AFP drops inquiry into Angus Taylor.

The Australian Federal Police has decided not to pursue it's investigation into energy minister Angus Taylor (pictured) over doctored documents that were used to attack Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore over her air travel. 

The AFP said in a statement it was their assessment that "there is no evidence to indicate the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction was involved in falsifying information."

The government says the Minister and his office are now exonerated, but it's unlikely to end the political rancour. 

Listen to the RN Breakfast interview by Hamish Macdonald - “AFP drops inquiry into Angus Taylor.”

Labor’s climate policies are 'unshakeable' despite election loss, Mark Butler says

Mark Butler wants to make one thing clear: the shadow minister for climate change and energy is not for turning. It wasn’t a mistake to pursue an ambitious climate policy in the 2019 election and “we are not going to change our position to get to a level of profound irresponsibility [on policy], like the government”, he tells Guardian Australia’s politics podcast.

The shadow climate minister, Mark Butler,
with the current Labor leader, Anthony
Albanese, and the previous Labor leader,
Bill Shorten.

“Our position on climate is unshakeable.”

This declaration might seem hard to square with Butler’s swingeing self-assessment of just over a week ago. The shadow minister, a leftwing powerbroker and close ally of Anthony Albanese, used a speech at a book launch in Canberra to send a message to colleagues that there can be no sugarcoating Labor’s election loss, and all policies, including the ones for which he had direct portfolio responsibility, needed to be subjected to a “ruthless and unsparing” review.

Read the story from The Guardian by Katharine Murphy - “Labor’s climate policies are 'unshakeable' despite election loss, Mark Butler says."

What would happen if the world suddenly went vegetarian?

People become vegetarians for a variety of reasons. Some do it to alleviate animal suffering, others because they want to pursue a healthier lifestyle. Still others are fans of sustainability or wish to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Eliminating meat from our diets would bring a bounty
 of benefits to both our own health and the planet’s
 – but it could also harm millions of people.

No matter how much their carnivorous friends might deny it, vegetarians have a point: cutting out meat delivers multiple benefits. And the more who make the switch, the more those perks would manifest on a global scale.

But if everyone became a committed vegetarian, there would be serious drawbacks for millions, if not billions, of people.

“It’s a tale of two worlds, really,” says Andrew Jarvis of Colombia’s International Centre for Tropical Agriculture. “In developed countries, vegetarianism would bring all sorts of environmental and health benefits. But in developing countries there would be negative effects in terms of poverty.”

Read Rachel Nuwer’s BBC story - “What would happen if the world suddenly went vegetarian?”

Frydenberg says government will further reduce emissions to meet Paris target

The energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, says he expects the states to sign on to the national energy guarantee, despite the current pushback, and that the government will pursue further emissions reductions in other parts of the economy as part of meeting the Paris target.

Josh Frydenberg says government is acting on advice of
chief scientist Alan Finkel on emissions reduction. 

In an interview with Guardian Australia’s Australian Politics Live podcast, Frydenberg said he expected state governments would act in the national interest when they meet in November and consider the national energy guarantee proposal on its merits.

“We are not expecting them to say no,” he said.

Read Katharine Murphy’s story on The Guardian - “Frydenberg says government will further reduce emissions to meet Paris target.”

(When the states gather in November to consider the National Energy Guarantee they should say “no”, adding that they want something better, yes, much better; something that see fossil fuels remain in the ground and a nation-backed effort the sees Australia embrace renewable energy, and put the land-down-under back among the countries that are going to have zero carbon emissions within a decade.

What’s being proposed by Josh Frydenberg is blackmail aimed at having the states endorse a policy that is simply wrong - Robert McLean)