. But as the International Agency has […]
Michael Mazengarb Posted 10 March 2020 Federal Labor’s renewed commitment to a net zero emissions target has ignited a new front in climate wars that have plagued Australian politics for more than a decade – but it has shown that the Morrison government now stands alone in opposing progress towards the decarbonisation of the Australian […]
Tony Wood Posted 10 March 2020 Opposition leader Anthony Albanese sought to claim the climate policy high ground last week with his commitment to a net-zero emissions target by 2050. But figures on Australia’s emissions from the Department of the Environment and Energy help frame the political debate, and put the policies of both Labor […]
Reviewed by Augustine Doronila Posted 10 March 2020 Up to 700 million people could be obliged to leave their homelands during the next three decades because of increasing desertification in the landscapes where they live. In the opinion of many scientists, there is only one hope: to convince local farmers of ‘sustainable land management’. The […]
30 January 2020 It’s when prime minister Scott Morrison thinks he’s being really clever that he reveals the true level of his ignorance. Remember how pleased Morrison was with himself when he brought in that lump of coal to parliament, thoughtfully provided (and lacquered) by the principal coal lobby, whose top two executives now serve […]
Four years ago, in December 2015, every member of the United Nations met in Paris and agreed to hold global temperature increases to 2°C, and as close as possible to 1.5°C. The bad news is that, four years on, the best we can hope for is holding global increases to around 1.75°C. We can only […]
Will Steffen Australian National University Those who say “I told you so” are rarely welcomed, yet I am going to say it here. Australian scientists warned the country could face a climate change-driven bushfire crisis by 2020. It arrived on schedule. For several decades, the world’s scientific community has periodically assessed climate science, including the […]
6 February 2020. Pope Francis warned of the dangers of ‘catastrophic’ weather events, like savage fires resulting from climate change, in his 2015 document, Laudato Si’. He still refers to it constantly and gives copies to his visitors. It is the most authoritative of his writings, and has been widely acclaimed by experts in many […]
