The Cook government in Western Australia in responding to the unprecedented drought and heat announced that this hot, dry weather is the “new normal” due to the effects of climate change.

wa.gov.au/government/med… It is as though what is happening is an ‘Act of God’ about which nothing can be done and as if the “new normal” of deep drought and extreme heat is the beginning and the end of the changes we are seeing.

This is a really important paper by @VTCoop @karmour_uw et al constraining the upper end of sensitivity of earth’s climate to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations from 5° to 4° C.

https://twitter.com/karmour_uw/status/1780793533097787741

In the most recent IPCC assessment the climate sensitivity was estimated to be very likely in the range 2° to 5°C, with a central estimate 3°C.

Using patterns of change during the last glacial maximum (LGM) with other evidence this new work reduces this upper end to 4.1°C.

This @abcnews story does not accurately capture the issues with fossil gas and the energy transition, and falls into the false balance trap, giving equal weight to climate denialism vs mainstream science. How so? There are two main issues.

abc.net.au/news/2023-10-0… Firstly the ABC uncritically repeats Woodside's argument that new fossil gas resources are essential for the energy transition: "it is crucial for the stability of international energy markets and Australia’s transition to net zero".

At the time of this week’s UN Climate Ambition Summit focused on action to peak emissions by 2030 and halve emissions by 2030 the Western Australian government announced it would legislate to have a reduction target for 2035 some time in the future.

abc.net.au/news/2023-09-2… The WA Govt says it does not need a 2030 target because there was already "vigorous action" through the state's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Nothing could be further from the truth in terms of real emission reduction action.

WA is the only state with no 2030 target.

The WA @EPA_WA 50-year extension of @WoodsideEnergy North West Shelf LNG Plant - Australia’s largest emitter - is a fundamental turning point.

This decision shows that anyone who thinks the #auspol climate wars are over is kidding themselves.

Why?

1/n

amp.theguardian.com/australia-news… There are at least 5 reasons

1) Continuation and expansion of LNG and gas iinconsistent with limiting warming to 1.5C

2) Getting to net zero in reality as opposed to glossy corporate advertising cannot be done by offsets and will increasingly be seen as fraudulent

2/n

The Morrison Government claims it is reducing emissions, is meeting and beating its commitments and that other countries - Canada, Japan, NZ have not met their own 2020 commitments. This thread unpacks the facts. 1/N Have emissions reduced? By 2020 emissions including land use change and forestry were down about 17% from 2005 levels (with the COVID-19 dip about 20% in 2021). Why? Changes in land clearance/management, and renewables in the power sector - nothing to with Federal Govt 2/N

Former PMs apologise to Pacific leaders for Australian govt apathy on climate crisis. Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull lash out at Morrison government’s ‘cynical indifference’ and assure Pacific leaders ‘a majority’ of Australians ‘are in your corner’
theguardian.com/world/2021/oct… Turnbull and Rudd share the “alarm and disappointment” of pacific leaders that Australia will not increase its 2030 target, as it is required to do at Glasgow under the terms of the Paris agreement.