Climate

Louise Morris

Imagine a conference on stopping smoking, sponsored by tobacco companies, hosted by tobacco exporters and crowded with tobacco lobbyists. Then imagine being told it is the world’s best hope for getting off the ciggies. That is the UN climate process as it rolls out every year.

Louise Morris

The last full sitting week in October before budget estimates was a big one in Canberra for anyone who cares about who should benefit from Australia’s gas and missed revenue.

Rod Campbell

Economist Rod Campbell, who found himself in the middle of South Australia's high-stakes nuclear waste battle, reflects on how different the state - and country - might be today if ordinary South Australians hadn't said a resounding 'no' in 2016.

Nicole Sommer

Australia cannot control how much coal other countries burn. But through our laws governing mining approvals and fossil fuel development, Australian governments — and the voters that elect them — definitely have a say in how much coal we dig up and export. The High Court decision on the Mount Pleasant coal mine in NSW has brought the limits of that argument into sharp focus.

Louise Morris

On Wednesday, 14 October, three speeches were given in Canberra at three different venues. The President of Palau spoke at the Australian National University. Tuvalu’s Minister for Climate Change and Environment, Maina Talia, spoke at the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) conference. Australia’s Minister for Resources, Madeleine King, spoke at the National Press Club. Together, they highlighted the gap between what the Pacific is telling us, and what Australia is saying back.