Australians overwhelmingly agree climate emergency is nation's No 1 threat

New polling from a respected foreign policy thinktank underscores the point that 2019 is the climate change election, with a majority of Australians saying global warming is a critical threat.

A person walks past a mural showing Scott Morrison
holding a lump of coal. Climate change has been front
and centre in the 2019 Australian federal election campaign.

The poll undertaken for Lowy says 64% of adults rank climate change number one on a list of 12 threats to Australia’s national interests, up six points from last year’s survey and a jump of 18 points since 2014.

The 2019 result is the first time climate has topped the list of threats since Lowy began the research in 2006. After climate change, cyberattacks ranks second, terrorism third and North Korea’s nuclear program fourth.

Read the story from The Guardian by Katharine Murphy - “Australians overwhelmingly agree climate emergency is nation's No 1 threat.”

The House Science Committee Is Back in Democrat's Control: What That Means for Science

Last night, the Democrats regained a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, and with it, leadership of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. What will this change mean for science?

The current committee chair, Lamar Smith, R-Texas, who will retire at the end of this term, has repeatedly denied that humans play a role in climate change. He also challenged climate scientists (such as by asking them to release documents and communications they sent amongst themselves regarding a study about the increased rate of global warming) as well as National Science Foundation (NSF).

Smith "not only ignored the problem [of climate change] but abused his authority as committee chair to launch attacks on climate scientists," said Michael Mann, a distinguished professor of meteorology at Pennsylvania State University and an outspoken advocate of combating human-caused climate change. 

Read the LiveScience story by Yasemin Saplakoglu - “The House Science Committee Is Back in Democrat's Control: What That Means for Science.”

Majority of Australians support phasing out coal power by 2030, survey finds

A majority of Australians would support phasing out coal power by 2030, including half the people in a sample identifying as Coalition voters, according to a survey by a progressive thinktank.

Anti-coal mining protesters join thousands
 at a march in Sydney on 24 March.

The research funded by the Australia Institute says 60% of a sample of 1,417 Australians surveyed by online market research firm Research Now supported Australia joining the Powering Past Coal Alliance to phase out coal power by 2030.

The Powering Past Coal Alliance – spearheaded by the UK and Canada – was unveiled at the COP23 climate talks in Bonn. The agreement is not legally binding, and the membership does not include Australia or other major coal exporters and users.

Read the story by Katherine Murphy from The Guardian - “Majority of Australians support phasing out coal power by 2030, survey finds.”