The Conversation

I watched little ravens line their nests with messmate stringy bark last spring. Here’s what birds might seek your garden trees this year. Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Climate change is a game changer and our disaster response is no longer sufficient. We must begin to address the underlying causes that make some communities more vulnerable than others. Bruce Glavovic, Professor in Natural Hazards Planning and Resilience, Massey University Shinya Uekusa, Lecturer, University of Canterbury Steve Matthewman, Professor in Sociology, University of Auckland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Labor has put fuel efficiency rules on the agenda. But the standards must be stringent and purpose-built for Australia. Robin Smit, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney Hussein Dia, Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University of Technology Nic Surawski, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Our urban heritage should be allowed to evolve and adapt to the values and needs of today. It’s the best way to avoid neglect and decay, while enabling this heritage to help make cities sustainable. James Lesh, Lecturer in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

While well-meaning, it’s unclear whether the benefits of training community members to respond to disasters outweigh the risks. Mittul Vahanvati, Lecturer, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University Erica Kuligowski, Vice-Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow, School of Engineering, RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Catchments are full. Dams are at capacity, soils are saturated and rivers are high. In some cases, there’s nowhere for the rains to go except over land. Mel Taylor, Associate Professor, Macquarie University Katharine Haynes, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of Wollongong Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Tenants are rarely allowed to make permanent changes to a house. And many landlords know little about the conditions tenants endure, but most who do retrofit homes do it to improve renters’ comfort. Michaela Lang, Postdoctoral Researcher, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University Rob Raven, Professor and Deputy Director (Research), Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University Ruth Lane, Associate Professor in Human Geography, Monash University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Sperm whales support ecotourism in Kaikōura and blue whales come to feed off the New Zealand coast – but both may become a rare sight as ocean temperatures continue to rise. Frédérik Saltré, Research Fellow in Ecology for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University Karen A Stockin, Professor - Marine Ecology / Rutherford Discovery Fellow, Massey University Katharina J. Peters, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Canterbury Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Right now, the safeguard mechanism meant to reduce emissions is not fit for purpose. Labor is exploring ways to fix it - and create a proper pollution market. Ian A. MacKenzie, Associate Professor in Economics, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia is already in the grip of a skills shortage. We’re going to have to solve that before we can start on the big renewables build. 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.

Housing standards in Australia have slipped behind the rest of the world. But momentum is growing to revive past ambitions to build the best homes we can. Rachel Goldlust, Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Scott Morrison secretly assumed control of the resources portfolio, among others. Now a gas company wants one of his captain’s calls to be scrapped. Samantha Hepburn, Professor, Deakin Law School, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Shifting to renewables means many more high voltage powerlines. But these powerlines are seeing strong pushback from farmers and rural communities. Are there any alternatives? Asma Aziz, Lecturer in Power Engineering, Edith Cowan University Iftekhar Ahmad, Associate Professor, Edith Cowan University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

When the pandemic hit, green space was there for us at a time when others weren’t or couldn’t be. Urban greening might be the solution to the ‘lonelygenic environment’ that our cities have created. Xiaoqi Feng, Associate Professor in Urban Health and Environment; NHMRC Career Development Fellow, UNSW Sydney Thomas Astell-Burt, Professor of Population Health and Environmental Data Science, NHMRC Boosting Dementia Research Leadership Fellow, University of Wollongong Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The paltry spending means many species severely impacted by the megafires were left in desperate trouble, potentially pushing some closer to extinction. Michelle Ward, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Queensland Ayesha Tulloch, ARC Future Fellow, Queensland University of Technology James Watson, Professor, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Planning has begun for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and already it’s clear the city has learned from the mistakes of other hosts, but its plans to be truly sustainable have one glaring weak point. Anthony Halog, Lecturer/Research Group Leader in Industrial Ecology and Circular Economy, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Newspapers were writing about climate change more than a century ago. Here’s why it’s taken so long to start tackling it. Linden Ashcroft, Lecturer in climate science and science communication, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The race to build the tallest timber building makes the news, but mid-rise construction is where using timber can make the biggest sustainability impact. Lisa Ottenhaus, Lectuer in Structural Timber Engineering, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The important change sends a direct signal for more investment in renewable energy, and comes not a moment too soon. Madeline Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Our ability to cool the planet takes humanity into unchartered territory. In a new paper published today, researchers discuss the big unknowns in a post net-zero world. Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne Celia McMichael, Senior Lecturer in Geography, The University of Melbourne Harry McClelland, Lecturer in Geomicrobiology, The University of Melbourne Jacqueline Peel, Director, Melbourne Climate Futures, The University of Melbourne Kale Sniderman, Senior Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Kathryn Bowen, Professor - Environment, Climate and Global Health at Melbourne Climate Futures and Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, The University of Melbourne Tilo Ziehn, Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Zebedee Nicholls, Research Fellow at The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and Melbourne Climate Futures, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.