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In the 1970s, Graeme Pearman measured rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, briefing three prime ministers on what that meant for the planet. After decades leading Australia’s climate research, Pearman, now 82, speaks of the frustration that the science didn't lead to meaningful change.

This video is part of Weight of the World: a climate scientist's burden. The series features three pioneering Australian climate change scientists - Graeme Pearman, Lesley Hughes and Ove Hoegh-Guldberg. Pearman was measuring CO2 in the atmosphere as long ago as 1971. Hughes is one of the first ecologists to warn that rising temperatures would push many species towards extinction. Hoegh-Guldberg’s research revealed the risk that global heating would have on the ocean’s richest ecosystems - coral reefs.

The series tells the story of how the three scientists made their discoveries, how they came under attack for their science and the personal toll it has taken on them. And importantly, how they stay hopeful.

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‘We must start setting records on cutting emissions,’ UN boss says after temperature records obliterated in 2023

The world is on track for a “hellish” 3C of global heating, the UN has warned before the crucial Cop28 climate summit that begins next week in the United Arab Emirates.

The report found that today’s carbon-cutting policies are so inadequate that 3C of heating would be reached this century.

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Nations must go further than their current Paris Agreement pledges in order to be on track to meet targets to curb global warming or face a temperature rise of up to 2.9C this century, according to a UN report Monday that has prompted UN chief Antonio Guterres to urge leaders to "drastically up their game".

A new direct air capture demonstration unit will be installed at the UK's first and largest net zero industrial cluster in northeast England, resulting from a partnership between a local university and a climate tech company.

I think people everywhere, even on juries, have had enough of our leaders’ failure to tackle the climate crisis

In 2021, I was arrested with eight other women for breaking the windows at HSBC’s headquarters in London. On Thursday, after just two hours of deliberation, a jury of our peers found all nine of us not guilty of nearly half a million pounds in criminal damage.

Although the three-week trial was the most gruelling experience of my life, I trusted the jury to acquit us for two reasons. First, I believe the human spirit is basically good and cooperative, and when given the chance we will make decisions that are compassionate and fair.

Gully Bujak worked with Extinction Rebellion for several years and is now a community organiser in Hull

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

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European carbon prices rose on Monday morning as the energy complex advanced amid lower temperatures and continued geopolitical uncertainty, though sources said speculative traders were working to limit increases as short-biased positions continue to dominate sentiment.

Japan has given the green light to the registration of 26 projects under the J-Credit scheme, which could generate roughly 3.1 million carbon credits over their lifetimes, as the country is seeking to expand the supply of domestically issued offsets.

A consortium of Japanese companies has signed with Malaysian oil and gas giant Petronas to commercialise a carbon capture and storage project by 2028.

China will promote the inclusion of biodiesel projects in the national carbon offset scheme, as part of a broader plan to popularise the applications of green fuels in the country.

The 1% aren’t just the biggest climate wreckers, they also greatly influence how the world responds to the crisis

When you talk about the climate crisis, sooner or later someone is going to say that population is the issue and fret about the sheer number of humans now living on Earth. But population per se is not the problem, because the farmer in Bangladesh or the street vendor in Brazil doesn’t have nearly the impact of the venture capitalist in California or the petroleum oligarchs of Russia and the Middle East. The richest 1% of humanity is responsible for more carbon emissions than the poorest 66%. The rich are bad for the Earth, and the richer they are the bigger their adverse impact (including the impact of money invested in banks, and stocks financing fossil fuels and other forms of climate destruction).

In other words, we are not all the same size. Billionaires loom large over our politics and environment in ways that are hard to understand without taking on the shocking scale of their wealth. That impact, both through their climate emissions and their manipulations of politics and public life means they are not at all like the rest of humanity. They are behemoths, and they mostly use their outsize power in ugly ways – both in how much they consume and how much they influence the world’s climate response.

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An industry lobby group has urged the government of Papua New Guinea to establish a Customary Land Department in the country, saying it could both protect the rights and interests of indigenous communities and foster sustainable development.  

More than half the installed power capacity from the China-initiated Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is coal and gas, though their share has declined over the past two years, a report by energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie has found.

A third round of plastic talks ended in Nairobi Sunday, with negotiators failing to achieve the goal of agreeing a draft treaty text for approval next year and observers blaming excessive influence from fossil fuel and petrochemicals lobbyists.

Carbon project developer Wildlife Works Carbon (WWC) has fired two staff members at the Kasigau Corridor REDD project in Kenya in relation to its ongoing investigation into sexual harassment and abuse allegations, the company said Monday, whilst apologising to the individuals affected.

"At least" six wind farms proposed for development in Tasmania face major delays, or worse, in the fallout from the decision to cut the MarinusLink project in half.

The post “Hard to fathom:” Six wind farms in doubt in Tasmania as transmission plans change appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The new battery will store power from the expanded 6.2 MW gas to energy power plant for dispatch during peak periods.

The post ACT adds new 24 MWh battery as it expands landfill gas generation appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Massive wind turbine blade hits the road, for an epic road trip too ne of the largest off-grid hybrid renewable energy systems to power a mining operation in Australia.

The post First turbine blade leaves port for epic road trip to mine’s remote renewable microgrid appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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.

The National Trust says climate change-linked extreme weather is now the biggest threat to its sites.

Renowned for clean-energy tech, the billionaire seems to be at one now with super-emitters and far-right global climate deniers

Elon Musk was once lauded as a sort of green Tony Stark – the genius inventor who leads a double life as superhero Iron Man – for single-handedly tackling the climate crisis one Tesla at a time, helping to forge a clean energy future and pushing for new taxes to drive down fossil fuel use.

But the climate credentials of the world’s richest person have become clouded by his embrace of rightwing politicians, some of whom dismiss global heating, as well as by his management of X, formerly known as Twitter, during which many climate scientists have fled the platform amid a proliferation of misinformation about the climate crisis.

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