Fire chiefs around country warn Australia of bleak bushfire outlook

As fire chiefs from around the country stood ready to announce the Southern Australian Bushfire Outlook for 2018/2019, there was a grim sense of inevitability.

Areas with above-average bushfire risk this summer are marked in red.

Fires have already ripped through southern New South Wales during winter, the spring outlook is dire, and there is twice the normal likelihood of an El Nino this summer.

This year is looking bad and the line-up of official uniforms and shiny badges seemed to be saying: "This is your official warning.”

Read the ABC News story by Kate Doyle - “Fire chiefs around country warn Australia of bleak bushfire outlook.”

Up in smoke: what did taxpayers get for the $2bn emissions fund?

At some point in June, the Australian government will announce it has spent up to $2.3bn over three years on a scheme that the prime minister believes is a reckless waste of public money.

The government’s enthusiasm for the Direct Action
climate policy has visibly waned since Malcolm
Turnbull returned to the leadership in 2015. 

That is not how it will be expressed. If the past is a guide, the government is likely to quietly issue an understated press release saying the latest auction of the emissions reduction fund – the scheme better known as Direct Action, which the former environment minister Greg Hunt described as the centrepiece of Australia’s efforts to tackle climate change – has been a success.

However, the specifics of how the money is to be spent will be all but impenetrable to most people.

Read the story from The Guardian by Adam Morton - “Up in smoke: what did taxpayers get for the $2bn emissions fund?.”

Asda sets out new plans to reduce plastic waste

Asda, one of the UK’s largest food retailers, has become the latest supermarket to announce immediate plans to reduce plastic waste in its stores.

The supermarket’s new plan, released this week, pledges to reduce the amount of plastic in its packaging by 10 percent this year.

It will do this by implementing a range of measures, including replacing 2.4 million plastic drinking straws with paper; launching reusable coffee cups; and phasing out single-use carrier bags.

All single-use cups and plastic cutlery will also be removed from its offices in 2018, and in stores by the end of 2019.

Read the ClimateAction story - “Asda sets out new plans to reduce plastic waste.”

Malcolm Turnbull's new energy policy aims to cut costs and mandate minimum 'reliable' coal, gas production

The Turnbull government is set to announce a major repositioning of Australia's energy and emissions policy after cabinet signed off on a plan to scrap all renewable energy subsidies in future, mandating instead the use of sufficient "reliable" energy like coal and gas to avoid blackouts.

PM Malcolm Turnbull and his government
 step away from clean energy target.

Fairfax Media understands the government believes it will be able to do this while still meeting the nation's emissions reductions targets under the Paris Agreement.

The plan relies on a growing market uptake of clean energy due to a combination of consumer preference, falling renewables costs, and technological advances in power storage.

Read the story in today’s Melbourne Age by Mark Kenny - “Malcolm Turnbull's new energy policy aims to cut costs and mandate minimum 'reliable' coal, gas production.”