Environment
Climate change
Climate change made 'really scary' fire extremes a third more likely
Australia's extreme bushfire season was at least 30 per cent more likely than a century ago because of climate change, and the risks of a repeat will rise four-fold if global temperatures exceed a two-degree rise.
- by Peter Hannam
Latest
Exclusive
Climate policy
UNSW to jettison fossil fuel investments by 2025 'at the latest'
The University of NSW will divest its holdings of fossil fuel company investments by 2025, joining other academic institutions seeking to "make a contribution to dealing with the climate crisis".
- by Peter Hannam
Vanishing coast
Thousands of kilometres of Australia's beaches at risk from rising seas
More than 12,000 kilometres of Australia's sandy beaches are threatened by coastal erosion by the end of the century, with greater losses predicted if greenhouse gas emissions remain high.
- by Peter Hannam
Extreme weather
Summers are starting earlier, finishing later and winter is in retreat
Our hottest season is not like the one many of us grew up with and is placing infrastructure under major strain.
- by Peter Hannam
Opinion
Climate policy
Global finance leaves Australia behind in the march to net-zero emissions
While major global financial institutions declare their exit from coal, Australian politicians dither.
- by John Hewson
Extreme weather
Antarctic heatwave melted 20 per cent of an island's snow cover in days
During a recent warm stretch, snow cover markedly declined as melt ponds formed on Eagle Island, Antarctica, and nearby ice shelves.
- by Andrew Freedman
Bushfires
'Extraordinary' fires burnt at historical size, beyond climate projections
Australia's bushfires exposed deficiencies in the climate models that are struggling to pick out changes in rainfall and fire weather trends, scientists say.
- by Peter Hannam
Environmental activism
The anti-Greta: US conservative think tank takes on the global phenomenon
For climate skeptics, it's hard to compete with the youthful appeal of global phenomenon Greta Thunberg. But one US think tank hopes it's found an answer in 19-year-old Naomi Seibt: the anti-Greta.
- by Desmond Butler and Juliet Eilperin
Editorial
Climate policy
Coalition must follow Albanese on target of net zero by 2050
The ALP has committed to a sensible, responsible target for carbon emissions. But the Coalition is spurning bipartisanship in favour of political opportunism.
- The Herald's View
Great Barrier Reef
First images appear from Great Barrier Reef's bleaching 'epicentre'
The first signs of stressed corals are appearing at Lizard Island, one of the hardest hit parts of the Great Barrier Reef during previous mass bleaching events.
- by Peter Hannam
Opinion
Climate policy
Why the dash for gas - and cash - is not an option
The impact of methane emissions is far greater than we knew - and that should be a warning to our authorities who are touting gas as the essential transition fuel on the path to net-zero emissions.
- by Greg Bourne