The Conversation

How long will it take for electric vehicles to cut emissions and improve air in our cities? Longer than we think – because petrol and diesel make up almost all of the fleet. John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney Andrea Pelligrini, Lecturer, Sustainable Mobility, University of Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Corporations have an incentive to make profits – even if their products hurt or even kill people. Here’s how to stop history repeating. Nick Chartres, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Sydney Lisa Bero, Chief Scientist, Center for Bioethics and Humanities and Professor of Medicine and Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Producing energy from harvested trees and other plants – bioenergy – might sound like a greener option, but it’s not a simple issue. Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Newcastle Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The fossil record suggests Australia may be much wetter, and look far different, in centuries and millenia to come. Tim Flannery, Honorary fellow, The University of Melbourne Josephine Brown, Senior Lecturer, The University of Melbourne Kale Sniderman, Honorary Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Among the poisons found in 36% of the frogs tested, rodenticide was detected for the first time. Pesticides are considered a threat to hundreds of amphibian species. Jodi Rowley, Curator, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology, Australian Museum, UNSW Sydney Damian Lettoof, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Wildlife Ecotoxicology, CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

It shouldn’t take sustained public outrage to stop environmentally destructive projects. Nature positive offers us a way forward. Peter Burnett, Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Yes we need land for solar panels, wind farms, batteries, pumped hydro, transmission lines and so on. But the amount of land is surprisingly small, when you do the sums. Here’s why. Andrew Blakers, Professor of Engineering, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

In Australia, the taxpayer has footed the bill for the forever chemical clean-up so far. But this will have to change. Sarah Wilson, PhD Candidate in Quantum Technology & Innovation Governance, Institue for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney Rachael Wakefield-Rann, Senior Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Symbiosis is so much part of life on Earth that it has shaped the evolution and structure of cells. It’s happening almost everywhere we look, including inside our gut. Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Four years of persistent ozone holes have sparked concern about what more UV is doing to Antarctic ecosystems. Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Laura Revell, Associate Professor in Environmental Physics, University of Canterbury Rachele Ossola, Postdoctoral fellow, Colorado State University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The rights-of-nature movement emerged as a response to economic pressures on ecosystems. But the success of projects depends on how well legal liability is defined. Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The more plastic, the more waste we produce. It sounds simple, but this discovery could help us find ways of ending plastic pollution. Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Britta Denise Hardesty, Senior Principal Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmosphere, CSIRO Katie Conlon, Ph.D., Researcher, Portland State University Win Cowger, Research Director, Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research, University of California, Riverside Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Many in the wider community still see sugar gums as risky trees that drop dangerous branches. But there is much to appreciate and admire about Eucalyptus cladocalyx. Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

All the evidence – colonial accounts and records, First Peoples’ testimony and scientific data – points to the existence of widespread tall, dense forests 250 years ago. David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University Chris Taylor, Research Fellow, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University Elle Bowd, Research Fellow, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Philip Zylstra, Research Associate, University of New South Wales, and Adjunct Associate Professor, Curtin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

When diners were asked why they don’t order plant-based meat dishes, it turns out they have many different reasons. David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University Bettina Grün, Associate Professor, Institute for Statistics and Mathematics, Vienna University of Economics and Business Sara Dolnicar, Research Professor in Tourism, School of Business, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The recent climate case win in the European Court of Human Rights by a group of older Swiss women has real implications for a number of current cases before New Zealand courts. Vernon Rive, Associate Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Some 7,000 years ago, West Antarctica’s ice sheet retreated, most likely driven by warmer ocean currents slipping under the ice. This could happen again – unless we cut emissions fast. Dan Lowry, Ice Sheet & Climate Modeller, GNS Science Holly Kyeore Han, NASA Postdoctoral Fellow, NASA Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The 2023 megafires burnt more than 84 million hectares of desert and savannah in northern Australia. That’s larger than the whole of NSW, or more than three times size of the UK. Rohan Fisher, Information Technology for Development Researcher, Charles Darwin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

We compiled maps of bushfires and prescribed burns in southern Australia from 1980 to 2021 to see how fire activity is changing habitat for 129 threatened species such as mountain pygmy possums. William Geary, Lecturer in Quantitative Ecology & Biodiversity Conservation, The University of Melbourne Dale Nimmo, Professor in Ecology, Charles Sturt University Julianna Santos, Research fellow in Ecology and Conservation Science, The University of Melbourne Kristina J Macdonald, PhD Candidate, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Pollution on land inevitably ends up in the sea. Policy makers must stop working in silos and instead consider the indirect consequences human impacts on land have for marine environments. Rebecca Gladstone-Gallagher, Lecturer in Marine Science, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Conrad Pilditch, Professor of Marine Sciences, University of Waikato Simon Francis Thrush, Director of the Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.