VEN Blog

Image: US States making laws against peaceful protest by climate activists Nina Lakhani 12 dec 2024 in Guardian Down to Earth Newsletter Back in early August, I reported on the arrest of two climate activists outside the New York headquarters of Citibank, one of the world’s largest fossil fuel financiers and target of a campaign […]

Disinformation can make it hard for people to distinguish and act on accurate advice. And this can mean life or death when it comes to natural disasters like bushfires By Ika Trijsburg, University of Melbourne and John Richardson, Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience 11 December 2024 Australia isn’t immune to disaster disinformation   The 21st […]

“Ripping off customers:” Energy utilities force households to pay more than double than business Sophie Vorrath Dec 12, 2024 in Renew Economy POLICY & PLANNING New research based on the annual reports of AGL and Origin Energy claims to reveal a “clear case of price gouging” by Australia’s two biggest energy retailers, where households pay […]

  MEDIA RELEASE  James Norman, Environment Victoria ​j.norman@environmentvictoria.org.au Friday, December 13, 2024 Building Electrification RIS a commonsense approach to energy and emissions challenge Environment Victoria welcomes the proposals contained in the Building Electrification Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) released today. “The Allan government is taking an eminently sensible approach to securing the future energy needs of […]

The Coalition’s numbers are not a comparison of the cost of nuclear versus the cost of firmed renewables, economist Stephen Hamilton says. “They are the difference in cost between renewables and doing nothing for the next 15 years,” he said. From Climate Council CEO Amanda MacKenzie: Renewable power is reliable, clean, safe, and already provides […]

Guardian graphic. Source: Keys, et al., 2024, “Property Insurance and Disaster Risk: New Evidence from Mortgage Escrow Data”. Note: In 2023 dollars. How climate risks are driving up insurance premiums around the US – visualized ‘Tight correlation’ between premium rises and counties deemed most at risk from climate crisis, experts say Oliver Milman with graphics […]

Image: Conclusion and Call to Action for Ensuring Food Security for All – Food Security: Ensuring Global Food Security (see below main article) Wake up and smell the coffee: rising food prices show destabilising impact of climate crisis Heather Stewart in The Guardian Policymakers must act as extreme weather events put more pressure on food […]

Image: Albedo is the word to describe the amount sunlight that bounces, or reflects, off of the Earth. The concept of albedo is a very important one in discussions of Earth’s climate, because it relates to how much heat is absorbed by various parts of the Earth. Earth’s albedo is influenced by the physical properties […]

Figure 1. Overarching hydrogen supply chain (with production via electrolysis as an example). 4 Dec 2024  CSIRO A new report from Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has projected Australia’s hydrogen electrolyser manufacturing (HEM) sector could generate $1.7 billion in revenue and create nearly 4000 jobs by 2050. The Hydrogen Electrolyser Manufacturing report highlighted a significant […]

Graph: Evolution of key regional natural gas prices, June 2021-October 2022 Open How the energy crisis started, how global energy markets are impacting our daily life, and what governments are doing about it from the International Energy Agency What is the energy crisis? What is causing it? What is being done? Energy saving tips What […]

Image: from Farmers for Climate Action report, A state-by-state breakdown of expected revenue to farmers and local communities from renewables.  (Supplied: Farmers for Climate Action) Farmers for Climate Action finds most regional residents impacted by renewables are supportive By Warwick Long and Timu King on abc.net Fri 29 Nov DOWNLOAD THE REPORT A new survey […]

Graph: Our World in Data You can’t scale green power without scaling gray industry. By Mark Harris November 17, 2024. in Anthropocene magazine In June, The Economist published a feature called “The exponential growth of solar power will change the world,” noting that the planet’s installed solar capacity doubles about every three years. Five months […]

Graph: The indefinite Inflation Reduction Act: how tax credits for renewables play out over time. From Wood Mackenzie.com The Labor government is playing hardball on its production tax incentives, arguing opposing the policy will cost jobs and Australia’s global competitiveness. PJ Poppy Johnston AAP Nov 25, 2024, updated Nov 25, 2024 Madeleine King has urged […]

Graph from Pullinger, M., Kilgour, J., Goddard, N. et al. The IDEAL household energy dataset, electricity, gas, contextual sensor data and survey data for 255 UK homes. Sci Data 8, 146 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00921-y By energy reporter Daniel Mercer Topic:Energy Industry Sydneysider Kerry Bradbury has solar panels, batteries and smart tech to eliminate her bills. In short: As more home […]

Image: from Earth.org (article below) Experts are calling for a “fashion waste shake-up” after a study found Aussie charity shops exported high-quality second-hand clothes to Europe, while resellers imported them back. Emma Kirk November 21, 2024 NewsWire There are calls to impose a “fast fashion tax” after Australia has been revealed as the largest consumer […]

Will our votes be more important than our money? Graphs: news.com.au By Q+A and RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas Mon 25 NovMonday 25 November Baby Boomers will no longer be the dominant demographic among Australian voters as Gen Z and Millennials step up. abc.net.au/news/election-2025-gen-z-millennial-outnumber-baby-boomers/104641230 The era of Baby Boomers as the dominant voting force in […]

The tale of “jobs versus the environment” does not capture the full story. Pradnya Garud Nov 20, 2024 BY EHN A fault line runs between labor and environmental movements, or so we’re told. Labor unions have been criticized for focusing on jobs without considering environmental consequences, with some unions supporting controversial projects like the Dakota […]

Image: link between cost of living and climate crises from Report Key findings from the report: Fossil fuels are compounding the cost of living crisis for families. Higher costs for oil and gas mean Aussies are doing it tough every time we fill up our cars with petrol or use gas to heat our homes […]

The social cohesion index score for 2024 is 78, the same as last year but still at its lowest since the survey began in 2007. Photograph: Steven Saphore/AAP Australia’s social cohesion at record low, but 70% believe migrants make country stronger Almost half of Australians think immigration is too high while financial pressures are ‘stubbornly […]

Where is our flight from a safe climate taking us? It’s time to expose the layers of aviation industry greenwash by Mark Carter 19 November 2024 in Climate Code Red Qantas says it doesn’t buy political favours. But it has illegally sacked its workforce, short changed its customers, and paid no income tax last year. […]