The Conversation

New research finds nearly 30% of land animals could disappear form their local area by 2100 due to climate change and habitat destruction. This is more than double previous predictions. Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University Giovanni Strona, Doctoral program supervisor, University of Helsinki Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

it’s hard to justify buying a battery right now on cost savings alone. If other reasons also matter to you, it’s easier to justify. Peter Pudney, Associate Professor of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, University of South Australia Adrian Grantham, Adjunct Research Associate, University of South Australia Heather Smith, PhD Candidate, Industrial AI Research Centre, University of South Australia John Boland, Professor of Environmental Mathematics, University of South Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

For the first time, Australia has moved to cap natural gas prices in a bid to stop energy price pain. Is the cap too high – or was it necessary to mollify the producers? Samantha Hepburn, Professor, Deakin Law School, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Indigenous engineering and care for Country points to a better way to manage the Baaka. Michael Westaway, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Archaeology, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland Badger Bates, Indigenous knowledge holder, Indigenous Knowledge Sue Jackson, Professor, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Most food waste still goes into red bins of mixed waste bound for landfill. It’s using up precious landfill space and harming the environment when it could produce valuable compost and biogas instead. William Clarke, Professor of Waste Management, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Chronically stressed and diseased koalas in clinical care are often euthanised, rather than released back into the wild. Edward Narayan, Senior Lecturer in Animal Science, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

To achieve a target of 82% renewable energy generation by 2030 requires a huge number of new sites for solar and wind farms. Cheng Cheng, Research Officer, School of Engineering, Australian National University Andrew Blakers, Professor of Engineering, Australian National University Anna Nadolny, Research Officer, 100% Renewable Energy Group, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Humans are expert pattern-finders. But artificial intelligence tools are better at trawling through vast data sets to find anything from waste dumps to heat-tolerant corals. Philipp Bayer, Adjunct Research Fellow, UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia Ahmed Elagali, Research associate, The University of Western Australia Julie Robidart, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia Kate Marie Quigley, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A new paper explores how a carefully controlled fuel reduction burn killed 17 critically endangered western ringtail possums. Philip Zylstra, Adjunct Associate Professor at Curtin University, Research Associate at University of New South Wales, Curtin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Almost 200 countries are reckoning with the world’s extraordinary loss of the variety of life at the COP15 nature summit in Canada. Here’s why Indigenous involvement is crucial. Zsofia Korosy, Postdoctoral Fellow in Law, UNSW Sydney Anthony Burke, Professor of Environmental Politics & International Relations, UNSW Sydney Daniel Robinson, Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney Katie Moon, Lecturer, UNSW Sydney Margaret Raven, Senior Scientia Lecturer (Research), UNSW Sydney Michelle Lim, Associate Professor, Singapore Management University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

We’ll need to almost double our electricity sector workforce to build renewables as quickly as we need to. Where will the workers come from amid a skills shortage and infrastructure boom? Jay Rutovitz, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney Chris Briggs, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney Rusty Langdon, Research Consultant, University of Technology Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The path of Plibersek’s big agenda stretches far beyond the one-term political horizon – and it’s fraught with dangers. Peter Burnett, Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

If the proposed pumped hydro scheme at Onslow goes ahead and is managed well, it could be a major asset to diversify a low-carbon, self-resilient economy in Aotearoa New Zealand. Alan Brent, Professor and Chair in Sustainable Energy Systems, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Gregory Guyot, Associate researcher in Fluid Mechanics Energetics Process and Civil Engineering (PhD-Ing), Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA) Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Breed matters. But dogs are mostly what we make of them, and they repay the effort we put into their behaviour tenfold. Melissa Starling, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Kneading is typical kitten behaviour but may be retained into adulthood because it can help communicate messages. Susan Hazel, Senior Lecturer, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide Julia Henning, PhD Candidate, University of Adelaide Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Energy bills are about to hurt. But what can the government actually do to ease the pain? Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Getting that detail right could mean the difference between a species surviving, or disappearing forever. Brendan Wintle, Professor in Conservation Science, School of Ecosystem and Forest Science, The University of Melbourne Martine Maron, Professor of Environmental Management, The University of Queensland Sarah Bekessy, Professor in Sustainability and Urban Planning, Leader, Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Research Group (ICON Science), RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

A heatwave across northern Australia comes as a shock to the system. The impacts of heat are worst in early summer when we’ve had less time to acclimatise, so it’s important to heed health warnings. Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

UNESCO report highlights what needs to be done to save the global icon. But you might be surprised by its top recommendation. Andrew Brooks, Principal Research Fellow - Fluvial Geomorphologist - specialising in catchment erosion research, Griffith University James Daley, Research Fellow, Coastal and Marine Research Centre, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Fining and jailing Indonesian fishers taking shark fin is a knee-jerk solution. As long as sharks keep vanishing and demand for shark fin soup remains high, illegal fishing will continue. Anthony Schuyler Marinac, Lecturer, College of Business, Law and Governance, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.