This white paper examines the current challenges for clean energy infrastructure and identifies solutions that industrial clusters, transport and logistics industries, and the wider clean energy value chain can jointly explore in order to accelerate its deployment. Thirteen new industrial clusters from Australia, Brazil, Colombia, India, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, …
Plastic waste can promote microbial colonization by pathogens implicated in outbreaks of disease in the ocean. We assessed the influence of plastic waste on disease risk in 124,000 reef-building corals from 159 reefs in the Asia-Pacific region. The likelihood of disease increases from 4% to 89% when corals are in …
Malcolm Turnbull has announced a $60m rescue package for the Great Barrier Reef which includes research on developing “resilient” coral, and paying farmers to pollute less. The package, to be spent over 18 months, will also include an increased number of reef officers and vessels targeting crown of thorns starfish …
Firefighters are continuing to battle a blaze that has burnt more than 2000 hectares of bushland in the Royal National Park south of Sydney since Saturday. An increase in wind on Monday afternoon has produced a significant amount of smoke, mainly over parts of south-west Sydney, the Illawarra and the …
Warming temperatures are turning one of the world's largest sea turtle populations in Australia's Great Barrier Reef almost entirely female, running the risk that the colony may not sustain itself in coming decades, a study has found. Sand temperatures determine the sex of turtle hatchlings, with warmer temperatures resulting in …
A record summer in Sydney and a series of early-season heatwaves helped make 2017 the city's thirstiest year since 2004, Sydney Water said. The results come as the city braces for another burst of heat this week, with the mercury set to climb to 37 degrees on Sunday. The searing …
Australia has abundant energy resources. It is a leading exporter of coal, uranium and liquefied natural gas (LNG), much of which is destined for Asia’s growing markets.At home, Australia’s energy sector is undergoing a significant transformation. The power system is seeing higher shares of variable wind and solar power; South …
Wind farms are key to tackling climate change but warming will significantly cut the power of the wind across northern mid-latitudes, including the US, the UK and the Mediterranean, according to new research. However, some places, including eastern Australia, will see winds pick up. The research is the first global …
Ahead of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) summit in India in early 2018, Australia has joined the alliance as it officially came into force on Wednesday. A statement issued by Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop said: “Australia’s expertise in solar technologies and research will be shared globally with …
The El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has a pronounced influence on year-to-year variations in climate1. The response of fires to this forcing2 is complex and has not been evaluated systematically across different continents. Here we use satellite data to create a climatology of burned-area and fire-emissions responses, drawing on six El …
Decades of unsustainable logging has created an “extinction debt” in Victoria’s central highlands that will trigger an ecosystem-wide collapse within 50 years without urgent intervention from the state government, ecologists have warned. According to modelling produced by Australian National University researchers Dr Emma Burns and Prof David Lindenmayer, there is …
A group of “source” reefs have been identified that could form the basis of a life support system for the Great Barrier Reef, helping repair damage by bleaching, starfish and other disturbances. Researchers from the University of Queensland, CSIRO, Australian Institute of Marine Science and the University of Sheffield searched …
Australia's Bureau of Meteorology has issued an alert for a La Nina weather event starting next month, saying the chance it would take place was triple the normal likelihood. The weather occurrence La Nina is triggered when sea surface temperatures in the central Pacific Ocean drop to lower-than-normal levels. It …
Climate change is creating a disaster on Australia’s doorstep, with environmental degradation and the demand for sustainable sources of food undermining stability in some countries, especially “fragile states”, according to the Australian government’s first foreign policy white paper in more than a decade. The new white paper, released on Thursday, …
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) is the largest network of marine reserves in the world, yet little is known of the efficacy of no-fishing zones in the relatively lightly-exploited remote parts of the system (i.e., northern regions). Here, we find that the detection of reserve effects is challenging …
BHP has said it will not support the Minerals Council’s bid to strip environmental groups of their ability to advocate for policy change. The surprising move comes amid increasing pressure on Australia’s biggest miner to distance itself from the Minerals Council, which has taken a hardline position against any form …
Australia’s critical window of opportunity to tackle climate change is closing, with a new landmark report from the Climate Council revealing our nation is falling behind the rest of the world, failing to tackle climate change as pollution levels continue to rise. The ‘Critical Decade 2017: Accelerating Climate Action’ report, …
Rebels in southern Senegal say an Australian company's plans to mine for zircon, a rare mineral used for making mobile phones and nuclear power plants, amounts to "an act of war". Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque reports from the village of Niafarang in the Casamance region, where many say the mining …
Australia’s motoring lobby is launching a campaign for “real-world” vehicle emissions testing, arguing the current system needs an overhaul because it is misleading consumers and regulators. The Australian Automobile Association will on Monday release results from emissions and fuel consumption tests on 30 passenger and light commercial vehicles showing discrepancies …
Australian temperature records tumbled again in September this year, with the country experiencing the hottest day since records began, and New South Wales breaking that record twice within a few days. As always, particular weather events caused the records to be broken. But in a special climate statement, the Bureau …
A modern electricity grid powered by diverse renewable energy and storage can provide secure, clean and affordable power for Australians. The Powering a 21st Century Economy report find that the inevitable closure of ageing, inefficient, polluting coal plants provides a critical opportunity to move to a modern 21st century electricity …
