Trump & the climate
What seemed morally impossible has happened. So what does a second Trump Administration mean for global heating? Obviously, it will mean U.S. carbon emissions will be higher in 2030 and beyond than they otherwise would have been, and the world will become hotter as a result. Trump has said climate change is a ‘scam’, a […]
How to lose friends and influence the future security of your nation
It’s uncomfortable when a belief you have long held is contradicted by new facts. Even more so if an entire worldview comes under pressure from the evidence. Psychologists call it ‘‘cognitive dissonance’’ and it explains why it is so hard to change our minds even though we flatter ourselves that we base our opinions on […]
Climate Policy’s House of Cards
There are the pragmatists willing to compromise to get at least something, and then there are the idealists who stick to their principles and end up with nothing. Or so the argument goes. This tired old binary has been used by various pundits to frame the division within the Climate Change Authority that saw the […]
The earth has moved: big business’s radical climate shift is now unstoppable
The most surprising revelation here at the Paris climate conference has been the astonishing shift in the world of investors over the past 12 months. There is now unprecedented momentum towards participating in the transition to a low-carbon economy, and the view at the “big end” of the conference is that a strong agreement will […]
Good deal or bad? Emotional turmoil as Paris climate talks draw to a close
How should we react to the likely outcome of the Paris climate conference? Unless something dramatic happens overnight it is very likely that the news media on Sunday morning will hail the Paris agreement as a breakthrough and a big victory for those pushing for strong action on carbon emissions. Yet on Friday we heard […]
Australian scientists urge banks not to finance Galilee Basin coal projects
Embargoed until 4.00 am AEST Friday 22 May 2015 MEDIA RELEASE Australian scientists urge banks not to finance Galilee Basin coal projects Canberra, 22 May 2015 – Nine eminent Australian scientists have added their voices to the call for global financial institutions to stop funding fossil fuel projects in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. Leading Australian climate […]
The Sacrament of Creation: What Can We Expect from Pope Francis’s Ecological Encyclical?
Pope Francis has made no secret of his conviction that human-induced climate change, along with other forms of environmental degradation, represents a grave threat to humanity’s future. At times he even speaks in quasi-apocalyptic terms: “Let us not allow omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world!” His forthcoming “ecological encyclical” […]