David Ritter

@australianunions.bsky.social backs a 25% levy on export LNG—this is huge. Taxes on polluters can fund the renewables transition & climate disaster recovery.

Making fossil fuel BAU costly is a step closer to no new gas & a fossil fuel phase-out. #MakePollutersPay

www.actu.org.au/media-releas...

Inside the dark tower - David Ritter David Ritter, the chief executive officer of Greenpeace Australia Pacific, interrogates a gang of corporate monsters who are fuelling the climate crisis.

The latest edition of Griffith Review is themed ‘Here be Monsters’; with an essay from me on the unique brand of corporate monstrosity that inhabits the hallowed offices of Woodside’s Perth headquarters, Mia Yellagonga.

www.griffithreview.com/articles/ins...

Tax fossil fuel exports or risk losing revenue to other nations, says Steggall Zali Steggall warns that the costs of climate change must be a focus at the government's productivity roundtable, with the issue already costing billions. She says a levy on fossil fuel exports could ...

Zali Steggall’s warning about climate costs to our economy and productivity are spot on. The profits and expansion of fossil fuel companies comes at the expense of our safety, economic well-being, and the survival of ecological systems that sustain life on earth.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07...

The Planet Can’t Afford Billionaires The executive directors of Oxfam and Greenpeace explain the connection between wealth inequality and climate change.

Great to see my friend and colleague Mads Christensen featured in TIME magazine alongside Amitabh Behar from @oxfaminternational.bsky.social:

“No individual billionaire, corporation, or country should be allowed to block the will and wellbeing of 8 billion people and the future of our planet.”

Wrapped up an action-packed few days with our amazing @greenpeaceap.bsky.social volunteers in Canberra, who met with dozens of MPs and senators yesterday to lobby for stronger ocean protection.

The signs say it all: Protect the ocean, Save Scott Reef, Stop Woodside.

The ship, the students, the chief and the children - David Ritter David Ritter, CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific, advocates for the brave young Pacific Islanders fighting the fossil-fuel industry in the courts.

In light of the landmark advisory opinion handed down by the International Court of Justice this week, Griffith Review has kindly unlocked my essay on the history of this world-changing case, beginning in a small classroom in Vanuatu back in 2019.

www.griffithreview.com/articles/the...

Countries can be sued by neighbours over climate inaction, top court finds The International Court of Justice’s historic advisory ruling paves the way for massive compensation claims from countries facing the brunt of the climate crisis.

It also found that the legal consequences for states that breach these obligations could include paying reparations to injured states.

Truly a moment of hope #ICJAO

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

World’s highest court delivers historic protections for climate-impacted communities - Greenpeace Australia Pacific SYDNEY, Thursday, 24 July 2025 – The historic Pacific-led campaign to hold countries accountable for the climate damage they have caused  has been backed by the world’s highest court overnight,&h...

Last night, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its advisory opinion, finding that states must take appropriate action to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees, and that a failure to do so may constitute a wrongful act.

www.greenpeace.org.au/news/worlds-...

Every month we waste has a cost. The time is now to protect what is uniquely Australian The blueprint is ready. The public is watching.

The heads of WWF, ACF, and I are in today’s Canberra Times calling on the Albanese Government to mark its upcoming 100 days in office milestone with credible progress on nature law reforms. Australians want more nature protection, and are watching.

www.canberratimes.com.au/story/902065...

Every month we waste has a cost. The time is now to protect what is uniquely Australian The blueprint is ready. The public is watching.

The heads of @wwf-australia.bsky.social , @ausconservation.bsky.social and I are in today’s @canberratimes.bsky.social calling on the Albanese Government to mark its upcoming 100 days in office milestone with credible progress on nature law reforms.

www.canberratimes.com.au/story/902065...

Australia got off on a technicality for its climate inaction. But there are plenty more judgement days to come The judge found Australia had not used the best available science to set emissions targets. The finding tightens the screws on Labor as it weighs our 2035 targets.

"Australia’s legal norms largely pre-date the scientific consensus on climate change. They must evolve to better recognise climate impacts that are harming Australians. While this week might not have been the time, change is inevitable.”

Federal court dismisses landmark Torres Strait climate case but warns of ‘bleak future’ without urgent action Class action led by two community leaders argued government had legal duty of care to prevent or deal with damage linked to global heating

A disappointing outcome for Uncles Paul & Pabai, but Justice Wigney’s note that “there could be little if any doubt that the Torres Strait Islands face a bleak future if urgent action is not taken” is nevertheless a clear call to urgent action.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

This month’s ‘With Love,’ marks the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior; and reflects on how, from the depths of grief and anger, was born the unreasonable ambition to take action on an unprecedented scale. Do have a read.

www.greenpeace.org.au/ceo-newslett...

You can’t sink a rainbow and you can’t silence hope - Greenpeace Aotearoa 40 years since the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior.

Today marks 40 years since the Rainbow Warrior was bombed in Auckland Harbour. Great piece by my friend and colleague Mads Christensen marking this anniversary, and reminding us: you can't sink a rainbow and you can't silence hope.

www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/sto...

SA’s algae bloom puts heat on Australia’s 2035 climate target The ultimate goal must be to cut greenhouse gas emissions to remove the main source of super-charged marine heatwaves here and elsewhere.

Important piece by Matt Kean: South Australia’s deadly algal bloom and marine heatwave should be the wake-up call the Australian government needs to deliver a 2035 climate plan that cuts emissions at the speed and scale demanded by the science.

www.afr.com/policy/energ...

Warmer seas are fuelling the dangerous ‘weather bomb’ about to hit NSW New South Wales residents face a rapidly intensifying major storm expected to bring intense winds, rains and high seas.

The East Coast has just come out of yet another extreme weather event. As communities pick up the pieces, we need to remember that events like this are exacerbated by climate change. We must transition away from fossil fuels to keep our communities safe.

theconversation.com/warmer-seas-...

Former WA Labor minister launches blistering attack on Woodside boss In parliament on Wednesday night, Dave Kelly segued comments about climate change spending into an attack on Woodside boss Meg O’Neill.

Fossil fuels like the gas that Woodside wants to dig up and burn for decades are robbing young people of a safe, secure future.

Always great to see our elected representatives speaking up for young Australians and future generations.

www.watoday.com.au/politics/wes...

AQ: Australian Quarterly 96.2 - July-Sept 2025 - AIPS What's in the new AQ? Check out the preview now and read on the debates less heard.

I'm in the latest Australian Quarterly with a piece on the growing trend of planet-wrecking corporations using SLAPP suits to bully citizens and community groups who challenge them—and the need for anti-SLAPP legislation in Australia.
aips.org.au/aq-magazine/...
#SLAPPs #WeWillNotBeSilenced

Thousands seek Australian climate visas as Tuvalu sinks More than one-third of the people in the tiny Pacific nation of Tuvalu, which scientists predict will be submerged by rising seas, have applied for a landmark climate visa to migrate to Australia. The...

This interview with ‘Alopi Latukefu on Australia’s Falepili Union treaty with Tuvalu, contextualised against our continuing fossil fuel approvals, is essential listening #auspol

www.sbs.com.au/news/podcast...

Attenborough’s new doco is bringing audiences to tears. One voice has gone completely silent in its wake What may turn out to be David Attenborough’s last film might turn out to be his greatest legacy.

Good piece from Nick O’Malley on the global impact of the never-before-seen clip of bottom trawling in David Attenborough’s ‘Ocean’—and how it has silenced global fishing giants.

This world-changing documentary is absolutely a must-watch.

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

Gas is on the way out as Victoria continues push for all-electric homes From 2027, old gas hot water systems will be replaced with electric ones in homes under new reforms aimed at tackling emissions and gas shortages.

Fantastic news from Victoria: gas hot water systems will be phased out, new buildings to be all-electric, and rental properties subjected to higher energy efficiency standards.

A major, decisive step towards phasing out gas; it's time for other govts to follow suit.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...

Ten-fold increase in NSW relief spending after horror run of natural disasters Treasurer Daniel Mookhey is optimistic about the state’s finances as he prepares to hand down his third budget, but climate change is predicted to contribute to soaring disaster relief payments.

The NSW government's relief & recovery payments budget has increased tenfold since the Black Summer bushfires; Treasury expects costs to reach $24bn a year by 2070.

Don’t let anyone tell you that climate action costs too much. It is inaction we can't afford.

www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw...

‘I saw the flash’: How US nuclear tests changed life on this Pacific idyll forever Marshall Islands locals watched radioactive coral fall from the sky for hours after the US’s bomb tests, 71 years ago. Now they face another existential threat.

Thank you Caitlin Fitzsimmons and Eddie Jim for this incredible, in-depth piece about the Marshallese people’s ongoing struggle for nuclear and climate justice, and Greenpeace’s long history of standing in solidarity with the Marshallese people

www.smh.com.au/national/i-s...

Talking points | David Ritter Talking points Monash and Woodside- Part Two Last week, I discussed some murmuring I’d heard about Monash University “joining forces” with massive climate polluter, Woodside. So, just how bad could t...

For a deeper analysis of these issues, head over to my LinkedIn page:
www.linkedin.com/posts/david-...

Getting a bit more specific about law reform.

As one former departmental insider said to me recently, although it can clearly be improved, even the existing EPBC Act could have been used to do so much more to protect the environment with the right institutional culture and political will.

The law needs to do what it says on the cover

This week I was part of consultations that new federal Environment Minister Murray Watt is conducting for reforming Australia’s environment laws. The current EPBC Act does little to address deforestation or climate change and lacks regulatory integrity.

Inside the Fight to Get Australia’s Monash University to Divorce Fossil Fuels for Good One of Australia’s most prestigious universities promised to divest from fossil fuels in 2016. It later revised this decision to say it would only divest from coal, allowing the country’s biggest oil ...

Monash and Woodside

New analysis of the Monash and Woodside situation by journalist @roycerk2.bsky.social should be compulsory reading for the university’s administration. The institution is now caught in the headlights of climate action double-speak.

drilled.media/news/monash

Talking points

Reflecting on key moments of the week, to make sense of the times we are in. This week, Monash University’s Woodside problem, nature law reform consultations, and the need for reform beyond laws.
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Only two years left of world’s carbon budget to meet 1.5C target, scientists warn Breaching threshold would ramp up catastrophic weather events, further increasing human suffering

Only two years left in our carbon budget to meet 1.5 °C, warn scientists—there could not be a more stark or urgent warning that we must act quickly to secure a liveable world for future generations.

We ignore these warnings at our own peril.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

The historic High Seas Treaty is almost reality. Here’s what it would mean for ocean conservation After 20 years of intense debate, the world looks set to have a treaty protecting marine life out beyond national waters.

Really noteworthy that we are within distance of the High Seas Treaty entering into force, a turning point in ocean conservation that marks decades of hard work for this win. Much work ahead in hashing out the mechanics, but this is an important milestone.

theconversation.com/the-historic...