Australia is a global leader in species extinctions.

Australia is unfortunately a global leader when it comes to extinction, with 29 mammal species becoming extinct since the arrival of Europeans — that's a third of the world's total mammal extinctions in that time.

Australia is a global leader with regard to the extinction of its mammal species.

Now scientists say a further 1,800 species are at risk of extinction from a range of threats.

Martine Maron, a Professor in the University of Queensland's school of Earth and Environmental Sciences, told PM that the biggest threat to species in Australia are habitat destruction, over-extraction and introduce species.

Listen to the ABC story - “Australia is a global leader in species extinctions.”

Germany Is Planning Free Public Transit to Fight Air Pollution

Germany is a global leader in wind and solar power, but air pollution throughout the country has gotten so bad that the European Union just threatened the country with massive fines if the life-threatening situation wasn’t rapidly addressed, according to the Independent.

Germany wants to help clean up the atmosphere through free public transport.

Rather than fight the decree, the German government announced earlier this week a bold new plan to clean up the atmosphere: free public transit.

In a letter to the European Commission, government ministers laid out their plan.

Read the story from Global Citizen by Joe McCarthy - “Germany Is Planning Free Public Transit to Fight Air Pollution.”

Mining for knowledge in renewables

Today, the Australian mining sector stands tall as a global leader in a growing market for mines powered by renewables. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is proud to have played its part in this development, as part of our broader efforts to accelerate the shift to a affordable and reliable renewable energy future. 

Critical to this success has been a commitment to help build bridges between the mining and renewables sectors. In line with this, ARENA is excited to be working with Energy and Mines to bring their highly successful industry conference to the Australian market.

The Energy and Mines Australia Summit will provide a key opportunity for leaders in the mining and renewables sectors to meet to discuss storage, finance, and to explore solutions for affordable, reliable, and low-carbon power.

We are delighted to be supporting this timely and informative event which features our CEO, Ivor Frischknecht, as a keynote presenter.

The conference explores the use of renewables in mining: How can renewables meet mining’s needs? How can they reduce energy costs and provide energy security for mines? The conference will look at best practice across the world - in domestic and international case studies, in project finance options for mines, and in carbon strategies and energy choices for mines, states and nations.

The summit will feature 50+ mining and renewables senior representatives from Fortescue Metals Group, Pilbara Minerals, BHP Billiton, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Sun Metals, SunSHIFT, ABB, Shell, Caterpillar, Advisian, Juwi Renewable Energy, Redback Technologies, Energetics and CAT Projects.

A 20% discount on registration is available: enter the code “arena20” - a limited number of complimentary passes for senior mining attendees are available. More information is here or, contact Adrienne Baker, Energy and Mines.