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Saturday 22 July - Marine heatwave off north-east Australia 

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Saturday 22 July - Marine heatwave off north-east Australia 

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The oceans are also simmering, with a marine heatwave off the north-east coast of Australia causing concerns about the health of the Great Barrier Reef.
1 August - despite the reef's vulnerability & deteriorating health, it has escaped 'in danger' recommendation ahead of UNESCO World Heritage decision health of the Great Barrier Reef.

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A marine heatwave has broken out along more than 2,000km of the Queensland coast, raising concerns for the health of corals on the Great Barrier Reef and other ocean life.

Satellite data managed by the US National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) shows the heatwave started to emerge at the end of June.

About 1m sq km of ocean north-east of the continent are now under heatwave conditions, the data shows.

Experts said the heatwave could increase the risk of coral disease and would probably affect fish populations that would need to work harder to find food under warmer conditions.

A map indicating Australian waters experiencing a marine heatwave. Photograph: Marine Heatwave Tracker/NOAA

The Bureau of Meteorology briefed the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) about the raised ocean temperatures on Friday.

A marine heatwave happens when temperatures over an area are in the hottest 10% ever recorded for that time of year and then stay there for at least five days. The NOAA data goes back to 1981.

Experts said the impacts of marine heatwaves in the winter are less dramatic than in summer, when they can damage or kill corals and underwater forests of kelp and seagrass.

Dr Alex Sen Gupta, an associate professor at the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre and marine heatwave expert, said: "If you look globally, we're seeing more marine heatwaves now than we have ever seen before.

"It's exceptional at the moment. It's definitely warm in the [water] north-east [of Australia]. There's bound to be impacts to animals and plants because of these warmer temperatures."

Dr Jessica Stella, the assistant director of reef health at GBRMPA, said there was still an element of the unknown about the effects of a heatwave in winter, when overall temperatures are cooler than in the summer.

While there was no risk of corals bleaching in this heatwave, there were concerns it could increase outbreaks of coral disease in the coming months.

"Usually a warmer temperature would mean an increase in disease in corals. In winter disease pathogens usually become more dormant. If [temperatures] don't cool enough, the pathogens can remain virulent and we could see an uptick in coral disease."

Prof Jodie Rummer, a marine biologist and fish expert at James Cook University, said marine heatwaves raised the metabolic rate of fish.

"So if everything needs more food, that puts a strain on the whole ecosystem," she said.

Dr Grant Smith, an oceanographer and researcher at the Bureau of Meteorology, said temperatures were more than 1C above average for this time of year over large portions of the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea.

Temperatures for June over the reef were the 12th highest on record for that month. The outlook over the coming months was for sea surface temperatures over the reef to remain above average until the end of the current forecast period - December.

SST anomalies over the Great Barrier Reef region averaged over the last 14 days. Photograph: The Bureau of Meteorology

Experts said if the reef's waters are already warmer than usual as they enter summer, this would mean less additional heating was needed to stress corals enough for them to bleach - a stress reaction that weakens the animals and can be deadly if temperatures keep rising.

Large parts of the northern hemisphere have been gripped by summer heatwaves on land and in the ocean.

That has come as the World Meteorological Organization and NOAA have declared an El Niño climate pattern that can push up global temperatures.

The Bureau of Meteorology has stopped short of declaring an El Niño, saying the atmosphere has yet to react to the raised sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific.

El Niños increase the risk of coral bleaching and Stella said the prospect of the system emerging was a worry.

"We are very concerned and are planning for the worst and hoping for the best," she said.

Dr Stuart Corney, an oceanographer at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania, said marine heatwaves can emerge at any time of the year, but generally impacts were less severe in winter.

Around Australia, research has shown marine heatwaves are becoming more frequent and are lasting longer because of climate change, Corney said.

Richard Leck, head of oceans at WWF Australia, said Australians were right to be concerned about "what's coming our way this summer".

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Marine heatwave off north-east Australia sets off alarm over health of Great Barrier Reef

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Experts fear for health of corals and other marine life as about 1m sq km of ocean experience prolonged elevated temperatures

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Thursday 27 July -July set to be Earth's hottest month on record

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Thursday 27 July -July set to be Earth's hottest month on record

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Data published showing July set to be the hottest month in recorded history.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres saying
"The era of global warming has ended. The era of global boiling has arrived."
Scientists reporting world was 1.5C (2.7F) hotter in July 2023 than in the average July before industrialisation.

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The United Nations has warned "humanity is in the hot seat", with July almost certain to be Earth's hottest month in recorded history.

Data published by the UN's and the EU's top climate agencies, the World Meteorological Organization and Copernicus respectively, shows the average temperature for the first three weeks of July is tracking significantly higher than the current record set in 2019.

It also found 21 of Earth's 30 hottest individual days on record have occurred this month.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a speech streamed Thursday night that "short of a mini ice age" over coming days, July 2023 would shatter records across the board.

"Climate change is here. It is terrifying, and it is just the beginning," he said.

"The era of global warming has ended. The era of global boiling has arrived.

"The consequences are clear and they are tragic - children swept away by monsoon rains, families running from the flames, workers collapsing in scorching heat.

"For vast parts of North America, Asia, Africa and Europe, it is a cruel summer.

"For the entire planet, it is a disaster."

A separate analysis for the month, published Friday by Leipzig University climate scientist Karsten Haustein, has estimated July will finish 0.2 degrees Celsius warmer than the 2019 record.

Dr Haustein said not only would that make it the warmest month on record, but potentially in "thousands if not tens of thousands of years".

"We may have to go back all the way to the Eemian warm period (about 120,000 years ago) to find similarly warm conditions," he said.

"But since paleo-temperature records do not provide high enough temporal resolution, we cannot say with certainty that this July hasn't been hotter during the peak of the current interglacial [period]."

Northern hemisphere heat drives record

The July temperature is a worldwide average, meaning certain parts of the globe are feeling exceptional bouts of heat.

This includes repeated and intense heatwaves across southern Europe, South-East Asia, northern Africa and the United States.

They have shattered records and fuelled wildfires in Greece, Canada and Algeria.

Among them, Sanbao weather station in Turpan city in China's Xinjiang province recorded a temperature of 52.2C on July 16, setting a new national temperature record - according to a report by the China Meteorological Administration.

Global sea surface temperatures have also hit new records.

Even Antarctica, which is in the middle of its winter, has contributed to the record with unusually high temperatures.

University of New South Wales climate scientist Associate Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick said there was only so much heat humans could cope with.

"We're talking about temperatures of mid-40s or higher almost every day for parts of the heatwave over places like Italy and Greece," she said.

"That's abhorrent. That's really hard to cope with. It doesn't matter who you are or how fit you are."

Exacerbated by climate change

The blame for the record-heat has been pointed firmly at rising greenhouse gas emissions for exacerbating the earth's natural warming forces.

"It's likely that these heatwaves probably would have occurred this summer but they wouldn't have lasted as long, or be as intense [without] climate change," Dr Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.

Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions director Mark Howden said what was worrying was the fact El Niño had not fully kicked in yet.

The localised impacts of the major climate driver vary from country to country, but overall bring warmer-than-normal global average temperatures.

"The worrying thing here is that we have a very warm summer across the Northern Hemisphere but the effects of the emerging El Niño haven't really been seen yet in terms of global temperatures," Dr Howden said.

"So when that does start to cut in, and it could well do over the next few months, we'll see a continuation of that hot weather.

"So I think we're in for a very extended hot period across the globe."

For Australia, it may offer a glimpse into the type of weather to come this summer.

Dr Perkins-Kirkpatrick said it was hard to draw a direct comparison between the heat currently in the Northern Hemisphere and what was in store for the Australian summer because of the role of local weather systems.

But she said the underlying trends were the same.

"Just because they're having this obscene, record-breaking heat that is so relentless doesn't mean we will see precisely the same conditions in our summer," Dr Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.

"What is happening though, Europe is seeing these increasing heatwave trends because of climate change, and we're also seeing these increasing heatwave trends because of climate change."

Further, faster climate action needed

The month of unenviable records has been met with a blunt message from the climate scientists about the need to reduce carbon emissions quickly, and to better prepare for what's to come.

"It's actually really frightening to see the images out of Greece at the moment," Dr Perkins-Kirkpatrick said.

"What happened [in Australia] three years ago isn't just a one off. It's happening everywhere and will continue to happen.

"I really don't think we're prepared for what's to come."

In his speech, Mr Guterres called for further and faster climate action, including new national emissions reductions targets from G20 members and "a global surge" in adaptation investment.

"The air is unbreathable, the heat is unbearable, and the level of fossil fuel profits and climate inaction is unacceptable," he said.

"We have seen some progress - robust rollout of renewables, some positive steps from sectors such as shipping - but none of this is going far enough or fast enough.

"Accelerating temperatures demand accelerated action.

"The level of fossil fuel profits and climate inaction is unacceptable. Leaders must lead.

"No more hesitancy, no more excuses, no more waiting for others to move first.

"There is simply no more time for that. It is still possible to meet, to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoid the very worst of climate change, but only with dramatic, immediate climate action."

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United Nations warns of 'global boiling' as July set to shatter heat records

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The United Nations secretary-general delivers a dramatic speech warning the heatwaves searing much of the northern hemisphere have been a "disaster" for the planet. An emerging El Niño means it may be just the start.

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Friday 28 July - Fossil gas ban: Victoria calls time on gas connections for new Homes 

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Friday 28 July - Fossil gas ban: Victoria calls time on gas connections for new Homes 

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No new Victorian homes will be connected to gas in 2024. The future is electric.
This is putting pressure on NSW to do the same.
***Monday 31 July -  Power generation from fossil gas plunged by 50 pct in June on Australia’s main grid.
Despite this, nothing has changed the Albanese government's  $1.5bn stake in the Middle Arm Industrial precinct which will benefit the gas industry.

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Gas connections in new homes and government businesses will be banned in Victoria starting from the first day of 2024, in a decisive move by the Labor Andrews government to wean the state's housing stock off fossil fuels.

Victorian energy minister Lily D'Ambrosio said on Friday that from January 01 2024, planning permits for new homes and residential subdivisions will only connect to all electric networks, marking a major about face for the state with the highest residential gas use in Australia.

To support the move, a new $10 million Residential Electrification Grants program has been launched, offering volume home builders, developers and others to provide bulk rebates for solar panels, solar hot water and heat pumps to new home buyers up front.

The state government will also invest $1 million in targeted training for the construction industry, to add to Solar Victoria's $11 million training program to upskill plumbers and electricians for the delivery of energy efficient, all-electric homes.

"We know that with every bill that arrives, gas is only going to get more expensive. That's why we're stepping in to help even more Victorians get the best deal on their energy bills," said D'Ambrosio in a statement.

"Reducing our reliance on gas is critical to meeting our ambitious emission reduction target of net zero by 2045 and getting more Victorians on more efficient electric appliances which will save them money on their bills."

Victoria follows ACT lead

The move means Victoria will become the second state in Australia to introduce a ban on new gas connections, following closely on the the ACT, whose landmark law prohibiting the use of fossil gas in new homes and businesses is set to come into play in the nation's capital as early as November.

The ACT government's Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Natural Gas Transition) Amendment Bill was passed through the Legislative Assembly last month to establish the legal framework to end new gas network connections. Labor and the Greens hold a majority in the ACT assembly.

Victoria had been under increasing pressure to follow suit, with the fossil fuel industry ramping up efforts to induce consumers to switch from electric appliances to gas, and in light of increasing evidence that making homes all-electric is a no-brainer for governments trying to cut emissions and cost of living.

An economic no-brainer

Just last week, a new Environment Victoria report found that households in the state could save hundreds of dollars - or up to 75% - on their winter heating bills by switching from gas to efficient electric appliances.

The report, based on modelling by Renew, shows that an average home in Melbourne's south-east using gas for heating over the winter months of June, July and August can expect to pay a total of around $716 to keep warm.

The cost of heating the same space using efficient, electric reverse cycle heating slashes that to just $169 - a massive 75 per cent reduction.

"We congratulate the Andrews government for taking this vital step that will help Victoria achieve its climate targets and kick our expensive gas addiction," said Environment Victoria CEO Jono La Nauze on Friday.

"Gas is an expensive and polluting fossil fuel. The long term trend is that gas prices will keep rising whilst renewable electricity gets cheaper. It simply makes no sense to keep connecting new homes to the energy source of the past."

Much more work to be done

But while the new connections ban - and the message it delivers to the gas industry - is welcome, it does little to address the problem of the 2 million Victorian homes already connected to gas and how to transition them to all-electric.

"Much more work remains to be done," says La Nauze. "We look forward to the Andrews government updating its Gas Substitution Roadmap later this year, which must include a clear plan for helping ... homes already connected to gas to be retrofitted with efficient electric appliances."

The state's Solar Homes scheme goes a small way to address this issue, offering rebates of up to $1,000 on the cost of installing electric hot water systems and for switching out gas heating for reverse cycle air-conditioning units.

In the meantime, a ban on new residential gas connections is a strong move in the right direction.

A "clear and sensible plan"

"Victoria has the most to gain from electrification, because it has the most households relying on gas and exposed to price gouging by international gas companies," said Rewiring Australia's Saul Griffith, a long-time campaigner for all-electric homes.

"The state government has a clear and sensible plan to lower household bills and decrease reliance on fossil fuels. This is the type of commonsense leadership Australia needs," Griffith said on Friday.

"Going all-electric means healthier homes, lower bills and a big step towards a net zero community," said Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel in response to the news.

"With interest rates sky high, if used to help pay off your home loan, [the] bill savings from going all-electric could slash two years off an average 25-year mortgage in Melbourne.

"Given the upfront costs of building an all electric home are comparable to building a home with a gas connection, that makes going all-electric a no brainer."

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners have also welcomed the gas ban, saying the announcement shows the government is taking practical steps to protect Victorians' health.

"Gas stoves expose people to respiratory irritants, which leads to a multitude of respiratory conditions, and research indicates this includes triggering asthma in children," said RACGP co-deputy chair Dr Aadhil Aziz.

"As the old saying goes, 'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure' - and that's true in both health and climate. This announcement shows the government is serious about addressing both climate change and health, and is listening to medical professionals."

Fossil fight back?

How will the gas industry respond? As Rewiring Australia's Dan Cass said on Friday, there's bound to be strong push-back against what is, essentially, "a profound act of climate leadership."

"The fossil fuel industry will bleat about this decision because they want to keep gouging households and they do not care about the planet," Cass said.

"When someone shifts from grid power dominated by coal to rooftop solar, or from a petrol to electric car, they do more than change an energy source. They permanently lower their emissions and energy bills, and they never look back."

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Fossil gas ban: Victoria calls time on gas connections for new homes

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Planning permits for new homes will only connect to all-electric networks in 2024, marking a major about face for the state with the highest residential gas use in Australia.

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Monday 31 July - Pocock seeks to impose duty of care on Australian government over climate harm

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Monday 31 July - Pocock seeks to impose duty of care on Australian government over climate harm

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The independent senator David Pocock will call for a duty of care in Australian law requiring governments to consider the impact of climate harm on young people in their decision-making.
His bill calls for new conditions in Climate Change Act to influence decision-making on projects that could raise greenhouse gas emissions.
The introduction of the bill will coincide with the launch of a grassroots “duty of care” campaign supported by environment and community organisations and concerned citizens.

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The independent senator David Pocock will call for a duty of care in Australian law that would require governments to consider the impact of climate harm on young people in their decision-making.

With July on track to be the world's hottest month on record, the ACT senator will move his first private members's bill, which calls for new conditions to be enshrined in Australia's Climate Change Act.

The proposal would force the federal government to consider the health and wellbeing of young people and future generations when making decisions that facilitate or fund the development of projects that could significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions.

It would impose a duty on decision-makers not to make decisions that pose a material risk of harm to the health and wellbeing of current and future children in Australia.

"Climate and biodiversity will be the things that we get judged on by young people and future generations," Pocock said.

"That's what they're going to care about. What decisions did we make now to leave them with as good a future as possible?"

Under the proposal, the new conditions would be legislated in the Climate Change Act and apply to decisions made under six other pieces of legislation, including the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, the Infrastructure Australia Act and the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Act.

The push by the senator comes after weeks of wildfires and shattered temperature records in the northern hemisphere.

Governments around the globe, including in Australia, continue to support the expansion of fossil fuel projects which are driving the climate crisis.

In 2021, a high-profile federal court judgment in a case brought by a group of young Australians and an octogenarian nun found the then-environment minister, Sussan Ley, had a duty of care to protect young people from the climate crisis. That judgment was overturned by the full federal court bench last year after the former government appealed.

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Anjali Sharma was a high school student when she led the action against Ley. She said that after the court's original decision was overturned she began reaching out to lawyers and environmental and other advocacy organisations asking how a duty of care could potentially be enshrined in law. She then approached Pocock's office.

"This bill is another instance of young people taking back their power in the face of climate change," she said.

"It's really important to have this statutory duty of care because it will be a legal mechanism to ensure decision-makers really have to consider the impact of climate harm when making significant decisions that could affect climate systems."

Pocock said his bill aimed to plug a "gap" in Australia's legislative framework that the court case had exposed.

He said he was concerned by recent Albanese government decisions to approve new or expanded coalmines as well as its $1.5bn in financial backing for the proposed Middle Arm industrial precinct in Darwin Harbour, which a Guardian Australia investigation revealed was seen as a "key enabler" for the export of gas from the Beetaloo basin despite being branded as "sustainable".

"For me this is trying to change the way we do make those decisions and actually saying to future Australians and young people: we are going to put you first," Pocock said.

The introduction of the bill will coincide with the launch of a grassroots "duty of care" campaign supported by environment and community organisations and concerned citizens.

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Pocock seeks to impose duty of care on Australian government over climate harm

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Senator's bill calls for new conditions in Climate Change Act to influence decision-making on projects that could raise greenhouse gas emissions

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Thursday 17 July - NAB says no to financing Whitehaven Coal

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Thursday 17 July - NAB says no to financing Whitehaven Coal

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Stopped - a $1 billion loan to Whitehaven Coal by pushing NAB and 12 other banks to walk away [1]. This is a major blow to one of Australia's biggest coal miners and its plans to dig five massive new coal projects.
The Move Beyond Coal movement took what should have been a simple job for Whitehaven Coal — renewing a loan it had renewed 3 times before — and in the space of 10 months scuttled the entire deal.
Even Whitehaven's 2.65 billion in cash pile couldn't convince carbon conscience lenders. As CEO Paul Flynn says obtaining finance for thermal coal is "hard yakka..."

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Today's quarterly announcement by Whitehaven Coal revealing that it'sfailed to renew its rotating debt facility signifies a win for people power, lives, livelihoods and ecosystems everywhere.

Move Beyond Coal - a grassroots community movement tackling Australia's biggest contribution to the global climate crisis - has campaigned relentlessly in more than 60 locations across the country to stop the National Australia Bank (NAB) and other Australian and international banks from renewing their $1billion combined loan to Whitehaven Coal since September last year.

NAB and other Whitehaven Coal investors' decision to cease financing this debt facility for Australia's largest undiversified coal company shows investors see financing new thermal coal as too risky.

This announcement sends a clear message to the coal industry, financial institutions and the government that the Move Beyond Coal movement is powerful, strategic and is stopping finance for climate-wrecking coal expansion in its tracks.

This news is also a win for frontline communities including the Gomeroi people, farmers and land holders in NSW and QLD who have been fighting fossil fuel development and Whitehaven Coal's destructive mines and finance for decades.

Whitehaven Coal has no climate policy, no intention to phase out coal and is in fact actively expanding their coal operations with five new coal projects. The lack of investor confidence from Australian and international banks alike revealed today has shown Whitehaven that there is no financial support for new thermal coal projects.

Miree Le Roy, a business owner and former NAB business customer says "Wherever NAB has turned, they've seen and heard Move Beyond Coal - whether it be outside or inside their branches, at CBD Headquarters, on their social media, at NAB events, University careers fairs, sponsored AFL games, or on anonymous NAB staff webinars. You name it - our people-powered movement was there.

Together we have exposed NAB's greenwash and called on the bank to stop funding Whitehaven Coal and their dangerous expansion plans, and it has clearly worked. As a former NAB business customer I'm relieved to hear NAB has listened to climate concerned citizens, staff and customers, to deter Whitehaven Coal from going ahead with their unconscionable expansion plans to accelerate the climate crisis.

Although NAB has listened to our people-powered movement this time, NAB is still the most regressive Australian bank and a climate laggard , increasing its funding of the fossil fuel industry to the tune of $4.5bn. The work is not over and our movement will continue to push financial institutions like NAB until there are no new climate-wrecking coal projects on the table."

Fahimah Badrulhisham an active member of the Move Beyond Coal movement said: "People power made this happen. By disrupting business as usual, our unstoppable movement is taking down the pillars of the Australian coal industry one by one.

Young people, people of faith and communities in more than 60 towns and cities across Australia took action as part of this campaign and will continue to work to expose companies, financial institutions and governments that support the coal industry in the midst of a climate crisis.

The science is unequivocal. To protect the lives and livelihoods of people across the globe, and to safeguard precious ecosystems, Australia must move beyond coal."

ENDS
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NAB says no to financing Whitehaven Coal

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Together we can solve Australia's biggest contribution to the climate crisis - join the movement!