Australian-French relations remain tense

 

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison giving his version of the Macron-initiated phone call while carefully avoiding mention of the fact that for weeks the French President refused to take his calls. 

Australian read out from the phone call with President Macron: “They had a candid discussion on the bilateral relationship.” @SBSNews #auspol 🇦🇺 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/z8gZOUDjeo

— Pablo Viñales (@pablovinales) October 28, 2021

This is what French President Emmanuel Macron states....

Élysée Palace, France, statement, 28 October 2021:

Statement on the phone call between President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

On Thursday, 28 October, President Macron had a telephone call with the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Scott Morrison.

President Macron recalled that Australia’s unilateral decision to scale back the French-Australian strategic partnership by putting an end to the ocean-class submarine programme in favour of another as-yet unspecified project broke the relationship of trust between our two countries. The situation of the French businesses and their subcontractors, including Australian companies, affected by this decision will be given our utmost attention.

It is now up to the Australian Government to propose tangible actions that embody the political will of Australia’s highest authorities to redefine the basis of our bilateral relationship and continue joint action in the Indo-Pacific.

Looking ahead to the upcoming G20 in Rome and COP26 in Glasgow, the President of the French Republic encouraged the Australian Prime Minister to adopt ambitious measures commensurate with the climate challenge, in particular the ratcheting up of the nationally determined contribution, the commitment to cease production and consumption of coal at the national level and abroad, and greater Australian support to the International Solar Alliance.

Cartoons of the Week

 

Cathy Wilcox

John Shakespeare

David Rowe

 

Image of the Week

 

Extinction Rebellion protest outside Nats MP for Page Kevin Hogan's electoral 
office on 21 October 2021. IMAGE: The Northern Star

Tweet of the Week

 

Just days away COP26: Billboards appear mocking Australia's climate record appear in Glasgow. pic.twitter.com/kW6mjSEnwD

— Lismore CBD Magazine (@NthCoastMedia) October 27, 2021

COVID-19 Delta Variant Outbreak Northern NSW: in answer to a sense of frustration felt by some

A few locals have wondered aloud why there is so little in the mainstream media concerning the Delta Variant Outbreak in Northern NSW. One or two have said ‘It’s almost as if we’ve been forgotten’ or words to that effect.

There is no clear explanation for the one-moment-hot-one moment-cold approach taken towards this particular parcel of regional New South Wales.

Though I rather suspect media are not being overly encouraged to look at the wider regional picture.

Because this wider picture shows that until the NSW Government began to ramp up the push to ‘live with COVID’, began to elaborate on the ‘freedom’ it was going to give the Greater Sydney area and played about with public health orders so that, perhaps accidentally, it increased population mobility at a time when this carried risk, there were still rural and regional local government areas such as 6 of the 7 in Northern NSW which had not ever experienced residents in their own communities becoming infected with either the original SARS-CoV-2 virus or the more infectious Delta Variant whilst going about their daily lives.

Focusing on just this one region for even a short period might make other rural and regional areas across NSW and, their local government areas, consider exactly what did an overly compliant state government forcefully impose on them to keep Greater Sydney and industry quiet in the lead up to a federal election.

OVERVIEW

There are seven local government areas in north-east NSW and like a number of other coastal zone councils they all recorded cases of COVID-19 by March 2020.

Byron Bay recorded its first contacts with COVID-19 from 14 March 2020 through to 8 April 2020 – all 16 cases were overseas sourced infections with no community transmission in the local government area. However, on 25 July 2021 the first 2 confirmed locally acquired cases were recorded – just 39 days after the Delta Variant began in Sydney.

COVID-19 entered Tweed Shire on the NSW-Qld border on or about 18 March 2020, when both a confirmed interstate-sourced case & a locally acquired case with no links to a know infection were recorded. From then until April 2021 a further 16 COVID-19 cases were recorded as overseas sourced and there was no apparent community transmission. Tweed’s first locally acquired case that was clearly linked to community transmission was recorded on 30 September 2021 - just under 4 months after the Delta Variant Outbreak began in Sydney.

Clarence Valley recorded its first confirmed COVID-19 cases began on 20 March 2020. However, all these 8 cases were from overseas and did not infect local communities. From 29 March 2020 until 4 October 2021 there had been no confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded in the valley. Its first confirmed locally acquired cases were recorded on 5 October 2021 – just under 4 months after the Delta Variant Outbreak began in Sydney.

Ballina recorded its first COVID-19 case on 22 March 2020. The next day saw its first locally acquired COVID-19 infection, followed by another 12 confirmed COVID-19 cases over the next 15 months, of which only 2 were locally acquired. On 1 July 2021 an overseas sources COVID-19 case was recorded in Ballina, but it wasn’t until about three months later on 6 October 2021 that locally acquired COVID-19 cases began to occur in a distinct community transmission pattern – just under 4 months after the Delta Variant Outbreak began in Sydney.

Lismore City recorded its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on 23 March 2020 and it was an overseas sourced infection with the next 5 cases up to 15 July 2020 being 5 overseas sources & 1 interstate sourced infection. Up to that point there was no community transmission in the local government area. It remained that way for the next 7 months. Then on 15 September 2021 the very first confirmed case of locally acquired COVID-19 was recorded – 15 months after the Delta Variant Outbreak began in Sydney.

Richmond Valley was first introduced to COVID-19 on 31 March 2020 when an overseas sourced COVID-19 case was recorded. A second overseas sourced COVID-19 case was recorded on 28 April 2020. Then the virus disappeared from view. It wasn’t until 28 September 2021 that the first confirmed locally acquired COVID-19 case was recorded in the local government area – a little over 3 months after the Delta Variant Outbreak began in Sydney.

The notable exception to all this was little Kyogle. It had no overseas, interstate or from elsewhere in NSW, COVID-19 cases recorded in the local government area at all – never ever – and up to 27 October 2021 still doesn’t. Its first confirmed locally acquired case was recorded on 28 September 2021 – over 21 months after SARS-CoV-2 first entered Australia and over 4 months after the Delta Variant Outbreak began in Sydney.

NOTE: As data is regularly reviewed, NSW Health from time to time removes or otherwise alters its COVID-19 notification records. The numbers and dates cited in this post were accurate up to 26 October 2021.

BACKGROUND

According to NSW Health in the week ending 25 October 2021 there were 2,207 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and 4,141 active cases.

In that time period every single local health district contained confirmed COVID-19 cases and virus fragments were found in 109 sewerage treatment plants.

As at 26 October 2021 51 NSW hospitals had 321 inpatient cases of COVID-19 & 21 of these hospitals also had COVID-19 patients in intensive care units. There was also an additional 2,361 infected people being treated outside of a hospital setting.

As of 8pm on Tuesday, 26 October 2021 there have been 122 confirmed cases of locally acquired COVID-19 infection in the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) since on or about 13 September 2021 when the SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant first entered north-east New South Wales from the Greater Sydney area.

As yet the infection numbers are relatively low.

The confirmed cases location breakdown in Northern NSW between 13 September & 26 October 2021 appears to be:

Tweed Shire - 6 cases + 1 infection contracted elsewhere in NSW

Byron Bay - 7 cases

Ballina - 11 cases

Kyogle - 16 cases

Richmond Valley - 20 cases

Lismore City - 25 cases

Clarence Valley - 36 cases.

Left behind in a changing world, the federal Nationals struggle for relevance

The Federal Nationals and Relevance

On 24 October federal National parliamentarians finally agreed to the Government taking a net zero 2050 target to the Glasgow Climate Conference. This apparently difficult decision followed some weeks of farcical posturing and chest-thumping by some of the 21 Nationals who are representatives in the national parliament.

Elsewhere in the nation the 2050 net zero target was accepted as necessary without fuss. All states and territories, whatever the political party in power, endorsed this target and are working towards meeting it. In addition some states, including NSW, have committed to substantial cuts in emissions by 2030.

Australia’s Paris commitment of cuts of 26-28% by 2030 is widely seen by scientists as inadequate if warming is to be kept to less than 2.0°C. However, our Paris target will not be increased despite the urging of the UK and other allies, with the Prime Minister claiming he will not increase the 2030 target because he made a commitment about this to the Australian people. It is far more likely that he cannot increase the 2030 target because of the Nationals’ point blank refusal to endorse any 2030 increase. Presumably many of the Nationals– and particularly the climate change denialists in the party– feel that they have already taken more than enough action on climate change.

There are a number of surprising and seemingly illogical aspects of the federal Nationals’ heads-in-the-sand position on climate matters.

• They do not seem to be aware that the Australian community across the regions, as well as in the major cities, is becoming more concerned about climate change and wants more effective government action.

• They are also apparently unaware of how big business enterprises are working to reduce their climate risk and advocating more action from government. And the Business Council of Australia (in contrast to its pronouncements before the 2019 election) is supporting net zero by 2050 and wants the Government to increase its 2030 target to 46-50% below 2005 levels.

• The impacts of climate change are affecting rural people as well as city dwellers. The Nationals divisive arguments about urban people pushing climate action which will harm people in the regions ignores the reality that climate impacts (longer droughts, extreme weather events, increase in bushfire severity) are increasingly hurting regional people. In relation to Covid we were often told, “We are all in this together.” The same statement obviously applies to climate change.

• The belief that our fossil fuel exports can continue well into the future is delusional. Most, if not all, of our markets will be phasing out their fossil fuel use as they work to reduce their emissions. If the Nationals are so concerned about those currently employed in fossil fuel industries, they should be working on effective transition plans. But they will first have to accept that time is up for these industries.

• They have ignored the significance of changed views in rural industries which are supporting strong emission targets and farming industry climate action. This includes the National Farmers Federation as well as the climate activist group Farmers for Climate Action.

• The fact that they ignore the opportunities for jobs and the economic boosts that will result from new industries that will be developed in the regions as fossil fuels are phased out, highlights two factors underpinning the federal Nationals’ beliefs. The first is their obsession with coal and gas and the big interests that benefit from them. The second is the level of denial about the reality of anthropogenic climate change in the party.

As a result of being left behind in a changing world, the federal Nationals struggle for relevance.

- Leonie Blain

Guest Speak is a North Coast Voices segment allowing serious or satirical comment from NSW Northern Rivers residents. Email northcoastvoices at gmail dot com dot au to submit comment for consideration

Delta Variant Outbreak 2021: as the world turns in Northern News South Wales

 

As of 8pm on Tuesday, 26 October 2021 there have been 122 confirmed cases of locally acquired COVID-19 infection in the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) since on or about 13 September 2021 when the SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant first entered north-east New South Wales from the Greater Sydney area.

Community transmission has spread the virus into all seven local government areas - Tweed Shire, Byron Bay, Ballina, Kyogle, Lismore City, Richmond Valley and Clarence Valley.

As yet the infection numbers are relatively low.

The confirmed cases location breakdown between 13 September & 26 October 2021 appears to be:

Tweed Shire - 6 cases + 1 infection contracted elsewhere in NSW

Byron Bay - 7 cases

Ballina - 11 cases

Kyogle - 16 cases

Richmond Valley - 20 cases

Lismore City - 25 cases

Clarence Valley - 36 cases.

Those numbers are roughly equivalent to 3 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases a day in the local health district over 43 days and, as yet community transmission has not ceased.

As for NSW Health announcements of public venues of concern/exposure sites or information on hospitalization/treatment in the community - this tends to be infrequent.

CLIMATE CHANGE State of Play Australia 2021: Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his federal government continue to disappoint

 

Proposed billboard display
Glasgow, Scotland UK
UN COP26 2021
A Rational Fear

The Guardian, 26 October 2021:

There’s not a lot of good news, so for the sake of all our sanity, let’s start with the good news. The Morrison government has adopted a mid-century target of net zero emissions by 2050.

Now before anyone starts yelling – it is true that Australia already adopted that objective, more or less, when we signed the Paris agreement five years ago.

It is also true that the international climate conference Scott Morrison is about to attend in Glasgow is focused on 2030, not 2050, because the threat of global heating is urgent.

Net zero is, in fact, the bare minimum required for Australia to have any international credibility. But Morrison has landed a target that points Australia’s carbon-intensive economy tentatively in the direction of a necessary transition – and that really is a start. It would be churlish to say otherwise.

But sadly, that’s where our good news begins and ends. Morrison’s so-called mid-century plan has very little substantive content.

It really is extraordinary that we could spend the best part of a year tracking towards Tuesday’s pre-Glasgow crescendo – and land with a “plan” that is actually the status quo with some new speculative graphs.

But that’s exactly where we are. After the Coalition’s disgraceful, destructive decade – measured substantively, looking at proposed actions, not slogans – the government is still running to stay still, without any obvious remorse, introspection, or regret.

Let’s consider Tuesday’s omissions.

We weren’t told how much Morrison’s grand bargain with the Nationals will cost the country, either in dollars or in delayed ambition.…..

Could we please see the modelling underpinning the whole exercise? “Eventually,” the prime minister said, which schedules a release sometime between now and never…….

The concept the prime minister unfurled in the Blue Room at Parliament House on Tuesday was a whole-of-economy transition achieved by technology magic (with a safety valve of carbon offsets in the event that tech is not quite as magical as hoped).

Australia’s net zero strategy will be delivered by … wait for it … existing policy.

…...But Australia remains mired in the world of voluntary action, of carrots not sticks, not because that is the right thing to do, but because the Coalition remains a prisoner of its own weaponised nonsense, and it won’t give up the nonsense entirely until it is certain that telling the truth won’t cost it an election.

To give him due credit, Morrison is starting to decouple his political movement from the lies – the $100 lamb roasts and the Whyalla wipeout. The crushing narrative of cost and delay is slowly morphing in the direction of inexorability and opportunity.

But if the Coalition were to change course radically, it would be tantamount to an admission that a party of government in this country has traded the national interest for a handful of regional Queensland seats for the best part of a decade.

So we are asked to amble in the direction of this transition, whistling quietly to ourselves.......

Read the full article by The Guardian's political editor Katharine Murphy here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

26 October 2021

Net zero by 2050 welcome but taxpayer not business remains key driver

The Carbon Market Institute (CMI) welcomes the federal government’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 and looks forward to further detail on the plan in addition to the slides presented at today's press conference, but is disappointed that the taxpayer rather than business will remain the main driver with $20 billion earmarked to underwrite the transition.

CMI noted that credits for climate action and offsets can provide important assistance in a transition to net-zero emissions and that Australia has credible systems of integrity and plans to expand them, but we need to have integrity in climate, energy and economic transition policy as well as integrity in the credits.

“While the 2050 net-zero emissions target is welcome, it appears the plan is a missed opportunity to use existing policies as a springboard to a technology and market investment approach that would have business not the taxpayer as the main driver of the plan”, said CMI CEO John Connor.

“Net zero by 2050 is the minimum entry ticket to the climate policy credibility and alone won’t fend off potential carbon tariffs and higher capital costs increasingly facing carbon intensive companies and countries. That will require stronger 2030 commitments, not just projections, and policies that enable business to take greater responsibility and guide future decarbonisation investments.”

“A policy that limits ambition to net zero by 2050 and positions the taxpayer as the main driver of decarbonisation is also a missed opportunity to fully leverage the investments and opportunities arising from state government and business actions, and position Australia as a leader in realising the opportunities of the transition to net-zero emissions.”

“Australia should be supporting 2030 emission reductions of at least 50% and make them part of the currency of international climate and trade negotiations, our nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the UNFCCC Paris Agreement. The failure to convert strengthened emission reduction projections of up to 35% from 2005 levels resulting from stronger business and government actions into an even more ambitious NDC is a major missed opportunity.”

“Australia has existing climate policies that could be used as a springboard to increasing our ambition, including the federal government’s Safeguard Mechanism should be strengthened to catalyse the market’s transition to net zero emissions,” said Mr Connor.

The Safeguard Mechanism sets carbon pollution limits for businesses emitting more than 100,000 tonnes annually, but is currently delivering extremely limited results. The CMI, alongside the Business Council of Australia (BCA), is calling for Safeguard baselines to be reduced over time, with enforceable incentives to invest in pollution reduction. CMI’s recent survey revealed 79% of business respondents support reducing pollution limits set via the Safeguard Mechanism.

“CMI has supported key elements of the Technology Roadmap and, in the absence of policies to make business the main driver of emission reduction initiatives, the taxpayer will need to step up. However public investments, and the use of any offsets, should be aligned to supporting the infrastructure and community transition assistance needed to decarbonise by at least 50% by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

“CMI welcomes continuing government support for delivering natural and geological carbon sequestration in Australia and the Indo-Pacific region, we do have a world leading system of integrity in developing credits for carbon reduction and offsets. However, we must also have integrity in the transition and that requires a clearer pathway with greater interim targets.

“Carbon farming is already providing substantial additional revenue streams for landholders and investment in regional Australia and there is significant potential to expand its contributions but it should come with a credible decarbonisation pathways and policies.

“The federal government’s announcement today included little detail on policy or modelling undertaken and many aspects of what was announced are already known. We look forward to further clarity on its pending update of the Technology Investment Roadmap and other dimensions of its plans to address climate change and catalyse the inevitable global transition to a net-zero emissions economy”, said John Connor.

Distributed by Medianet

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Australian Prime Minister Scott John Morrison, 26 October 2021:

“Australia's plan to reach our net zero target by 2050. The Morrison Government will act in a practical, responsible way to deliver net zero emissions by 2050 while preserving Australian jobs and generating new opportunities for industries and regional Australia….

The Australian way. Australians want action on climate change. And so do I. But they also don’t want their electricity bills to skyrocket, the lights to go off, for their jobs to be put at risk or for the way of life in rural and regional communities to be sacrificed…..”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Australia’s Long-Term Emissions Reduction Plan: A whole-of-economy plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050”, released 26 October 2021 can be found at:

https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/October%202021/document/australias-long-term-emissions-reduction-plan.pdf

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🇬🇧 UK 2050 plan? 21 docs. 1868 pages. Heat & building strategy. Heat pump grants. EV incentives. End gas boilers by 2035, ICE sales by 2030! Treasury reviewed. CCC approved. Pathways for every sector to 2037. Legally binding. 5 year targets.

🇦🇺 Aus? No plan. Just more bullshit.

— Mike Cannon-Brookes 👨🏼‍💻🧢🇦🇺 (@mcannonbrookes) October 26, 2021

How-to-vote leaflets & other tangible electoral material are banned from 2021 NSW Local Government Election polling places due to COVID-19 risks. New rules for posters at polling places

Local Government Act 1993 Local Government (General) Regulation 2021 

Local government elections Direction under s 356TB 

Handing out electoral materials - arrangements for COVID-19 Pursuant to section 296(2) of the Local Government Act 1993 and section 275(1) of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2021 (the Regulation), the Electoral Commissioner is election manager of the local government elections of the councils listed in the Annexure to this Direction. 

Section 356TB(1) of the Regulation provides that the election manager may direct that a person must not hand out tangible electoral material in or on: 

(a) a polling place or pre-polling office; or 

(b) relevant premises within 100 metres of - (i) a polling place, or (ii) a pre-polling office. 

Pursuant to section 356TB(7) of the Regulation, electoral material includes a how-tovote card, poster or advertisement, containing an express or implicit reference to or comment on: 

(a) an election; 

(b) any council or any previous council; 

(c) any councillor or previous councillor; 

(d) the Government, the Opposition, a previous Government or a previous Opposition, of this or any other State or Territory or of the Commonwealth; 

(e) a member or former member of the Parliament of this or any other State or Territory or of the Commonwealth; 

(f) a political party, a branch or division of a political party or a candidate in an election; or 

(g) an issue submitted to, or otherwise before, the electors in connection with an election. 

Pursuant to section 356TB(8) of the Regulation, relevant premises are premises occupied or used by, or under the control or management of: 

(a) the Crown; 

(b) a NSW agency; or 

(c) a council, county council or joint organisation. 

Therefore, to reduce the risk of infection from COVID-19 where the material would be handed out, I direct that, in respect of any of the elections of the councils listed in the Annexure to this Direction, a person must not, on a day during the election period on which voting will be occurring, hand out tangible electoral material in or on: 

(a) a polling place or pre-polling office; or (

b) relevant premises within 100 metres of - 

(i) a polling place, or 

(ii) a pre-polling office.

 

John Schmidt 

Electoral Commissioner for New South Wales

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Local Government Act 1993 Local Government (General) Regulation 2021 Local government elections Direction under s 356TA Posters - arrangements for COVID-19 pandemic at:

https://elections.nsw.gov.au/NSWEC/media/NSWEC/Policies/356TA-direction.pdf

For all other 2021 NSW Local Government Elections Bulletins go to:

https://www.elections.nsw.gov.au/About-us/Media-centre/2020-NSW-Local-Government-elections-bulletins

As the NSW Perrottet Government continues with its plan to reduce its COVID-19 contact tracing & venue alert system.....

There are lessons to be learnt here by NSW Premier Perrottet's COVID-19 crisis committee - now renamed the COVID and Economic Recovery Committee - and NSW Health. However I'm not quite sure that they will learn these. 

Lesson Number One: As government & its agencies rollback aspects of the public health response to the Delta Variant Outbreak make sure these changes are fully explain in detail to regional communities - especially those experiencing COVID-19 community transmission for the first time since the outbreak began in June 2021.  

Make your explanations at a local level via commercial & community radio, newspapers, television - as well as by social media - and make the effort to inform in a timely manner.

Don't just do this once. Put your hands in departmental pockets and pay for community notices/advertisements every time changes are made - because what you are doing now just breeds distrust.

The Daily Telegraph, 25 October 2021:

Owners of a South Grafton business say they are disappointed at the lack of communication from NSW Health authorities after a person with Covid-19 visited their store. 

 Almost two weeks have passed since a Covid-positive customer entered Craig’s Birdplace and Pet Shop, but owners Linda and Iven Craig said they had not been notified by NSW Health. 

“We were actually informed through a friend of the person who tested positive; they wanted to get the information out there as soon as possible,” Mrs Craig said. 

“We contacted the health department who told us someone will call us back for further instructions, but they never did.” The next day, the pet shop, along with several other South Grafton businesses, was listed as a venue of concern on the NSW Health website. 

“It was on Facebook, mentioned on television news, mentioned in the paper, that we were a positive contact, but still the health department hadn’t contacted us, and still haven’t contacted us,” Mrs Craig said. 

“Another business down the road had no idea they were even on the list because no one had contacted them.” Mrs Craig said they immediately closed the store, cleaned the site and everyone got tested. 

Thankfully all received a negative result. 

They then reviewed security footage to find out how many people entered the store on October 5 between 2pm and 2.30pm, when the person with the virus reportedly visited. 

“Only four came here during that time-frame, but only two scanned in,” Mrs Craig said. 

After making her own inquiries, Mrs Craig said it turned out the customers who visited in that time-frame all tested negative to the virus. 

“We actually discovered that the time (the customer with Covid-19 visited the store) was wrong,” she said. 

“The positive person didn’t come in between 2pm and 2.30pm, they came in between 3pm and 3.30pm.” Mrs Craig said the person was wearing a mask in the store, but failed to sign in. 

“We’ve heard that the person has gotten over it really well,” she said. “They said they didn’t have any signs and felt perfectly healthy.” Mrs Craig said she was frustrated with the health ­department. “With all the contact tracing and alerting, it’s just disappointing to see that they’re still not getting it right,” she said. 

But the couple was buoyed by the support shown by the South Grafton community. “We got a lot of messages of support from customers and a big increase in business because people didn’t want to see us go down,” she said. 

“It was also really incredible when the owner of Pets Domain in South rang us and said they could bring their staff over to help run the shop if we couldn’t.

“We’re supposed to be ­rivals, but it just goes to show how special this community is.” NSW Health has been contacted for comment.

 

With an unabated rise in the health impacts and environmental risks of global climate change UN member nations meet in Glasgow UK for 13 days starting 31 October 2021

https://www.lancetcountdown.org/data-platform/climate-change-impacts-exposures-and-vulnerability

The COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference, hosted by the United Kingdom in partnership with Italy, will take place from 31 October to 12 November 2021 in the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow.

Australian Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison has stated his intention to attend – at this point without a clear, documented and funded national climate change net zero CO₂-e emissions policy.

A little light reading while the nation waits…...

The Lancet, 23 October 2021:

Published annually, the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change is an international, multidisciplinary collaboration, dedicated to monitoring the evolving health profile of climate change, and providing an independent assessment of the delivery of commitments made by governments worldwide under the Paris Agreement. All content on this page is either Open Access or has been made free to read with registration.

The 44 indicators of this latest report, published in October 2021, expose an unabated rise in the health impacts of climate change, and a delayed and inconsistent response of countries around the world. The imperative is clear for accelerated action putting the health of people and planet above all else.

Read the latest Countdown report

Extracts

While the world's attention has been diverted towards the ongoing acute health crisis, the health effects of human-induced climate change continue to increase. Climate change contributed to the unusually high temperatures seen during 2020 in the UK and Siberia; the record-breaking heatwave that affected populations across the Pacific Northwest areas of the USA and Canada in June, 2021, which caused more than 1000 deaths (a number expected to increase); accelerated glacier retreat that is putting the Huaraz (Peru) under imminent flooding risk; and Australia's devastating 2019–20 bushfire season…..

National and regional reports were published for Australia (in partnership with the Medical Journal of Australia), China, and SIDS. For the third year, the data underpinning each of the Lancet Countdown's indicators have been shared through an online data visualisation platform, where they can be explored at finer spatial and temporal scales…..

It is estimated that smoke from the 2019–20 Australian fires affected 80% of Australia's population and resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of people admitted to hospital. 

Barnaby Joyce & Co name the price Australia has to pay to secure their agreement to a 'net zero' national climate change policy

And the horror story that is the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government's policy responses to the risks associated with ongoing climate change continues....

The Saturday Paper, Post, 22 October 2021:

 

Nats name net-zero price

Roughly half the Nationals party room has backed a list of demands in exchange for its support of a net zero by 2050 plan. What we know: In a Thursday night meeting, a divided Nationals party narrowly backed a proposal for a regional economic package in return for their support, which will now be considered by Prime Minister Scott Morrison; Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce’s plan includes a socio-economic safety valve involving reviews of impacts on regional communities (The Australian);  Transition packages for regional mining, agriculture and manufacturing sectors will be requested; The proposal also calls for changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to enable farmers to engage in more land clearing (AFR);  Joyce is reportedly hoping to secure support for a $3bn extension of the Gladstone inland rail project, which environmentalists warn would unlock a “carbon bomb” of nine new coalmines and 150m tonnes of annual emissions (The Guardian);  It comes as leaked documents reveal Australia sought to remove references to coal lobbyists and recommendations to close coal plants from the latest IPCC climate report (BBC).