The Conversation

Global climate models don’t let us zoom in on the fine details. A new set of high-resolution climate models for Australia is solving this problem. Ralph Trancoso, Adjunct Associate Professor in Climate Change, The University of Queensland Jozef Syktus, Professorial Research Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland Sarah Chapman, Visiting Research Fellow, University of Leeds Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Carbon farming has its problems, but we shouldn’t write it off. After all, good projects can store carbon – and bring back habitat. Rachel Standish, Associate Professor, Murdoch University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

More Australians than ever live in rented homes, many of which get far too hot. With summers getting longer and hotter, keeping millions of people cool should be a national housing policy priority. Zoe Goodall, Research Associate, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology Sungkavi Selvakumaran, PhD Candidate, Swinburne University, and Lecturer in Public Health, Torrens University Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Daily global temperature records keep falling. It’s a sign we’re on a rapidly warming planet. Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Climate denial is passe. But why do so many of us know the climate crisis is upon us – and live like it isn’t? Celeste Young, Collaborative Research Fellow, Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities (ISILC), Victoria University Roger Jones, Professorial Research Fellow, Victoria University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Experimenting with climate messaging reveals the best ways to inspire individual action. Here’s how to talk about the Great Barrier Reef this summer. Yolanda Lee Waters, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Angela Dean, Lecturer, School of Agriculture and Food Science & Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Climate modelling that best accounts for the processes that sustain plant life predicts plants could absorb up to 20% more CO₂ than the simplest version predicted. Jürgen Knauer, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Electric vehicles get all the press – but it’s the smaller unsung two wheelers cutting oil demand the most. Muhammad Rizwan Azhar, Lecturer, Edith Cowan University Waqas Uzair, Edith Cowan University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A group of prominent environmental scientists devised this list of 5 things we must see in Australia’s new national environmental laws, if we are to avoid calamity and hasten recovery. Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Jack Pascoe, Research fellow, The University of Melbourne Kirsty Howey, Charles Darwin University Terry Hughes, Distinguished Professor, James Cook University Yung En Chee, Senior Research Fellow, Environmental Science, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

It’s been five years since school students first went on strike for climate action. Much has changed. Eve Mayes, Senior Research Fellow in Education, Deakin University Ruchira Talukdar, Casual senior research fellow, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

It’s still possible for Australia to cut emissions in line with holding climate change to 1.5°C. Here’s how. Anna Skarbek, CEO, Climateworks Centre Anna Malos, Climateworks Centre - Country Lead, Australia, Monash University Michael Li, Research and Analysis Manager, Climateworks Centre, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The idea that harm done today can be offset in the future is based on a basic misunderstanding of the carbon cycle. Planting more trees is important – but it’s no substitute for cutting emissions. Mike Joy, Morgan Foundation Senior Research Fellow in Freshwater Ecology and Environmental Science, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Every living thing leaves traces in its environment. By sampling water or even air for this environmental DNA, we can know which species live where. Maarten De Brauwer, Research fellow, CSIRO Oliver Berry, Leader, Environomics Future Science Platform, CSIRO Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Understanding the success of the ABC’s War on Waste is a lesson in behavioural psychology. Research reveals five ways to guide other entertainment-education interventions to similar success. Danie Nilsson, Behavioural Scientist, CSIRO Rachael Vorwerk, Science Communicator, ARC Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS), RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Wars are multiplying – and the damage these conflicts do isn’t just immediate. They leave long-term environmental damage Stacey Pizzino, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Jo Durham, Senior Lecturer in Disaster Risk Management and Health, Queensland University of Technology Michael Waller, Senior Lecturer Biostatistics, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Technologies such as remote sensing and artificial intelligence are making it easier to gather more accurate data on biodiversity. Developing these digital tools will help vital ecosystem restoration. Kiri Joy Wallace, Research Fellow in Restoration Ecology, University of Waikato John Reid, Senior Research Fellow, University of Canterbury Penny Payne, Social Scientist, University of Waikato Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Seafloor sediments from beneath the Ross Ice Shelf represent an archive of warmer periods in Earth’s past. An ambitious international project aims to uncover what we can learn about our hotter future. Richard Levy, Principal Scientist/Environment and Climate Research Leader, GNS Science Dan Lowry, Ice Sheet & Climate Modeller, GNS Science Denise Kulhanek, Professor of Marine Micropaleontology, University of Kiel Gavin Dunbar, Senior Lecturer in Palaeoclimate, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Huw Joseph Horgan, Research Scientist, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Molly Patterson, Assistant Professor in Geology, Binghamton University, State University of New York Nick Golledge, Professor of Glaciology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Tina van de Flierdt, Professor of Isotope Geochemistry, Imperial College London Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Satellite data shows wildfires are destroying large areas of timber-producing forests around the world. These fires are becoming more destructive with each passing year. David Lindenmayer, Professor, The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University Chris Bousfield, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Cambridge David Edwards, Professor, University of Cambridge Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Buying back water from irrigators across the Murray-Darling Basin will not be enough to restore river health because we have big problems getting this ‘environmental water’ to where it’s needed most. Avril Horne, Research fellow, Department of Infrastructure Engineering, The University of Melbourne Andrew John, Research fellow, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

New Zealand cities grow mostly through building houses on undeveloped land. But this removes fertile soil and undermines the food production and other ecological functions city dwellers depend on. Shannon Davis, Lecturer in Landscape Planning, Lincoln University, New Zealand Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.