The Conversation

Our ocean forests of seaweed are enormous. But these quick-growing, life-supporting forests are already vanishing. Albert Pessarrodona Silvestre, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Western Australia Karen Filbee-Dexter, Research Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Thomas Wernberg, Professor, The University of Western Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The safeguard mechanism is supposed to stop Australia’s largest polluters from emitting over a certain threshold. It’s been widely criticised for lacking teeth, and is finally under review. Rebecca Pearse, Lecturer, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Biofuels are heralded as a climate-friendly replacement of fossil fuels, but encouraging people to drive less and shift to other modes of transport would cut more emissions. Paul Callister, Senior Associate Institute of Governance and Policy Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Robert McLachlan, Professor in Applied Mathematics, Massey University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Air pollution from traffic causes the deaths of thousands of Australians. A swift transition to electric vehicles will save lives – and save households and businesses money in the long run. Hussein Dia, Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University of Technology Christian A. Nygaard, Associate Professor in Social Economics, Swinburne University of Technology Krzysztof Dembek, Senior Lecturer Social Impact, Swinburne University of Technology Magnus Moglia, Associate Professor, Swinburne University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Millions of mangroves died off along Australia’s northern coast. The cause? El Niño - and the moon’s wobbly orbit causing extremely low tides. Neil Saintilan, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The city is a A$725 billion wall-like structure running for 170km across the Saudi Arabian landscape. Can it live up to its huge ambitions? Andrew Allan, Senior Lecturer in Transport, Urban and Regional Planning, University of South Australia Subha Parida, Lecturer in Management, University of South Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Kangaroos are essentially peace-loving herbivores, but they’re known to attack if it feels cornered – or even if it sees a human as a sparring partner. Graeme Coulson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Society is built on intersecting workplaces – and workers from many industries are being affected by climate change. Lauren Rickards, Professor, RMIT University Todd Denham, Research officer, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

La Niña is officially here for the third year in a row. You probably associate it with flooding, but how might it affect future drought and bushfires? And could a fourth La Niña be possible? Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The findings of a new study suggest mistrust in climate science and uncritical faith in “alternative science” lead people to reject consensus science and generate alternative explanations. Rachael Sharman, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of the Sunshine Coast Patrick D. Nunn, Professor of Geography, School of Law and Society, University of the Sunshine Coast Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia last week moved to tackle the climate crisis when federal parliament passed Labor’s climate bill. But the new law is just the first step. Wesley Morgan, Research Fellow, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

New research documented 50 different ways Sydneysiders tried to stop sulphur-crested cockatoos opening their bins, from rubber snakes to custom locks. Humans didn’t always win. John Martin, Animal Ecology Lab, Western Sydney University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

We’ve heard all the concerns about switching to electric cars before. But California, a market with many similarities, shows why Australia is well placed to accelerate its transition. Scott Hardman, Professional Researcher, Electric Vehicle Research Center, University of California, Davis Daniel Sperling, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Founding Director, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis Gil Tal, Director, The Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle (PH&EV) Research Center, University of California, Davis Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Traditional food provenance methods are typically designed to identify one species at a time. So we worked out a new approach, as part of a broader effort to combat seafood fraud and illegal fishing. Zoe Doubleday, Marine Ecologist and ARC Future Fellow, University of South Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Words matter. It’s vital terms like ‘crisis’ and ‘calamity’ don’t become rhetorical devices devoid of real content as we argue about what climate action to take. Noel Castree, Professor of Society & Environment, University of Technology Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The landfill industry’s decision to speak out about the integrity of carbon credits provides an opportunity to put the system back on the rails. Andrew Macintosh, Professor and Director of Research, ANU Law School, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

If mining workplaces are anything to go by, the clean energy sector will have their work cut out for them to retain women in the workforce. Emily Finch, Beamline Scientist at ANSTO, and Research Affiliate, Monash University Melanie Finch, Lecturer in Structural Geology and Metamorphism, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Past claims about the costs of 5-star and then 6-star home energy ratings were overblown. We are hearing similar claims about the new 7-star standard, but good design makes it a good deal for owners. Trivess Moore, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Nicola Willand, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Every year, air pollution kills 2,600 Australians. Australia’s new climate policy regime must account for this and other harms climate change wreaks on society. Thomas Longden, Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Richard Norman, Associate Professor in Health Economics, Curtin University Sotiris Vardoulakis, Professor of Global Environmental Health Tom Kompas, Professor of Environmental Economics and Biosecurity, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Developing countries want industrialised countries to pay reparations for loss and damage caused by climate change. Even with disasters ramping up, wealthy nations are resisting. Melanie Pill, Research fellow, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.