Future Coalition government would not withdraw from Paris climate agreement altogether, Liberal frontbench decides a day after five-hour party room debate
The Liberal party will abandon a firm net zero emissions target, siding with the Nationals to end the Coalition’s commitment to the climate goal.
The Liberal shadow ministry agreed a future Coalition government would not withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which was a red-line that could have prompted the resignation of moderate Liberals such as Andrew Bragg and Maria Kovacic.
Continue reading...
Breaking Waves: Ocean News
11/12/2025 - 21:28
11/12/2025 - 20:13
We cannot claim to be of the right of politics yet shy away from targets that hold us to account, especially ones that were once the Liberals’ own
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
It has been suggested to me that my views on our society’s relationship with the natural world come from my Celtic upbringing fused with the Anglican faith, which I still practice. My starting point when considering any matter concerning the health of our environment is that nature must be at the centre of all decision making. For the world sustains us, and we must be respectful to it in all our endeavours.
As a Liberal senator with a “conservative” disposition, this manifests itself as a deep and abiding commitment to leave the planet healthier than when I was born. I confess that there are times during debates in the party room when I reflect whether I am in a “real conservative” minority.
Continue reading...
11/12/2025 - 19:01
Fossil fuel emissions have hit a record high while many nations have done too little to avert deadly global heating
The world is still on track for a catastrophic 2.6C increase in temperature as countries have not made sufficiently strong climate pledges, while emissions from fossil fuels have hit a record high, two major reports have found.
Despite their promises, governments’ new emission-cutting plans submitted for the Cop30 climate talks taking place in Brazil have done little to avert dangerous global heating for the fourth consecutive year, according to the Climate Action Tracker update.
Continue reading...
11/12/2025 - 16:05
Exclusive interview with ex-US vice-president at Cop30 also reveals his hope around much-maligned climate summit
Fear of being bullied by Donald Trump may have prompted Bill Gates to row back on the climate crisis, Al Gore has speculated, as he slammed the billionaire’s new position as “silly”, and the US president for his anti-climate stance.
Trump, “the most corrupt president in American history”, was “badly damaging the US economy” by pulling away from renewable energy and promoting fossil fuels, the former US vice-president warned.
Continue reading...
11/12/2025 - 10:31
Stakeholders have spent months ironing out disagreements over how to distribute water from the sprawling basin
State negotiators embroiled in an impasse over how to manage the imperiled Colorado River were unable to agree on a plan before a federally set deadline on Tuesday, thrusting deliberations deeper into uncertain territory.
Stakeholders have spent months working to iron out contentious disagreements over how to distribute water from this sprawling basin – which supplies roughly 40 million people in seven states, 5.5m acres (8.9m hectares) of farmland, dozens of tribes and parts of Mexico – as the resources grow increasingly scarce.
Continue reading...
11/12/2025 - 09:00
The party’s imminent move to abandon the 2050 climate goal makes the environment the loser and Labor the biggest winner
LATEST: Liberals formally abandon net zero emissions target
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Appearing before the media after a marathon party room meeting on Wednesday, the shadow energy minister, Dan Tehan, said the Liberals’ imminent move to dump net zero policies was built on two foundational principles.
The first was that Australia must have a stable and reliable energy grid with affordable power for households and business. The second required emissions to be reduced in a responsible and transparent way that “ensures Australia does its fair share”.
Continue reading...
11/12/2025 - 07:10
This live blog is now closed. You can read the full Guardian coverage of the climate talks in Brazil here
Hello comrades, this is Nina Lakhani in chilly New York City taking over the blog for the next few hours. Thanks very much to my colleague Matt Taylor in London Town who will be back in the hot seat on Friday morning.
Leading climate activists and influencers have signed a letter criticising PR firm Edelman over its role at the Cop30 summit in Brazil.
Continue reading...
11/12/2025 - 03:02
Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart has previously donated to Institute of Public Affairs but thinktank won’t say if she remains a donor
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
A thinktank known for its rejection of the climate crisis and a conservation group that has opposed renewable energy projects refused to identify their funders during a fiery Senate inquiry into climate and energy misinformation on Wednesday.
Chair of the committee, Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson, asked Rainforest Reserves Australia’s vice-president, Steven Nowakowski, who had funded nine full-page newspaper advertisements promoting an open letter attacking a shift to renewable energy and promoting nuclear.
Continue reading...
11/12/2025 - 02:07
Senior Liberal sources say 28 speakers wanted to jettison the 2050 net zero emissions target entirely, 17 expressed desire to retain it in some form, while four were on the fence
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
The Liberal party is poised to abandon a net zero emissions target after senior MPs advocated dumping the climate goal at a marathon meeting in Canberra on Wednesday.
The Liberal shadow ministry will gather at 9am on Thursday to resolve a position after an almost five-hour meeting in Parliament House confirmed a majority of MPs wanted Sussan Ley to follow the Nationals in walking away from the commitment.
Continue reading...
11/12/2025 - 02:00
Exclusive: ‘Deep-rooted injustices’ affect billions of people due to location of wells, pipelines and other infrastructure
A quarter of the world’s population lives within three miles (5km) of operational fossil fuel projects, potentially threatening the health of more than 2 billion people as well as critical ecosystems, according to first-of-its-kind research.
A damning new report by Amnesty International, shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that more than 18,300 oil, gas and coal sites are currently distributed across 170 countries worldwide, occupying a vast area of the Earth’s surface.
Continue reading...
