The Conversation

Surprise findings have revealed that Australia's cars are getting less fuel efficient. This is bad news for the hip-pockets of motorists - and for the climate. John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Robin Smit, Adjunct professor, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Labor will not win an election by cozying up to coal or weakening its climate target. Instead, it must find the common ground uniting workers in the cities and the regions - job insecurity. Fabio Mattioli, Lecturer in Social Anthropology, University of Melbourne Kari Dahlgren, PhD in Anthropology, London School of Economics and Political Science Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The climate policy has become an article of faith within Labor, and among many supporters. It's also a policy that in the election split voters Labor needed, attracting some but driving away others. Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Bureau of Meteorology researchers painstakingly analysed more than 40 years of data to work out exactly what is causing Australia's spring bushfire phenomenon. Chris Lucas, Senior Research Scientist, Australian Bureau of Meteorology Sarah Harris, Manager Research and Development Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Opposition resources spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon has had his proposal to bring Labor's climate change target into line with the government's immediately torpedoed by the party's climate spokesman Mark Butler. Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

It's easy to spot outright rejection of the facts on climate change. But it's far harder to see our own biases and excuses that lead us to delay or deny the need for real action. Iain Walker, Professor of Psychology, University of Canberra Zoe Leviston, Postdoctoral research fellow, Edith Cowan University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

People are more likely to deny climate change if they're inclined toward hierarchy, have lower levels of education or are more religious. But the strongest predictor of denial is a person's politics. David Hall, Senior Researcher in Politics, Auckland University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Public opposition to kangaroo culls shouldn't overrule the needs of thousands of other native species in national parks. Patrick O'Connor, Associate Professor, University of Adelaide Stuart Collard, Research Fellow, The Centre for Global Food and Resources, University of Adelaide Thomas Prowse, Postdoctoral research fellow, School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Adelaide Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Democracy is not perfect. Sometimes it produces policies that are undemocratic and unjust. In those cases, breaking the law may be justified. Samuel Alexander, Research fellow, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia's entire coal fleet will retire in the next few decades. The federal government's response to the Hazelwood coal plant closure has left a mess – it must do better. Guy Dundas, Energy Fellow, Grattan Institute Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

It's long been known that our diet choices help determine our carbon footprint. But do you know which of your favourite foods are the most water-hungry? Brad Ridoutt, Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Agriculture, CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

History has told us Aboriginal people in Tasmania almost exclusively occupied open plains. Revelations to the contrary could transform modern conservation. Ted Lefroy, Associate Head Research, Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania Grant Williamson, Research Fellow in Environmental Science, University of Tasmania Penelope Jones, Research Fellow in Environmental Health, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Some of Australia's biggest property companies are making ambitious emissions-reduction pledges –  but how well are they really doing? Amandine Denis, Head of Research, ClimateWorks Australia, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

New research shows that warming by more than 2°C could be a tipping point for Antarctica's ice sheets, resulting in widespread meltdown and changes to the world's shorelines for centuries to come. Georgia Rose Grant, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Paleontology Team, GNS Science Timothy Naish, Professor, Victoria University of Wellington Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Buybacks by open tenders were a successful, cost-effective way of returning water to the Murray-Darling Basin. They should never have been abandoned. Sarah Ann Wheeler, Professor in Water Economics, University of Adelaide Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australian supermarkets and fast food chains will soon be stocking a homegrown meat alternative that tastes and feels like meat and even sizzles on the barbecue. Martin Cole, Deputy Director of Agriculture and Food, CSIRO, CSIRO Mary Ann Augustin, Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Agriculture & Food, CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Carbon emissions from international air travel show no sign of abating. In the absence of a tax on jet fuel, are sail boats the best way to travel the world sustainably? Christiaan De Beukelaer, Senior Lecturer, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Individual actions to reduce emissions are important in two ways. First, they have an immediate impact, and secondly, adopting low-carbon life choices sends a clear message to political leaders. Nick Golledge, Associate Professor of Glaciology, Victoria University of Wellington Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Warm summers aren't the only threat to Arctic ice – increasingly intense winter storms are also weakening and reducing ice cover. Amelie Meyer, Research fellow, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Fishers who hunt wild tuna use fish's natural attraction to floating objects to lure them to known positions near GPS-equipped rafts. However, these rafts are attracting increasing concern. Joe Scutt Phillips, Senior Fisheries Scientists (Tuna Behavioural Ecology), Secretariat of the Pacific Community Alex Sen Gupta, Senior Lecturer, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Graham Pilling, Principal Fisheries Scientist, Secretariat of the Pacific Community Lauriane Escalle, Fisheries Scientist, Secretariat of the Pacific Community Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.