News for September, 2025

Welcome to the September roundup of environmental news.

In Australia at least, this has been dominated by three announcements within a week of each other.

The first is the Friday afternoon approval of Woodside's North West shelf gas facility until... 2070.

This project is a known 'carbon bomb' that will be emitting large quantities of methane into the atmosphere for decades to come. This puts the lie to the Australian Government's 'net zero by 2050' policy,

As with his predecessor, the Environment Minister Murray Watt continues to present a flimsy defence in that the current legislation by which he operates has no provision to consider the effects of climate change on the environment. That legislation is currently under review, but there is still a strong resistance to allow references to climate change to be included.

At least we saved 40,000 year old Murujuga rock art, didn't we?

- Wikimedia commons

The second was the release of the Climate department's delayed risk assessment of climate change on Australia. One forecast: if we think there's a housing crisis now, half a million displacements (ie 2% of the population) by 2050 due to sea level rise is a good way to reframe the issue.

This was followed by the Climate Minister's announcement of a pretty limp emissions reduction target of 62-70% by 2035. This barely tackles the worst scenario in his own department's report.

Environment

An article encountered this month didn't really fit into any of the standard sub-categories, but it was too intriguing to pass up on. This is why we now have occasional references to  'The Weird'.

 The Ugly

• Not its job description: NSW Environment watch dog buried a report on lead levels in children to placate mining companies. The locals are less than impressed.
• The footage from 'Ocean with David Attenborough' notwithstanding, UK will allow bottom trawling to continue in protected areas.

The Bad

• Only 150 round-leaf pomaderris plants are known of. Victoria's fire plan may put a third of them at risk.
• Glossy black cockatoos need more nesting trees. 
• South Australia's toxic algae bloom continues to spread unchecked. Asthma sufferers are warned of potential health risks, while an experimental bubble net is deployed to protect breeding cuttlefish, or so we hope.
• The latest planetary boundary to be breached: ocean acidification
• A different form of extinction. The words used to describe nature are falling into disuse. 

The Good

• How to make a small forest in a day (may not have the full biodiversity, but let's not quibble).
• Exmouth Gulf to be declared a marine park 
• A rare mountain frog has been successfully bred and released.
• Blue dragons? Once critically endangered, but now thriving.
• The night parrot. Once thought extinct. Now being found in more areas.
• A global sea treaty (the UN's Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, or BBNJ) has now been ratified by 60 countries, and has come into force.

The Weird? 

• Nothing moral in nature: some ants practise inter-species mating to produce their workers.

Climate

The Ugly

• Models cited by the Business Council of Australia unsurprisingly suggest strong emission targets would cost billions. The ACF claims they lack credibility, and don't account for the savings provided by a strong emissions target.
• A disaster on all fronts: the approval of an extension to 2070 for Woodside's North West Shelf gas project is simply not in keeping with 'net zero'.
• "We don't talk about Scope 3". With about 0.2% of the world's population, Australia contributes about 4.5% to global emissions in total. 80% of this derives from its exports. 

The Bad

• Australia's National Climate Risk Assessment dropped recently. It tells of uncomfortable scenarios for various parts of Australia under 1.5, 2, and 3 degrees of warming by 2050 and 2090. Here is a summary from the Climate Council.
• A couple of days later, Climate Minister Chris Bowen announced a 62-70% 'range' of emissions reduction by 2035. While it's double the current level, it is still considered a weak goal to aim for over the next decade. Apart from questions about what a 'range' means, a report submitted by Climate Analytics to the Climate Change Authority recommended reduction targets of 72% by 2030, and 81% by 2035 if we are to keep to a 1.5 degree warming scenario.
• Underscoring the risks, Australia has already experienced 1000 deaths due to heat waves over a four year period.
• Climate change made 2025 wildfires in Europe 22% more intense.
• Extreme heat is starting to force some farmers and fishers to do their work at night.
• 'Ice roads' used by communities in Northern Canada, are starting to break down. 
• It's touted as a technique for 'drawing down' greenhouse gases, but underground carbon sequestration is  more limited than thought.
• Methane leaking from 130,000 boreholes in Queensland could be a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. 

The Good

• The satellite may be out of commission, but MethaneSat's plume detection technology is still available for aerial surveys.
• While it's not good news that fossil fuel companies are responsible for increased heat wave intensity, it is good news that forensics can now attribute that responsibility. Damage claims incoming.
• In this podcast. Prof. Tim Stephens discusses the potential fallout from the ICJ's finding that states can seek climate related damages against other states. (hint: the fan about to be hit is a session in the COP30 agenda)
• A list of 50 climate leaders to watch
• How researchers at the University of Malaysia go about measuring methane emissions from rice crops. 

Energy

The Ugly

• Trump stopped an offshore wind farm last month. The developers are suing.
• The Queensland government appears to be following suit on stopping wind farms.
• An LNG storage tank in Darwin has been leaking methane for decades, and nobody has done anything about it. 

The Bad

• While we rightly laud the burgeoning growth in renewable power sources, it should be remembered that it means little if we don't also see a corresponding reduction in fossil fuel usage. The difference between actual and projected usage is referred to as the Production Gap. Unfortunately, it has been growing rather than shrinking.
• Victoria's forthcoming offshore wind auction has been postponed. 
• So bad it's good: an Honest Government Ad lampooning Norway's fraught relationship with the oil economy. (Norwegians have since elected a more progressive government!)

The Good

•  Trump stopped an offshore wind farm last month. A federal judge has lifted the stoppage.
• A Volts podcast on the benefits of 3D printed batteries.
• Placing panels vertically is an interesting variation to getting solar farms and agriculture to co-exist effectively.
• Australia's CEFC to receive funding to accelerate the roll-out of renewables.
• The rapid development of wind and solar farms in rural areas has led to substantial local resistance. Part of this is an understandable reaction to the imposition of change, although much can also be attributed to the misinformation from bad actors. A report in New Scientist suggests there are ways to defuse this 'green backlash'
• From the news, you might expect Florida to be pursuing a program every bit as revanchist as Trump and Project 2025 calls for. After all, 'climate change' is a proscribed term in state publications! When it comes to actually adopting renewables, though, the truth is quite different. (Just don't tell Donald!)

Resistance

As Trump's dictates become more draconian, the truth of the observation about authority being brittle becomes more clear. This isn't strength we're seeing, but desperation. Still, it must be endured.

However, the US isn't the only place where the erosion of civil liberties is being seen. In the UK, mentioning 'Palestine Action' is now a terrorist offence with the potential for fourteen years jail. Banksy is not an artist to leave this state of affairs unremarked:

Lawfare leaves a stain behind...and scrubbing this graffiti left its mark - 'Banksy'

The Ugly

• Trump's antagonism to renewables and climate action is no secret.  It didn't really take his UN address to show that it extends to renewables globally. Giving rise to stunts like threatening tariffs on nations who do not reject a UN brokered deal to cut shipping emissions.
• The US has now targeted three speed boats in Venezualan waters, claiming they were stopping drug smugglers, but will not provide any proof to justify these extrajudicial killings (and drug smuggling doesn't actually carry a death sentence). A criminal act? Of course it was.
• "We never make mistakes" is a catch-cry of all totalitarian authorities and, when ICE comes for you, your US citizenship is irrelevant.
• Anarchy in the UK: over 500 protestors were arrested for... quietly holding placards. By contrast. a violent right-wing rally saw 26 police officers injured, and ... only 24 arrests.  

The Bad

• Trump's speech to the UN assembly was both atrocious and pathetic.
• Trump is, or has tried, sending ICE and National Guard into Los Angeles, Washington DC. Chicago, New Orleans, Memphis, and now, that total war-zone, Portland.
• Just in case you think Australia is immune to this sort of thing, recall Dutton tried something similar ten years ago, and note that some 'truly weird' behaviour during the 2025 federal election has prompted a parliamentary review.

The Good

• ABC night show host Jimmy Kimmel was recently taken off air for making fun of Trump's cavalier reaction to Charlie Kirk's murder. Many do consider Kimmel to be off-colour, but this action was in direct violation of the right to free speech, and it triggered a huge reaction against the owner of ABC (Disney) for giving in to political pressure. ABC has since reinstated Kimmel (who shows no repentance) and, after a bit of foot dragging, distribtutors like Sinclair and Nexsar have followed suit.
• The march toward authoritarian government is often portrayed as irreversible, but there are many counter-examples.
• A provision to allow US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to revoke US passports has been blocked.
• As the occupation of Washington DC by ICE agents and the National Guard continues, watchers keep track of their movements.
• The man who was arrested by ICE agents while fighting a fire last month has now been released.
• The more the establishment seeks to control the media, the more journalists feel the need to get out from underneath. The latest example of independent publications is the startup 'The Nerve'  by ex-Guardian and Observer reporters.

Housing

The Ugly

•  Do politicians really think AI can help fix Australia's housing crisis? Remember Robodebt?

The Bad

• Cost cutting measures by the Bureau of Statistics has caused the delay of an important survey on how households are coping with cost of living issues.
• Renters may be missing out on green energy savings from rooftop solar.

The Good

• NSW is overhauling its planning laws to speed up housing approvals. Will it work?
• There's a move at the UN to make indoor air quality a human right, which Australia is leading.
• GDP has been described as the cuckoo of economic indicators: having pushed all others out of the nest. Fortunately, this attitude is changing as alternative approaches are tried. For example, this report on measuring what matters looks at health, security, social cohesion, and wealth inequality.
• South Australia considers a short stay accommodation registry to better determine their effect on rental affordability

Transport

L0 Series maglev train at Yamanashi test track - Saruno Hirobano, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A number of articles on high speed trains this month. If you've the population corridor, they can certainly compete with airlines in terms of time, cost, and emissions. Will they be allowed to, though, in either Australia or the US? Oh, well, in the meantime we can dream!

The Ugly

•  Hybrid emissions are higher than claimed, and they're getting worse.

The Bad

•  California's attempts to build a high speed rail provide a cautionary tale.

The Good

• China's high speed rail linking Beijing and Shanghai is a 1300km trip. Door to door, it beats air travel times.
• A report on Japan's maglev train under development, travelling at... 500km/hr!?
• The electrical vehicle market in Australia is poised to take off.
• Should hybrids be included in overall EV sales?  This article makes an interesting case for.

Plaigue

It may not seem it, but I do try to find some positive things to say about this new technology. But, as time goes by, the drawbacks become ever more clear, and the touted benefits turn out to be nothing of the sort.

The trouble is, it is an industry that has grown too fast, and is now too big to fail.

Which it will. 

The Ugly

• AI growth: it really is about the fossil fuel profits...
• ... and driving up electricity bills. 
• Far from improving workplace productivity, a study finds AI work is a low quality product killing productivity and quality of life.

The Bad

• Google's Gemini: AI savant, or mechanical Turk?
• The increased power demands of its proposed AI data centres has led to Google quietly removing all references to its once industry-leading net zero initiatives.

The Good

• Wikipedia has a page of advice for identifying AI generated content
• A UK Government trial of Microsoft's co-pilot AI finds it results in no improvement to productivity. (the good news being that a study was done)
• Funding for a study into the effects AI data centres have on US domestic power bills has been obtained by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
• An amusing observation that children are starting to respond to things they don't believe by saying "That's AI!". I think the kids are all right.