On May 16, 2024, the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard was voted into law by the Federal Parliament. Under this new law, climate pollution produced by new cars, vans and utes will more than halve by the end of the decade, preventing 20 million tonnes of climate pollution. That’s the same amount of pollution produced by every gas-connected home in Australia for more than two years!  This is a huge climate win, which we relentlessly campaigned for. Over the past two years, Climate Council held dozens of political briefings, made three government submissions, produced 13 explainers and report ..read more

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Written by Senior Researcher Wesley Morgan The current visit to Australia by China’s Premier Li Qiang may have taken the heat out of recent tensions between the two nations. But Australia remains embroiled with China in a tussle for influence in the Pacific – a fight in which climate ambition is key. That’s why, at a diplomatic level, we should be concerned about Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s suggestion the Coalition would abandon A ..read more

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Written by Senior Researcher Wesley Morgan Without funding from Japan, many of Australia’s gas projects wouldn’t have gone ahead. Massive public loans from Japanese taxpayers are propping up Australia’s now-enormous fossil gas industry. Japan is also becoming a major gas trader and today exports more gas to other countries than it imports from Australia. Even as the world rapidly shifts to a clean energy future, Japan is emerging as a fossil fue ..read more

We’re not even half way through 2024, yet we’ve already witnessed countries in all corners of the globe endure extreme weather events. From ferocious wildfires to devastating floods and scorching heatwaves, the toll of climate change is all around us. Climate pollution from coal, oil and gas is supercharging our atmosphere and leading to more frequent and severe extreme weather events. Communities around the world are paying the price in impacts to their health, lives, and livelihoods. So let’s take a look at how climate change is playing out across the globe in 2024. Heatwaves across South an ..read more

A group of leading marine scientists have written to Prime Minister Albanese with an urgent plea to heed the science and reject new coal and gas projects for the sake of the world’s coral reefs.  The letter, signed by 14 international and Australian marine and climate scientists – including IPCC authors – draws attention to the most severe bleaching event in recorded history currently unfolding on the Great Barrier Reef. The scientists have rallied to make clear to the Prime Minister the severity of reef bleaching and have urged him to ensure Australia’s new, improved, national nature pro ..read more

The energy of the crowd. The iconic Sydney skyline. The cooling ocean on hot, tired feet.  Not much beats the City2Surf experience – except perhaps knowing that every step you ran was powering climate action!  The world’s largest fun run is back on 11th August, and you can secure your place by signing up to fundraise for the Climate Council today! Whether you run,  jog or walk – the 14km event from Sydney’s CBD to Bondi should be on everyone’s bucket list. And when you take part with the Climate Council, every step you take will help cut climate pollution and build a brighter future ..read more

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Written by Climate Council Fellow Dr Madeline Taylor Right now, there’s a global race underway. The goal: bring back manufacturing and energy jobs as the energy transition speeds up. In 2022, America launched its mammoth Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act. Japan followed suit the same year, while the EU launched its own effort in 2023, as did Canada. China, of course, moved first, and dominates the mar ..read more

Opinion article written by Climate Council Head of Advocacy and Policy Jennifer Rayner As we approach the mid-point of this make-or-break decade for our climate, the stakes have never been higher. In 2023 – the world’s hottest year on record – Australians experienced ‘climate whiplash’, hurled from flooding rains to heatwaves to fierce fires, and back again. This is our new reality, underlining the urgent need to slash  climate pollution from coal, oil, and gas further and faster right now. Momentum is building, and we’re making important progress in some areas. Today, about 40% of the el ..read more

Beneath the waves and out of sight, an unimaginable tragedy is unfolding. Late Thursday afternoon, just as the nation was switching off for the Easter break, the Government quietly released its latest update on the health of the Great Barrier Reef, confirming the devastating extent of yet another mass coral bleaching event. Over the long restful weekend, millions of Aussies down the east coast basked in bath-like sea temperatures, seemingly unaware of the devastation beneath the surface. You’d be forgiven for missing it, but recent months have seen our east coast waters suffer what can best be ..read more

Today I dived the Great Barrier Reef. The lemon sharks came to say hello and about twenty eagle rays glided by, each one with their unique and beautiful patterns. Fish glittered in the shallows, and I saw my first turtle hatchling swimming out to sea. There is truly nothing like submerging yourself in one of the seven natural wonders of the world. But what usually brightens my day, now also brings a heavy dose of climate anxiety – and I know I’m not alone in how I feel. Corals are showing severe signs of heat stress on the Southern Great Barrier Reef. Photo credit: The Undertow Media The cor ..read more