Latest news with #MattKean
News.com.au
32 minutes ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Climate Change Authority chair Matt Kean lashes anti-net zero MPs as ‘weird'
Former NSW treasurer Matt Kean has lashed his former federal colleagues, saying they risk 'electoral oblivion' if the opposition choses to abandon bipartisan support on net zero. The Liberal state MP turned Climate Change Authority chair unleashed a series of harsh barbs at Coalition MPs, who've called for the party to dump net zero. He labelled MPs with the view as 'weird' and warned it would result in 'electoral oblivion'. Mr Kean noted the Coalition had lost seats to 'candidates and parties advocating for strong action on climate change' and urged the party to 'ignore the noisy forces advocating for fringe policies'. 'Let me say, as the former Liberal Treasurer in the largest economy in the nation, that it is a sign they are heading for electoral oblivion,' he told the ABC's Afternoon Briefing. 'The Coalition needs to reflect the mood of the Australian public which is clearly saying they want strong and decisive action on climate change in our national interest. 'There are a number of ways they can achieve that and the sooner they start talking about those policies, the sooner of our path back to electoral relevance.' Mr Kean, who passed NSW's state legislation to cement its net zero targets, also said the CCA was 'close' to handing down its recommendation on the highly-anticipated 2035 carbon reduction target, with the body consulting on a figure between 65 to 75 per cent. Currently Australia must reach net zero by 2050, as per the Paris Climate Accords, with Energy Minister Chris Bowen previously saying he was 'confident' Australia would reach the interim 2030 goal of reducing emissions by 43 per cent. Following the Coalition's election walloping, which has reduced the opposition to a paltry 43 seats in the lower house, National MPs and prominent members of the Liberal Party's right called for support for net zero to be dumped. WA Liberal MP Andrew Hastie said it was a 'straitjacket that I'm already getting out of', while Nationals MPs Matt Canavan and Barnaby Joyce respectively labelled it as 'ridiculous' and 'utterly untenable'. Appearing after Mr Kean's segment, Liberal Flinders MP Zoe McKenzie wouldn't directly support or rule out abandoning a net zero target, saying the party was reviewing all of its election policies. However she noted that the Coalition did not prove to be electorally popular, despite keeping it pro-net zero stance. 'As you know we have seen quite clearly that we must have a deeper conversation with the Australian population around the platform of policies we took to the last election and we must understand what they wanted to see done differently,' she said.
West Australian
2 hours ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Climate Change Authority chair Matt Kean lashes anti-net zero MPs as ‘weird'
Former NSW treasurer Matt Kean has lashed his former federal colleagues, saying they risk 'electoral oblivion' if the opposition choses to abandon bipartisan support on net zero. The Liberal state MP turned Climate Change Authority chair unleashed a series of harsh barbs at Coalition MPs, who've called for the party to dump net zero. He labelled MPs with the view as 'weird' and warned it would result in 'electoral oblivion'. Mr Kean noted the Coalition had lost seats to 'candidates and parties advocating for strong action on climate change' and urged the party to 'ignore the noisy forces advocating for fringe policies'. 'Let me say, as the former Liberal Treasurer in the largest economy in the nation, that it is a sign they are heading for electoral oblivion,' he told the ABC's Afternoon Briefing. 'The Coalition needs to reflect the mood of the Australian public which is clearly saying they want strong and decisive action on climate change in our national interest. 'There are a number of ways they can achieve that and the sooner they start talking about those policies, the sooner of our path back to electoral relevance.' Mr Kean, who passed NSW's state legislation to cement its net zero targets, also said the CCA was 'close' to handing down its recommendation on the highly-anticipated 2035 carbon reduction target, with the body consulting on a figure between 65 to 75 per cent. Currently Australia must reach net zero by 2050, as per the Paris Climate Accords, with Energy Minister Chris Bowen previously saying he was 'confident' Australia would reach the interim 2030 goal of reducing emissions by 43 per cent. Following the Coalition's election walloping, which has reduced the opposition to a paltry 43 seats in the lower house, National MPs and prominent members of the Liberal Party's right called for support for net zero to be dumped. WA Liberal MP Andrew Hastie said it was a 'straitjacket that I'm already getting out of', while Nationals MPs Matt Canavan and Barnaby Joyce respectively labelled it as 'ridiculous' and 'utterly untenable'. Appearing after Mr Kean's segment, Liberal Flinders MP Zoe McKenzie wouldn't directly support or rule out abandoning a net zero target, saying the party was reviewing all of its election policies. However she noted that the Coalition did not prove to be electorally popular, despite keeping it pro-net zero stance. 'As you know we have seen quite clearly that we must have a deeper conversation with the Australian population around the platform of policies we took to the last election and we must understand what they wanted to see done differently,' she said.
1News
5 days ago
- Climate
- 1News
Australia, Pacific rocked by ocean heatwaves last year
Ocean temperatures in the south-west Pacific reached fresh highs last year as heatwaves struck more than 10% of the world's marine waters. Long stints of extreme ocean heat were experienced by nearly 40 million square kilometres of the region in 2024, including the waters surrounding Australia, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has revealed. WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo said ocean heat and acidification were together inflicting long-lasting damage on marine ecosystems and economies "It is increasingly evident that we are fast running out of time to turn the tide," she said. High ocean temperatures have been wreaking havoc on heat-sensitive coral reefs worldwide, with Australian authorities reporting the sixth mass bleaching event at the Great Barrier Reef in less than a decade. ADVERTISEMENT Warming on land was also higher than it had ever been last year, with Thursday's report from the United Nations weather and climate agency identifying temperatures roughly 0.48°C above the 1991–2020 average across the region. Heatwaves were particularly acute in Western Australia, with the coastal town of Carnarvon reaching 49.9°C in February and breaking existing temperature records by more than two degrees. The south-west Pacific assessment aligns with global temperature records being consistently broken as concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reach fresh highs. Last year was the hottest on record and the first to surpass 1.5°C warmer than pre-industrial times, the benchmark temperature under the Paris climate agreement. The global pact has not yet been breached as it refers to long-term trends but more warming is expected, with a separate WMO report predicting a 70% chance the average temperature over the next five years will exceed 1.5 degrees. The WMO regional report pre-dated Cyclone Alfred and the devastating flooding events Australia experienced in the first half of 2025, but captured above-average rainfall for the northern states last year. A sea level rise in the Pacific region that exceeds global averages was also recorded, threatening island communities living near the coast. ADVERTISEMENT Elsewhere in the region, Indonesia's glacier ice degraded 30-50% compared to 2022. If melting continues at the same rate, the ice is on track to disappear entirely by 2026 or soon after. The Philippines was struck by twice as many cyclones as normal, with 12 storms hitting the country between September and November. Climate patterns also influenced the year's weather events, including El Nino conditions at the start of 2024 in the tropical Pacific Ocean that weakened to neutral conditions by the middle of the year. Head of the federal Climate Change Authority Matt Kean said there was still "time to arrest this direction of travel to a hothouse destination" at an event in Sydney on Wednesday. "First, we should ignore the doubters whose main mission seems to be to prolong the life of fossil fuel industries," he said while delivering the Talbot Oration at the Australian Museum.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Australia, Pacific rocked by ocean heatwaves in 2024
Ocean temperatures in the southwest Pacific reached fresh highs in 2024 as heatwaves struck more than 10 per cent of the world's marine waters. Long stints of extreme ocean heat were experienced by nearly 40 million square kilometres of the region last year, including the waters surrounding Australia, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has revealed. WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo said ocean heat and acidification were together inflicting long-lasting damage on marine ecosystems and economies "It is increasingly evident that we are fast running out of time to turn the tide," she said. High ocean temperatures have been wreaking havoc on heat-sensitive coral reefs worldwide, with Australian authorities reporting the sixth mass bleaching event at the Great Barrier Reef in less than a decade. Warming on land was also higher than it had ever been in 2024, with Thursday's report from the United Nations weather and climate agency identifying temperatures around 0.48C above the 1991–2020 average across the region. Heatwaves were particularly acute in Western Australia, with the coastal town of Carnarvon reaching 49.9C in February and breaking existing temperature records by more than two degrees. The southwest Pacific assessment aligns with global temperature records being consistently broken as concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reach fresh highs. Last year was the hottest on record and the first to surpass 1.5C warmer than pre-industrial times, the benchmark temperature under the Paris climate agreement. The global pact has not yet been breached as it refers to long-term trends but more warming is expected, with a separate WMO report predicting a 70 per cent chance the average temperature over the next five years will exceed 1.5C. The WMO regional report pre-dated Cyclone Alfred and the devastating flooding events Australia experienced in the first half of 2025 but captured above-average rainfall for the northern states in 2024. A sea level rise in the Pacific region that exceeds global averages was also recorded, threatening island communities living near the coast. Elsewhere in the region, Indonesia's glacier ice degraded 30 to 50 per cent compared to 2022. If melting continues at the same rate, the ice is on track to disappear entirely by 2026 or soon after. The Philippines was struck by twice as many cyclones as normal, with 12 storms hitting the country between September and November. Climate patterns also influenced the year's weather events, including El Nino conditions at the start of 2024 in the tropical Pacific ocean that weakened to neutral conditions by the middle of the year. Head of the federal Climate Change Authority Matt Kean said there was still "time to arrest this direction of travel to a hothouse destination" at an event in Sydney on Wednesday. "First, we should ignore the doubters whose main mission seems to be to prolong the life of fossil fuel industries," he said while delivering the Talbot Oration at the Australian Museum.
West Australian
5 days ago
- Climate
- West Australian
Australia, Pacific rocked by ocean heatwaves last year
Ocean temperatures in the south-west Pacific reached fresh highs last year as heatwaves struck more than 10 per cent of the world's marine waters. Long stints of extreme ocean heat were experienced by nearly 40 million square kilometres of the region in 2024, including the waters surrounding Australia, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has revealed. WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo said ocean heat and acidification were together inflicting long-lasting damage on marine ecosystems and economies "It is increasingly evident that we are fast running out of time to turn the tide," she said. High ocean temperatures have been wreaking havoc on heat-sensitive coral reefs worldwide, with Australian authorities reporting the sixth mass bleaching event at the Great Barrier Reef in less than a decade. Warming on land was also higher than it had ever been last year, with Thursday's report from the United Nations weather and climate agency identifying temperatures roughly 0.48 °C above the 1991–2020 average across the region. Heatwaves were particularly acute in Western Australia, with the coastal town of Carnarvon reaching 49.9°C in February and breaking existing temperature records by more than two degrees. The south-west Pacific assessment aligns with global temperature records being consistently broken as concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reach fresh highs. Last year was the hottest on record and the first to surpass 1.5C warmer than pre-industrial times, the benchmark temperature under the Paris climate agreement. The global pact has not yet been breached as it refers to long-term trends but more warming is expected, with a separate WMO report predicting a 70 per cent chance the average temperature over the next five years will exceed 1.5 degrees. The WMO regional report pre-dated Cyclone Alfred and the devastating flooding events Australia experienced in the first half of 2025 but captured above-average rainfall for the northern states last year. A sea level rise in the Pacific region that exceeds global averages was also recorded, threatening island communities living near the coast. Elsewhere in the region, Indonesia's glacier ice degraded 30-50 per cent compared to 2022. If melting continues at the same rate, the ice is on track to disappear entirely by 2026 or soon after. The Philippines was struck by twice as many cyclones as normal, with 12 storms hitting the country between September and November. Climate patterns also influenced the year's weather events, including El Nino conditions at the start of 2024 in the tropical Pacific ocean that weakened to neutral conditions by the middle of the year. Head of the federal Climate Change Authority Matt Kean said there was still "time to arrest this direction of travel to a hothouse destination" at an event in Sydney on Wednesday. "First, we should ignore the doubters whose main mission seems to be to prolong the life of fossil fuel industries," he said while delivering the Talbot Oration at the Australian Museum.
