4 reasons why the Morrison government’s forestry cash splash is bad policy
The 2022 Australian federal election campaign involved very little discussion of environmental or natural resource policies, other than mining. An exception to this was incumbent prime minister, Morrison's A$220 pledge for the forestry industry. But support for this industry is false economy and bad policy.
Writes Professor Brendan Mackey and Dr. Heather Keith from the Primary Forests Project.
Expert finds short cut to emissions target
Australia can meet its emissions reduction target and ease its biodiversity crisis if it decides to end logging in native forests. Native forests can draw down so many emissions they effectively cancel out emissions from logging and agriculture.
Writes Professor Brendan Mackey from the Primary Forests Project.
New IPCC report shows Australia is at real risk from climate change, with impacts worsening, future risks high, and wide-ranging adaptation needed
Climatic trends, extreme conditions and sea level rise are already hitting many of Australia’s ecosystems, industries and cities hard. As climate change intensifies, we are now seeing cascading and compounding impacts and risks, including where extreme events coincide. These are placing even greater pressure on our ability to respond. This is the findings of the 6th Assessment Report on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation.
Writes Professor Brendan Mackey from the Primary Forests Project.
New report: Countries' climate pledges put unrealistic demands for land ahead of emissions reductions
A new study is the first to calculate that countries collectively need a total of 1.2 billion hectares of land to fulfill the promises laid out in their official climate plans, part of global efforts to meet Paris Agreement goals. "Fortunately, it isn’t too late for countries to rethink the way they use land to achieve their climate goals", says Brendan Mackey.
Writes Professor Brendan Mackey from the Primary Forests Project.
Stopping native forest logging is the only way to meet our net zero targets
While there are many sources of emissions, it is only native forests that can remove carbon from the atmosphere at the scale and time required. Protecting and restoring native forests is a critical mitigation action if Australia is to meet its net zero emissions targets within the critical one to three decades.
Writes Professor Brendan Mackey and Dr. Heather Keith from the Primary Forests Project.
The ultimate guide to why the COP26 summit ended in failure and disappointment (despite a few bright spots)
After two hard-fought weeks of negotiations, the Glasgow climate change summit all 197 participating countries adopted the so-called 'Glasgow Climate Pact'; this despite an 11th hour intervention by India in which the final agreement was watered down from 'phasing out' coal to 'phasing down'. Did this make it a failure? If we evaluate this using the summits original stated goals, the answer is yes.
Writes Professor Brendan Mackey from the Primary Forests Project.
Want to beat climate change? Protect our natural forests
A special report on how land use affects climate change has been released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It reports that land degradation, deforestation, and the expansion of our deserts, along with agriculture and the other ways people shape land, are all major contributors to global climate change.
Writes Professor Brendan Mackey from the Primary Forests Project.