Tim Flannery

Past geoengineering proposals ranging from damming the Mediterranean and melting the Arctic to detonating nuclear weapons and building reflective satellite arrays illustrate the long history of grand, often unworkable schemes to reshape Earth’s climate. These ideas, pursued by figures in Europe, the Soviet Union, the US and Australia, reflect technological optimism, political ambition and recurring hopes of controlling the environment. Despite their impracticality and risks, they highlight the enduring human impulse to engineer climate solutions as contemporary pressure grows to confront worsening global warming.

The article warns the Albanese government against negotiating environmental law reforms with the Liberal National Coalition, arguing the Coalition has a history of climate denial and dismantling effective climate policy. It criticizes recent approvals of new coal, oil and gas projects and warns that current reform proposals fail to address the full climate impacts of fossil fuel developments. The author urges the government to require full emissions disclosure, independent assessment and the power to limit projects incompatible with national and international climate commitments. It concludes that Australia must choose between continuing fossil fuel expansion or implementing credible environmental protections aligned with climate science.

Ancient marine species in southern Australia, including the Maugean skate, handfish and bell clapper shell, face severe threats from climate warming and human activities such as salmon farming. Rising ocean temperatures, habitat loss and invasive species accelerate declines, placing unique evolutionary relics at risk of extinction. The piece argues for stronger emissions reduction, highlights the urgency of protecting biodiversity and points to existing climate initiatives as evidence that rapid change is possible.

Pacific nations urge Australia to align with their climate ambitions as the Pacific Islands Forum approaches, stressing that climate justice—not favours—is at stake. Rising sea levels and severe weather threaten Pacific communities, while Australia’s continued fossil fuel expansion undermines regional trust. Leaders in the region, long at the forefront of global climate advocacy, expect Australia to halt new coal and gas projects, accelerate renewable energy deployment, and support adaptation and biodiversity conservation. With Australia seeking to co-host COP31 in 2026, its credibility depends on stronger domestic action and genuine partnership with Pacific nations to confront escalating climate impacts.

Australia’s federal government is approving major fossil fuel projects under outdated environmental laws that do not account for climate impacts, including a recently extended Queensland coalmine projected to emit tens of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide. Despite pre-election promises to strengthen the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, more than twenty fossil fuel proposals continue through the approvals pipeline. Australia has already lost species to climate change, highlighting the law’s failure to protect ecosystems. Environmental advocates are challenging coal project approvals in court, while calling for legislation that rejects high-emission developments and supports clean energy. The article urges immediate reform to prevent irreversible environmental and ecological damage.

A climate scientist reflects on the emotional difficulty of discussing worsening climate impacts with younger generations, especially his own son. A Zoom session with young professionals, including a fossil fuel industry worker, highlights shared fear, guilt, and the burden such work places on families. Personal experiences of public abuse underscore the generational impact of climate conflict. The author warns that avoiding honest discussions about responsibility and consequences risks fostering anger in the next generation and urges parents to confront these conversations with compassion and clarity.

Australia’s megafires and the Covid-19 pandemic highlight the dangers of delaying responses to crises with long incubation periods. Despite acting swiftly on the pandemic, the federal government has failed to treat climate change with similar urgency, even as tipping points approach and recent fires signal accelerating environmental destabilization. Economic interests in fossil fuels and entrenched climate denialism within political ranks continue to obstruct decisive action. Growing public challenges to denialists and escalating scientific warnings underscore the narrowing window for preventing catastrophic warming, making immediate government leadership essential to avert irreversible climate impacts.

Australia’s 2019–20 megafires severely damaged ecosystems already weakened by invasive species, habitat fragmentation and climate-driven pressures. Massive burn areas hinder species recovery, leaving animals such as koalas and small marsupials increasingly vulnerable. Predation by feral cats and foxes intensified after the fires, threatening surviving populations. Conservation groups and government agencies have expanded feral animal control and established protected refuges, while flooding rains and toxic runoff caused further ecological damage. Recovery is expected to be slow, with uniform regrowth increasing future fire risks. Long-term resilience will require reducing greenhouse emissions, protecting critical habitats, relocating endangered species when necessary and funding research to strengthen biodiversity protection efforts.

Massive bushfires across Australia are described as climate‑driven megafires causing deaths, widespread destruction and deep psychological trauma. The government is criticised for denialism, inadequate climate action and policies that worsen fire risks, with its response portrayed as evasive and contradictory. Climate change is presented as intensifying fire frequency and severity, leaving communities vulnerable and exhausted while long‑term health and economic impacts continue to emerge.

Australian authors including Blanche d’Alpuget, Carmel Bird, Clare Bowditch, Jeff Sparrow, Ceridwen Dovey, Tim Flannery and Robyn Annear discuss their latest books, the ideas behind them and what they were reading during the writing process. Their works range across biography, fiction, memoir, political analysis, science writing and cultural history, with each author also sharing the books they plan to read next.

Various Australian public figures describe their favourite native birds, sharing personal memories, emotional connections and humorous anecdotes. Species celebrated include the rockwarbler, rainbow lorikeet, brush turkey, spotted harrier, gang-gang cockatoo, Australian white ibis and seagull, each chosen for qualities ranging from beauty and resilience to personality and cultural significance.

Rapidly worsening climate impacts and rising emissions lead to a personal assessment that decades of climate activism have failed to reverse dangerous trends. Political leaders in Australia are criticized for supporting fossil fuels despite mounting evidence of harm. Scientists warn that current trajectories could push global temperatures far beyond safe limits, threatening mass mortality. Youth movements such as Extinction Rebellion and global school strikes are highlighted as powerful forces reshaping the response to the crisis. The author argues that worsening conditions and political denial demand a reconsideration of strategies, potentially shifting from persuasion to direct action.

A review of Benedict Macdonald’s book argues that centuries of human intervention have depleted Britain’s wildlife, with modern economic efficiency accelerating the decline. Macdonald calls for reintroducing large mammals, shifting national park priorities toward wildlife, allowing natural ecological processes to operate freely and reducing landscape management. The success of the Knepp Estate rewilding project is highlighted as evidence for the potential of these approaches, while resistance from local communities underscores cultural barriers to change.

Europe’s identity is explored through its geological and biological evolution, tracing its origins as an island archipelago shaped by interactions among Asia, North America and Africa. The continent’s natural history is highlighted as foundational to global scientific discovery, from early palaeobiology to reconstructions of ancient ecosystems. Europe’s environmental distinctiveness, hybrid species, and role as a bridge for biodiversity are presented as key to understanding its cultural and historical development. Human evolution and cultural innovation are described as products of hybridisation, linking Europe’s deep past with its modern character.

The mining lobby’s recommendation that environmental charities be required to spend a quarter of their resources on land remediation is criticized as an attempt to limit the effectiveness of environmental advocacy and restrict independent scientific communication on climate change. The government’s embrace of this advice is portrayed as undemocratic, harmful to public access to climate information, and reflective of undue influence from fossil fuel interests. Environmental groups such as the Climate Council are depicted as essential sources of independent expertise, while government actions, including past censorship of climate-related reports, are cited as evidence of politically motivated interference in scientific communication.

Australian authors describe their latest books, the ideas driving their work, and the titles that influenced them. Each writer outlines the themes of their new release, from justice and colonial history to climate technology, memoir, crime, puberty research, and literary fiction. They also share what they were reading during the writing process and which upcoming Australian books they plan to read next.

Rising temperatures and increasingly extreme weather driven by carbon emissions are placing Australia’s unique wildlife at severe risk, with species such as koalas, platypus and rare birds facing shrinking habitats and potential extinction. Scientific findings indicate that climate change has intensified recent heat events, threatening both well‑known and lesser‑known species. Australia’s continued expansion of coal exports is contrasted with the environmental damage already visible across the continent, underscoring the need for urgent climate action.

Global greenhouse gas emissions are on track to exceed safe limits, yet advances in renewable energy and efficiency offer early signs of progress. Beyond emissions cuts, emerging biological and chemical carbon‑removal technologies—ranging from large‑scale seaweed farming and biochar to carbon‑negative cement, plastics, and nanofibre production—present new opportunities to draw down atmospheric CO2. Innovative proposals include accelerated mineral weathering, methane‑absorbing modified coffee grounds, and long‑term CO2 storage in deep‑ocean sediments or Antarctica. While some approaches remain speculative or limited by energy requirements, their combined potential could remove significant volumes of carbon by 2050, making them critical tools in preventing severe climate destabilization.

Scientific advances and extreme weather events increasingly demonstrate the influence of human-driven climate change, with rising temperatures intensifying heatwaves, bushfires, and health risks. Australia’s recent record-breaking heat and the deadly 2009 Black Saturday fires exemplify how warming magnifies fire danger, while global incidents such as the 2003 European heatwave highlight mounting mortality threats. Growing evidence links specific extreme events to greenhouse gas emissions, and the combined health impacts—from smoke inhalation and pollution to reduced crop nutrition and mental stress—are expected to accelerate as temperatures rise. The widening risks underscore the urgency of reducing emissions and preparing for more severe climate-driven hazards.

Rainforests support extraordinary biodiversity, regulate climate, generate rainfall, store carbon and supply water, food and medicines. Their ancient origins and ecosystems hold deep scientific and cultural significance. Despite economic pressures to convert forests to timber or farmland, such exploitation yields only short‑term gains due to poor rainforest soils. Preserving rainforests protects global ecological balance and vital resources essential to human life.