January 2022

Summer Series – Climate Change and the Pacific with the Hon Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa Prime Minister of Samoa [webinar]

featuring Ebony Bennett, Richie Merzian and Ben Oquist

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode you’ll hear from the Prime Minister of Samoa, the Hon. Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa on climate change and the Pacific, as part of the Australia Institute’s Regional Climate Diplomacy Forum, with youth climate activist and UNICEF Pacific Ambassador

December 2021

Summer Series – Coal, Climate Change and Conservatives with Malcolm Turnbull [webinar]

featuring Ebony Bennett and Richard Denniss

Our summer series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode we’re bringing you a conversation about coal, climate change and conservatives and why NSW needs a moratorium on new coal mines with former Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, who was in conversation with the Australia Institute’s chief

Irrigator and environment groups unite to protect Murray Darling

An unprecedented alliance of irrigation representatives and environment peak bodies have called on the NSW Premier, Treasurer and Environment Minister to oversee changes to Murray Darling water rules. The groups include representatives of a majority of NSW irrigators and the environmental peak bodies of all Basin states. The practice of diverting floodwater, known as floodplain

New Analysis: Most Major Australian Superannuation Funds Invest in Nuclear Weapons Despite United Nations Treaty

New research from the Australia Institute and Quit Nukes reveals most major Australian superannuation funds have holdings in nuclear weapons companies, such as Airbus, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. While many exclude so-called ‘controversial weapons’, they do not include nuclear weapons in the definition and continue to invest in nuclear weapons companies. Nearly one year into

November 2021

Victorian Government rejection of Gippsland Mineral Sand Mine: Win for Community & Local Economy

The Australia Institute welcomes the decision by Victorian State Minister for Planning Richard Wynne to reject the Fingerboards Mineral Sands project proposed by Kalbar Resources. Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute, was an expert witness in the planning hearings that led to the rejection. He was called by community group Mine-Free Glenaladale. “We

New paper exposes five wealthy countries whose fossil fuel production threatens chances of keeping 1.5ºC hope alive

The Fossil Fuelled 5 examines five wealthy nations – the US, Canada, Norway, Australia and the UK – that have a widening gap between their rhetoric on climate action and their plans to expand the production of fossil fuels. The paper gives a snapshot of how each is undermining global efforts to address the climate

Federal Government’s Future Fuels Electric Vehicle Announcement Little More Than Another Pamphlet

“The Federal Government’s new Future Fuels Strategy will struggle to drive up electric vehicles sales and drive down transport emissions. Norway, the global leader on EVs, has driven the transition to cheaper, faster, and cleaner vehicles through credible policies and regulations,” said Richie Merzian, climate & energy program director at the Australia Institute. “The Prime

New analysis: Australia backsliding in climate adaptation approach

The COP26 Presidency has stated Monday 8 November in Glasgow will focus on the theme of adaptation, to ensure all countries enhance their resilience in the face of unavoidable climate impacts. Despite updating its National Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategy ahead of Glasgow, Australia remains especially at risk and lagging significantly behind other countries in

Australia’s fossil fuel expansion plans equivalent to over 200 new coal power stations

New research from the Australia Institute Climate & Energy Program reveals that planned new gas and coal projects in Australia would result in almost 1.7 billion tonnes of CO2e emissions annually – equivalent to building over 200 new coal power stations. This would be four times the amount of new coal power stations planned by

October 2021

‘Actions Speak Louder than Words’: Net Zero by 2050 a Fraud Without Transition from Fossil Fuels

The Morrison Government’s Net Zero by 2050 deal is a fraud while the Government plots to double coal exports, open vast new gas fields and prop-up coal generated power. Furthermore, the budgetary cost of persuading the National Party to support Scott Morrison’s net zero target are trivial compared to the costs to the economy of

Offsetting up for failure: Northern Territory Climate Offsets Policy

With the impacts of climate change already being felt in the Northern Territory, new research shows the Northern Territory Government’s draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Offsets Policy should be abandoned or at least heavily revised. A submission from The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program shows that the proposed offset system would undermine existing NT Government

Tasmanians support stronger action on climate change

Climate of the Nation 2021 Benchmark Report – Tasmanian supplement Amid the Tasmanian Government’s announcement to legislate net zero by 2030, new research shows Tasmanians have expressed their support for stronger action to prepare for and adapt to the impacts of global warming (61%, compared to 55% nationally), and six in ten (62%) oppose any

All time high of 75% of Australians concerned about climate change

In the lead-up to Glasgow COP26, concern about climate change is at an all-time high (75%) and 8 in 10 Australians (82%) support the phase-out of coal fired power stations, according to a new benchmark report released today by the Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program. Launched by Chris Bowen MP, the Shadow Minister for

Junk Carbon Credits

featuring Ebony Bennett, Polly Hemming and Richie Merzian

Today’s episode examines carbon offsets, in other words, the credits companies can buy to offset their emissions. The Australia Institute, together with the Australian Conservation Foundation did a bit of digging into Australia’s offsets system and found some alarming things. Recorded live on 5 October 2021 The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy

Scott Morrison’s ‘net zero by 2050’ emissions reduction plan will be filled with tricks and rorts

by Ben Oquist in The Canberra Times

Sometime this month Scott Morrison will announce a net zero by 2050 emissions-reduction target for Australia. This announcement will be made with the expectation of praise. However, much like the world was indifferent when Australia signalled it would no longer be using Kyoto credits to meet its Paris targets, so too will this announcement be

September 2021

Richard Denniss: Australia’s carbon credits are a joke. Taxpayer money is being wasted on ‘hot air’

by Richard Denniss in The New Daily

If a tree doesn’t fall in a forest, was the climate really saved? Sadly, such esoteric questions have become the main game in the topsy-turvy world of Australian climate policy, where rising emissions from the oil and gas industry are ‘offset’ by not chopping down trees. The polite term for the creation of dodgy carbon

Statement in response to the Clean Energy Regulator

Fundamental questions of integrity have been raised by the Australia Institute and the Australian Conservation Foundation in regards to the Emissions Reduction Fund’s avoided deforestation method. Rather than investigate the method in question, the regulator has sought to discredit the analysis, and revealed an alarming lack of understanding of its own methodology. A full statement

Serious Integrity Concerns Around Australia’s ‘Junk’ Carbon Credits

One in five carbon credits issued by the Federal Government’s $4.5 billion Emission Reduction Fund (ERF) do not represent real abatement and are essentially ‘junk’ credits, according to new research by the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Australia Institute Climate & Energy Program. Key Findings: Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated by the ‘avoided deforestation’

Economists welcome end of native forest logging in WA

The Australia Institute welcomes the WA Government’s decision to end native forest logging and calls for independent inquiries into native forestry in other states. “The end of native forest logging represents not just good environmental policy, but good economic policy,” said Rod Campbell, economist and Research Director at The Australia Institute. “Australia Institute research has

Australian Government Breaking Promise on Mining Tax Transparency

Correspondence between Resource Minister Keith Pitt and civil society groups involved in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) shows that the Australian Government is walking away from its promise to join the tax transparency initiative for the mining, oil and gas industry. The move comes despite major mining companies and civil society groups supporting Australia’s

Fracked: Gas in the Northern Territory

featuring Ebony Bennett, Rod Campbell and Mark Ogge

Extracting gas from the Northern Territory through hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) is one of the largest potential sources of carbon pollution in the world. In this episode we explore the climate cost of a potential policy backflip on opening up the NT to fracking, as well as the community opposition and the economics of it all.

General Enquiries

Tanya Martin Office Manager

02 6130 0530

mail@australiainstitute.org.au

Media Enquiries

Jake Wishart Senior Media Adviser

0413 208 134

jake@australiainstitute.org.au

RSS Feed

All news