Environment
Businesses MIA on rooftop solar and battery revolution
10 June
Australian households are generating nearly four times as much solar energy as retailers, manufacturers and other non-residential buildings, with most commercial rooftops panel-free. Harvesting the vast, untapped generating and storage potential in...[Read More]
Rent hikes, more homelessness as climate change bites
20 May
Climbing insurance premiums and other economic symptoms of climate change are expected to push rents higher and drive homelessness without well-targeted intervention. Under a high-emissions future, characterised by the ongoing dominance of fossil...[Read More]
Climate agencies to ask AI to predict future disasters
20 May
Australia’s leading climate authorities plan to deploy artificial intelligence to help forecast natural disasters, including what might happen if a tropical cyclone hit a major city. But they warn early attempts to expand predictions using AI will...[Read More]
Fuel, fertiliser shortages could deliver barren harvest
1 April
Australia’s regional and rural businesses will face a triple threat from fuel, fertiliser and interest rate changes over the coming months, but can fight back with investments in renewable energy and artificial intelligence. NAB issued the advice...[Read More]
Bumpy path predicted for self-driving cars in Australia
25 March
Autonomous cars could slash transport pollution by driving more efficiently, avoiding traffic snarls and reducing the need for car parks. But with the wrong policy settings, the technology could undo those savings by putting more cars on the road,...[Read More]
AI crocodile detection system comes with warning
25 March
An AI detection system is hoped to make a splash by dramatically improving safety at swimming spots and boat ramps across Australia’s crocodile-infested northern waterways. But its creators warn it can only identify crocodiles above the waterline...[Read More]
High-power pit stop: quantum batteries could rev up EVs
18 March
Next-generation batteries Australian researchers are developing could potentially recharge electric cars faster than petrol vehicles fill up and top up smartphone instantaneously. The CSIRO’s quantum battery research team made the predictions on...[Read More]
Scientists make Parkinson’s drug from plastic bottles
18 March
Scientists have discovered a way of making a drug for Parkinson’s disease from used plastic bottles, saying it shows how waste materials can be “reimagined as valuable resources”. Developed by a team at the University of Edinburgh, the...[Read More]
Rice could be key ingredient to cutting steel emissions
11 March
Leftover rice could be the key ingredient to halving carbon emissions from iron and steel production, according to a trial led by Australian researchers. The CSIRO and Indian Institute of Science revealed the findings on Tuesday from tests in which...[Read More]
Investment vehicle races off with $34b renewables push
4 March
Blessed with wind and solar resources, renewable energy companies are clamouring to take part in the bounty of NSW amid a global oil crisis. More than 15 projects worth a total of $34.4 billion in potential investment are being looked over at the...[Read More]
‘Right the ship’: polluters tax could be vote spinner
18 February
Forcing Australia’s biggest polluters to pay tax for their emissions may no longer be electoral kryptonite, polling indicates. The survey of 3000 Australian adults by Redbridge Group showed most regional and urban voters supported introducing a...[Read More]
Discount loans to drive down the price of electric cars
4 February
Motorists will be offered another incentive to choose electric over petrol through a $60 million program to cut the cost of car loans. The Climate Energy Finance Corporation announced the scheme in partnership with Hyundai on Tuesday, revealing it...[Read More]
Drivers told to paws and think of road risk to koalas
24 December
When wildlife rescuer Ina Egermann finds a koala hit by a car, the first thing she does is apologise. “I say, ‘I’m so sorry that we humans have done this to you’,” the Friends of the Koala charity volunteer told AAP. Then she gently holds...[Read More]
2025: The year the world chose direction
18 December
History rarely announces itself in dramatic bursts. More often, it reveals itself through quiet turning points — moments when trends harden into realities and choices can no longer be postponed. 2025 was one of those years. It did not deliver a...[Read More]
‘Smash-hit’ battery scheme topped up, subsidies trimmed
17 December
More batteries in more homes is the promise of a federal government decision to triple the budget of a popular rebate scheme and wind back discounts for bigger systems. The subsidy, which has been in place for five months, will get a generous top-up...[Read More]