Daniel Street

For Australia’s national climate plans to be meaningful, they need to include an orderly phase-out of its fossil fuel exports, writes Melbourne Climate Futures Research Fellow Arthur Wyns. Read more → unimelb.me/4mwB7cw

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"The release of Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment and National Adaptation Plan highlight the critical role of research to inform bold decision-making, adaptation and investment to achieve the greatest reductions in risk for Australian communities," says Natural Hazards Research Australia CEO, Andrew Gissing   "Natural hazards are expected to become more frequent, more complex, more intense, more unpredictable and more difficult to manage due to climate change. These natural hazards will place greater demand on disaster management capabilities already under pressure from the rising frequency and severity of disaster impacts – there is urgent need for smart, effective solutions that enhance the safety, resilience and sustainability of Australian communities." Read more: https://lnkd.in/g9Z4YWTb https://lnkd.in/g8ftaXiT

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Here's a nerdy post for those interested in the push to reform Australia's national environmental laws... Most media, political and environmental advocacy attention has been focused on ways to improve assessment and approval processes for developments so that (hopefully) these have less impact on our environment and don't get in the way of the renewable energy role out. But there's much more to protecting the environment than just mines, fines and transmission lines. To stop extinctions and restore ecological health, Australia needs to also:  1️⃣ Protect and restore threatened species and ecological communities – known as ‘recovery’  2️⃣ Eliminate or reduce the major threats to nature – known as ‘threat abatement’ Recovery gets a lot of attention, but even if recovery processes were optimal, the current fragmented and limited focus on threat abatement within the law and government priorities leads to continuous growth in threatened species lists, ongoing extinctions, landscape degradation and significant economic costs. Reforms of the EPBC Act will fail to stop environmental degradation unless they also significantly strengthen Australia’s capacity to systematically identify, prevent and abate threats to nature - especially invasive species.   That is why the Invasive Species Council is advocating for vital reforms to deal with: ❌ An ad-hoc, nomination-based process for listing Key Threatening Processes (KTPs), leading to a lack of comprehensive identification of both existing and emerging threats to nature. ❌ Live import regulations which are insufficient and often lack clear objectives and standards, leading to the introduction of high-risk invasive species. ❌ Inconsistent post-border regulation of established invasives across states and territories. ❌ Listed threats often lack corresponding abatement plans or policies, and even when plans exist, implementation is often uncoordinated and unaccountable. ❌ There are no robust requirements for monitoring the status of threats or progress in abatement, hindering adaptive management and accountability. Have a read of our briefing note for Minister Murray Watt which goes into detail about the reforms we want to see, including: ✅ Strengthen prevention at the border by reforming the EPBC Act's live import provisions (Part 13A) to (1) Mandate a highly precautionary, risk-averse approach for all live import decisions (2) Extend assessment requirements to fungi, protists, viruses, bacteria, archaeobacteria, not just plants and animals (3) Create a "prohibited list" for unsuitable taxa (4) establish an independent scientific committee to advise on decisions ✅ Enhance Australia's Threat Abatement System by (1) requiring systematic identification and listing (2) enabling flexible response options and action-oriented plans ✅ Establish a nationally consistent, risk-based scheme to regulate the sale and transport of invasive or potentially invasive species within Australia.

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It's one thing to set a framework. It's another to test it. The Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy is a tool that helps to stop greenwashing and ensure investment really cuts emissions. At its core, it's a rulebook that gives global investors confidence in backing sustainable Australian projects. In a world-first, Australia is not only defining credible capital flows, but enabling them — testing the taxonomy in practice with some of the country's largest financial institutions: ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, HESTA, Metrics Credit Partners, Moody's Ratings, NAB, Rabobank, Rest and Westpac. The pilot is a feedback loop in action, demonstrating how the taxonomy works in making real decisions. Findings will be shared to support adoption inform market practice, and guide the Government on initial use cases. Alongside this, ASFI is also working with the Australian Office of Financial Management and State Treasury corporations to develop labelled debt guidance — making it easier for lenders to apply the taxonomy to green bonds and other instruments. This pilot is only possible through the engagement of the 10 participating institutions, and Government partners, whose feedback will help shape how the taxonomy is used across the financial system. 👉 Learn more about the pilot here: https://lnkd.in/giSTBeSc #SustainableFinance #TransitionFinance #NetZero #Taxonomy

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Tammi Rose, CEO of Yarra Ranges Council on ESG, Climate Change and Sustainability: "Through consistent communication, strategic integration and collaborative engagement, CEOs can lift climate risk awareness and activate meaningful adaptation planning across the sector." 53% of councils now have a climate emergency plan, but readiness varies widely. 🔗Explore more findings here: https://lnkd.in/gnG9WVkz #CEOIndex2025 #Sustainability #ClimateLeadership Bruce Davidson, Trent McMahon FCPA, GAICD, Jacqui Wightman, Clare McCartin, Derek Sheerin, Stephen Veness

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