If you’ve been for a leisurely stroll in your local park recently, you’ve probably noticed that autumn is in full swing. All manner of brightly coloured leaves cover the ground and this fact alone is cause…
“The Critical Decade” for climate change action is upon us. The Climate Commission’s first report, released today, says unless Australia takes action before 2020, our way of life is at threat. “The risks…
Governments and communities must take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions this decade or face enormous social and economic costs in future, according a report by the Australian government’s…
The world’s top climate scientists have warned that the heat waves that have killed thousands of people during recent summers are to become more common and more deadly. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate…
Sadly, the major environmental policy announced in the Federal Budget yesterday was not an environmental policy at all but the change to the Fringe Benefits Tax. The government announced changes to the…
Climate change has caused global corn and wheat production to drop between 3% and 5% over the last 30 years, a new study has found. Customers have paid the price, with the cost of food rising 6% since…
Australians, human and animal, have a good history of adapting to change. But how best to deal with a changing climate is emerging as a significant and often contentious policy challenge. It’s hard to…
Independent MP Tony Windsor was right in early March when he called for a debate on carbon pricing in Australia that is “a little bit more advanced than the word ‘lie’ and the word ‘tax’”. The quality…
As the US was brought to the brink of a government shutdown this weekend, one of the sticking points was Republican insistence that President Obama curtail the activities of the Environmental Protection…
FOOD SECURITY - Agriculture is one of the few industries in the world in which emissions must rise. The carbon footprint of farming will become larger over the next 40 years as we feed a rapidly growing…
While global warming deniers have been effective in their aim of sowing doubt in the public mind, the most powerful argument used over and over has been that cutting emissions will cut growth, and that…
We are entering an era of massive population transfer - a rural exodus of unprecedented proportions. In Asia and Africa farmers and peasants are being lured to mega-cities. This brings myriad benefits…
Economic arguments have come to dominate the Australian political debate about climate change. When it comes to climate policy, both the government and the opposition talk far more about taxes, trading…
Climate change is one of the greatest ecological, economic, and social challenges facing us today. The scientific evidence that human activities are contributing to climate change is compelling, and yet…
Most of us don’t really understand climate change, and for some of us that means we can’t accept it. Sure, the evidence is compelling, but sadly humans aren’t always interested in evidence when it comes…
Foundation Essay – In his recent statements on the poor state of the Australian debate on global warming (meaning discussion of its causes, and how to deal with it in policy terms) Professor Ross Garnaut…