The Conversation

Australia has half as much forest as it did before colonisation. Restoring it can be hugely expensive. But new approaches can help Penny van Oosterzee, Adjunct Associate Professor James Cook University and University Fellow Charles Darwin University, James Cook University Noel D Preece, Adjunct Asssociate Professor, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

There’s more to sustainability than net zero. Using green ammonia for fuel and as a way to transport hydrogen could add to nitrogen pollution that already exceeds safe planetary boundaries. Jamin Wood, PhD Candidate, Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland Bernardino Virdis, Senior Researcher, Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Improving the performance of nearly 11 million existing homes will make a much bigger difference to housing energy costs and emissions than an incoming 7-star energy standard for new homes. Trivess Moore, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Lisa de Kleyn, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Ralph Horne, Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research & Innovation, College of Design & Social Context, RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Fear and Wonder is a new climate podcast, brought to you by The Conversation, and sponsored by the Climate Council. In episode five, we discuss how climate change is affecting vulnerable species. Joelle Gergis, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, Australian National University Michael Green, Host + Producer, The Conversation Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The oceans are getting hotter, with a likely El Niño and climate change responsible. Moninya Roughan, Professor in Oceanography, UNSW Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Trade in exotic pets online is far more prevalent and diverse than previously thought. Threatened species, invasive species and banned imports are all for sale. Adam Toomes, Ph.D. student at the Invasion Science & Wildlife Ecology Group, University of Adelaide Phill Cassey, Head, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Adelaide Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Despite declines of Australia woodland birds and ongoing conservation investment, we don’t have many studies that show exactly how effective different management actions are for these species. Jessica Walsh, Lecturer in Conservation Science, Monash University Martine Maron, Professor of Environmental Management, The University of Queensland Michelle Gibson, Research Fellow, Bird Ecology and Fire Science, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The tools and technologies to decarbonise freight transport in New Zealand are available now. The problem lies in their integration and the understanding of potential trade-offs. Patricio Gallardo, Researcher in Transition Engineering, University of Canterbury Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Climate change is a real threat to national security. So why didn’t our armed forces review properly come to grips with this? Matt McDonald, Associate Professor of International Relations, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Labor has signalled Australia is back on climate change. If so, why aren’t we telling the world? Wesley Morgan, Research Fellow, Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University James Bowen, Policy Fellow, The University of Western Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Research on societal change should feature more strongly in the IPCC’s climate assessments. Because without a significant shift in behaviour, the emissions curve will not bend downwards. Ralph Sims, Emeritus Professor, Energy and Climate Mitigation, Massey University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Despite the popular and intuitive notion that people find climate change psychologically distant, a new review of the evidence shows that’s not the case at all. Ben Newell, Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Director of the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk and Response, UNSW Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia’s transition to electric vehicles has been much slower than in many other developed nations. But the country is actually well placed to catch up fast. Scott Dwyer, Research Director - Energy Futures, University of Technology Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The multi-billion-dollar whale-watching industry enables millions of people to see these magnificent creatures up close. But the noise made by so many boats is a threat to whales’ wellbeing. Kate Sprogis, Adjunct Research Fellow, UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia Fredrik Christiansen, Senior Researcher in Marine Biology, Aarhus University Patricia Arranz Alonso, Researcher in Marine Biology, Universidad de La Laguna Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Victoria is planning to engineer wetlands so more water can go to agriculture. It’s not a good plan. Jamie Pittock, Professor, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Matthew Colloff, Honorary Senior Lecturer, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Fear and Wonder is a new climate podcast, brought to you by The Conversation, and sponsored by the Climate Council. In episode four, we discuss how climate change is affecting the water cycle. Joelle Gergis, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, Australian National University Michael Green, Host + Producer, The Conversation Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Many of our rivers are overloaded with nutrients from fertiliser run off and wastewater. Algal blooms, fish kills and poor water follow. One solution? Nutrient offsetting. Michele Burford, Professor - Australian Rivers Institute, and Dean - Research Infrastructure, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The strategy is long overdue but falls short of meeting the urgent need to accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles. Hussein Dia, Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

We cannot afford to ignore kelp – these vibrant underwater forests have sustained people and ecosystems for centuries, and continue to do so today. Aaron Eger, Postdoctoral research fellow, UNSW Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Smoothing the transition to clean energy for fossil fuel workers and their communities requires local leadership and the support of a new federal authority Fergus Green, Lecturer in Political Theory and Public Policy, UCL Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.