Tim Stephens

Forecasting wild weather just got more difficult, thanks to Donald Trump Globally connected early warning systems help us prepare for extreme weather events. Now those systems are under a cloud.

"Forecasting wild weather just got more difficult, thanks to Donald Trump"

www.smh.com.au/environment/...

In news that will excite funeral home embalmers, pet budgerigars and people who yell through the cash window at 7/11 employees at 2 in the morning, Chris Uhlmaan will be unzipping and getting his fully firm China out for our appreciation on Sky News next Monday.

Do try to contain your excitement.

Coalition MPs falsely claim China's live-fire drill was in 'our waters' Experts have said the Chinese navy conducted a live-fire exercise on the high seas, not in Australian waters as claimed by leading coalition figures.

Experts have said the Chinese navy conducted a live-fire exercise on the high seas, not in Australian waters as claimed by leading coalition figures.

www.aap.com.au/factcheck/co...

Coalition MPs falsely claim China's live-fire drill was in 'our waters' Experts have said the Chinese navy conducted a live-fire exercise on the high seas, not in Australian waters as claimed by leading coalition figures.

Pleased to have contributed to this useful fact check of false claims from Coalition MPs on the activities of the Chinese navy.

www.aap.com.au/factcheck/co...

A. It was George W. Bush's Republican EPA Secretary Christine Todd Whitman who first declared CO2 a pollutant to be regulated under the Clean Air Act.
B. Lee Zeldin parrots discredited fossil fuel industry climate denier talking points: granthaminstitute.com/2015/10/19/c...

"Zeldin and EPA doing ‘opposite’ of protecting Americans from environmental threats with rollbacks"
bsky.app/profile/mich...

Challenges persist in TMC’s bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in…

Challenges persist in TMC’s bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump

Walking for peace for Palestine.

#sydneyharbourbridge

Australia should recognise Palestine. To not do so only rewards Israel’s crimes A Palestinian state cannot cure the historical injustices of Israel’s foundation, but it is a vital step towards remedying the past.

My colleague Prof Ben Saul sets out the compelling moral and legal case for recognition.

www.smh.com.au/world/middle...

Banger of an article, with considerably more optimism about humanity than the title suggests

The people of Gaza are being starved.

“This is a man-made #famine. It needs to be addressed through political means,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini tells @news.sky.com

Gaza must be flooded with large-scale food aid immediately.

Let’s go back to what works. Let us do our job.

“Nuclear weapons, climate change, AI, are only produced by a very small number of secretive, highly wealthy, powerful groups, like the military-industrial complex, big tech and the fossil fuel industry."

He's not wrong!

‘Self-termination is most likely’: the history and future of societal collapse An epic analysis of 5,000 years of civilisation argues that a global collapse is coming unless inequality is vanquished

I wondered what Luke Kemp was up to, and now I know. This looks fascinating.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Adani promised Australia billions from its Carmichael mine but it hasn’t paid a cent in tax. How did we get here? The coalmine generated millions in revenue in its early days but recorded an operating loss – a pattern that would repeat at scale

“Adani promised Australia billions from its Carmichael mine but it hasn’t paid a cent in tax.”

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Sadly, this is not parody.

Joyce and Canavan call for new coal plants to replace renewable energy projects Coalition opponents of net zero spruik coal, nuclear and gas as emissions policy divides opposition

“Barnaby Joyce and other leading Coalition opponents of net zero by 2050 want Australia to build new coal-fired power plants, focus on gas and nuclear energy and abandon all efforts to cut carbon emissions.”

Insane.

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Quoted in The Australian today with Ben Saul supporting the international legal case for Palestinian statehood (ignore the headline!)

Coalition is wedging itself on climate crisis with net zero debate, warns Liberal MP in Scott Morrison’s former seat Exclusive: Simon Kennedy warns closed-door meeting against backsliding on efforts to cut carbon emissions

“One of the Liberal party’s two surviving inner-metropolitan MPs has warned voters see the Coalition as unserious on climate change, suggesting the opposition could lose more seats to Labor if it opposes policies for net zero by 2050.”

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Screenshot of press release by Oil Change International reacting to announcement in NZ.

Oil Change International is already in with a reaction condemning the decision, calling for the ban to ban reinstated by the next government.

“Ideological Sludge”: How New Zealand Is Quiet Quitting Climate Action New Zealand once stood out as a world leader on climate change. In June it became the first country in the world to abandon a commitment to phase out oil, gas and coal.

For the background on this situation, see my write up for @drilledmedia.bsky.social where I asked: what is going on in New Zealand?

New Zealand government votes to bring back fossil fuel exploration in major reversal Ruling right-wing coalition votes to reverse ban, a move it believes will alleviate energy shortages and high prices

"On Thursday afternoon, the ruling right-wing coalition voted to reverse the ban after the third and final reading of the crown minerals amendment bill – a move it believes will alleviate energy shortages and high energy prices. The bill passed by 68 votes to 54."

Also, given their great concern for international law, did they write a similar letter re concerns about compliance with the ICJ advisory opinion on the legality of the occupation? Or international humanitarian law/the law of armed conflict?

Palestine pledge could break the law, top lawyers warn Starmer A letter, signed by 40 peers, explains that the recognition of the territory could break the terms laid out for statehood in the Montevideo Convention

Carefully worded letter but those who signed it, must know better. Palestine has been a UN observer state since 2012 and ICJ just ruled that even loosing criteria (very doubtful) does not call into question statehood. I would fail this essay if it had been an exam.

www.thetimes.com/article/7348...

Mark Carney at a podium, flanked by Canadian flags. Behind him is Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand

Prime Minister Mark Carney announces that Canada will recognize the state of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Carney says this move comes amid Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and its relentless war on Gaza.

‘Low on the priority list’: Trump administration in no rush to appoint ambassador Donald Trump has appointed ambassadors to more than 50 countries, including New Zealand. But Australia is not among them.

This is a good thing. Erika Olson, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim, is far more qualified than any Fox News host that Trump is likely to appoint.

www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...

The "worst-case scenario of famine" is unfolding in Gaza under Israel’s military assault, the world's leading body on hunger said.

The EPA cited my paper in their argument against the endangerment finding today. However, their point is completely backwards: my paper actually supports the EPA's 2009 range of 1.8C to 4C warming by 2100. www.nature.com/artic...

The great acceleration debate Why the consilience of evidence points toward acceleration

Is global warming accelerating? Over at The Climate Brink I argue that the consilience of evidence from surface temperatures, climate models, forcing changes, ocean heat content, and earth energy imbalance all point toward yes: www.theclimatebrink....

2025 has seen the second warmest first half of the year on record after 2024 – and is on track to be the second or third warmest year since records began in 1850. My latest State of the Climate report over at Carbon Brief: www.carbonbrief.org/...

Desperate to hold up a bill on penalty rates Tim Wilson puts in a motion accusing govt of “sloppy drafting” which refers bill to a committee in the #HouseOfReps. Wilson ends up ravaged by Tony Burke who reveals the committee his motion refers the bill to
“does not exist”🔥🤦‍♂️ffs