Trump administration releases report finding ‘no convincing alternative explanation’ for climate change

The Trump administration released a dire scientific report Friday calling human activity the dominant driver of global warming, a conclusion at odds with White House decisions to withdraw from a key international climate accord, champion fossil fuels and reverse Obama-era climate policies.

To the surprise of some scientists, the White House did not seek to prevent the release of the government’s National Climate Assessment, which is mandated by law. The report affirms that climate change is driven almost entirely by human action, warns of a worst-case scenario where seas could rise as high as eight feet by the year 2100, and details climate-related damage across the United States that is already unfolding as a result of an average global temperature increase of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900.

Read The Washington Post story - “Trump administration releases report finding ‘no convincing alternative explanation’ for climate change.”

Malcolm Turnbull says energy target legislated 'while Tony was prime minister

Malcolm Turnbull says Australia has a renewable energy target now because of decisions Tony Abbott took as prime minister, and he claims the Coalition is “united” in ensuring that Australians have affordable and reliable energy.

Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott, who told 2GB he
could not ‘and won’t’ support a clean energy target.

Turnbull’s sideswipe at Abbott followed the former prime minister declaring in an interview with his former staffer Peta Credlin, and the Sydney shock jock Alan Jones, that it would be “unconscionable ... to go further down the renewables path” by implementing a clean energy target.

Campaigning in Brisbane amid speculation the Labor government in Queensland will shortly call a state election, and facing sustained questioning about Abbott leading a backbench revolt against energy policy, Turnbull said he did not intend to run a commentary on other people’s remarks.

Read Katharine Murphy’s story on The Guardian - “Malcolm Turnbull says energy target legislated 'while Tony was prime minister.”