The Conversation

The natural world depends on insects to function, but they may be the next casualty of climate change. Bill Laurance, Distinguished Research Professor and Australian Laureate, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia's subtropical regions are drying, but if we can slow the global temperature rise then rainfall should increase again. Kale Sniderman, Senior Research Fellow, School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne Andrew King, ARC DECRA fellow, University of Melbourne Jon Woodhead, Research Scientist Josephine Brown, Senior research scientist, Australian Bureau of Meteorology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A NSW court's decision to rule out a coalmine on the basis of climate change could signal a turning of the tide in an arena where environmental litigants have previously struggled to gain traction. Justine Bell-James, Senior lecturer, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A new report predicts that one-third of the ice in the Himalayas will melt, even if we contain global warming to 1.5C. So what does that mean for the flood-prone valleys below? Anthony Dosseto, Associate Professor, University of Wollongong Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Walking towards this tree, which grows only on a select few mist-shrouded mountainsides in Queensland, can feel like stepping into a prehistoric dinosaur-filled fantasy. Fanie Venter, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Everyone knows the Great Barrier Reef is in peril. But a continent away, Western Australia's Shark Bay is also threatened by marine heatwaves that could alter this World Heritage ecosystem forever. Matthew Fraser, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Western Australia Ana Sequeira, ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Western Australia Brendan Paul Burns, Senior Lecturer, UNSW Diana Walker, Emeritus Professor, University of Western Australia Jon C. Day, PSM, Post-career PhD candidate, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Scott Heron, Senior Lecturer, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The Black Saturday fires transformed the way Australia responds to bushfires. Kevin Tolhurst, Senior Lecturer, Fire Ecology and Management, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Black Saturday in 2009 was Australia's worst bushfire tragedy. But climate projections predict more bushfire danger in the future, threatening our water supplies as well as homes. Scott Hamilton, Strategic Advisory Panel Member, Australian-German Energy Transition Hub, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

In the years after Black Saturday, climate adaptation research was in full swing, creating knowledge in how to deal with the risks. But a series of funding cuts have left this research in decline. Rod Keenan, Professor, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Victoria's Country Fire Authority was founded in the aftermath of a previous bushfire tragedy – the 1939 Black Friday blazes. But its creation was a bigger political saga than many people realise. James (Jim) McLennan, adjunct professor, School of Psychology & Public Health, La Trobe University, La Trobe University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Climate change is making Tasmania more vulnerable to brutal fire conditions. Nick Earl, Postdoctoral associate, School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne Peter Love, Atmospheric Physicist, University of Tasmania Rebecca Harris, Climate Research Fellow, University of Tasmania Tomas Remenyi, Climate Research Fellow, Climate Futures Group, Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Climate scientist predict that the combined effect of ice loss in Greenland and Antarctica will be more extreme weather, with impacts on agriculture, infrastructure and human life itself. Nick Golledge, Associate Professor of Glaciology, Victoria University of Wellington Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The flood zone around Townsville extends for hundreds of kilometres, making monitoring difficult even from the air. But scientists are testing a new satellite method that can peer through the clouds. Linlin Ge, Professor, UNSW Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Despite bans around the world, there's no empirical evidence sunscreens cause coral bleaching. Terry Hughes, Distinguished Professor, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A scathing report about the Murray Darling Basin Authority highlights the importance of climate change risks to public sector companies. Arjuna Dibley, Graduate Fellow, Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, Stanford University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

This retiring violet tucked away in the Australian bush holds the key to future generations of medically-engineered plants. Bronwyn Smithies, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Edward Kalani Gilding, Postdoctoral Research Officer, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The Murray-Darling is not just a food bowl, yet the South Australian Royal Commission has found the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is failing its mission to protect the environment as well as irrigators. Jamie Pittock, Professor, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Banning fishing in no-take marine reserves on the Great Barrier Reef does not protect sharks as well as received wisdom would tell you. Justin Rizzari, Lecturer in Fisheries Science, Deakin University Ashley J Frisch, Research Coordinator at Reef HQ / GBRMPA, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia's government insists it is on track to surpass its emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement. But while that may be true, it will only happen with some clever accounting. Alan Pears, Senior Industry Fellow, RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Neither of the two federal investigations into fish deaths in the Darling River include any Indigenous representation. Bradley J. Moggridge, Indigenous Water Research, University of Canberra Ross M Thompson, Chair of Water Science and Director, University of Canberra Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.