AUSTRALIAN STATE TO BAN GAS IN NEW HOMES STARTING IN 2024
Last Friday, the Australian state of Victoria announced plans to ban natural gas connections to new homes starting in January 2024 (Reuters).
AUSTRALIA PASSES LANDMARK CLIMATE LEGISLATION
Australia, one of the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases per capita, passed landmark legislation through its parliament last week, committing the nation to curbing carbon emissions 43% (from 2005 levels) by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050 (Guardian). The legislation marks the first action the Labor Party has taken on climate change since it won power in May, and sets the nation’s first-ever mandated climate targets.
AUSTRALIA ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR GREAT BARRIER REEF
Last week, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced $700 million for Great Barrier Reef conservation over the next nine years. More than half the money will go toward water quality, including projects to reduce erosion and runoff of pesticides and nutrients. Other funding will be directed toward conservation and reef management, including projects to address illegal fishing and coral-eating starfish.
AUSTRALIA TARGETS NET ZERO EMISSIONS BY 2050, BUT EXPERTS ARE SKEPTICAL
Ahead of COP26, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Australia’s target of net zero emissions by 2050. However, the country will not update its 2030 target of 26-28% emissions reductions from 2005 levels, despite recent estimates that it will reach at least 35% reductions by 2030 (AP News).
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT FACES CLASS ACTION FROM CLIMATE-CONSCIOUS TEENS
Eight teenagers from across Australia have jointly filed a class action lawsuit to stop the expansion of Whitehaven’s Coal Vickery coal mine in Gunnedah.
KOALA WAR THREATENS TO SPLIT THE GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST STATE
New South Wales was rocked this week by a dispute Australian newspapers have dubbed the “koala war” (Sydney Morning Herald). The state’s coalition government threatened to come apart following disagreements over the State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP), a conservation law passed to help protect koalas and their dwindling habitat this past December following the country’s historic bushfires.
KOALA WAR THREATENS TO SPLIT THE GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST STATE
New South Wales was rocked this week by a dispute Australian newspapers have dubbed the “koala war” (Sydney Morning Herald). The state’s coalition government threatened to come apart following disagreements over the State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP), a conservation law passed to help protect koalas and their dwindling habitat this past December following the country’s historic bushfires.
AUSTRALIA INVESTS $190 MILLION INTO HYDROGEN FOR GREEN ECONOMIC BOOST
On May 3, the Australian government announced the creation of a $190 million fund to develop hydrogen technology.
AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRE SURVIVORS WAIT FOR RELIEF AS LAST FIRES EXTINGUISH
On March 2, Australian officials announced that there were no longer any active bushfires in the state of New South Wales for the first time in 240 days.