climatecouncil.org.au

GOOD NEWS 📣 This September, renewable energy provided more power in Australia's main grid than fossil fuels, after first reaching this milestone last Spring.

🐢 Scott Reef is home to more than 1,500 species. It’s worth far more than the climate pollution buried under it. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/oct/27/endangered-turtles-and-exceptional-coral-at-risk-from-woodsides-gas-drilling-in-wa-watchdog-says

New data from the Smart Energy Council finds QLD households could pay an extra $370 a year on power bills from 2029 if data centres plug into the grid without bringing their own clean energy. The fix is simple: make new wind, solar and batteries a condition of plugging in.

Roar if you love good climate news stories 🦁 The world is full of good news if you know where to look. Follow us for a new wrap every fortnight 💚

“We’re in a new era of fires.” That’s the warning from Emergency Leaders for Climate Action founder Greg Mullins. From Black Saturday to Black Summer, and now Los Angeles to Europe, fires are getting worse around the world. 👉 Read the full report from ELCA at the link https://bit.ly/bushfirecost

Ever feel like climate change is too big for one person to make a dent? 🤔 Here are more than 20 everyday ways to help cut climate pollution, at home, at work, in your community and with your voice. 📌 Save this for later and share it with someone who’s been asking what they can do.

A child starting school this year will be in their fifties by 2075. Will the Great Barrier Reef still be there for them? 🐠 Read more👇 https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/oct/22/shallow-water-coral-reef-ecosystem-collapse-by-2075-un-advisors-say

Bushfires will cost Australia $6 billion every year 🔥 With a hot, dry summer ahead for much of the east coast, now’s the time to act. Read more 👇 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-22/bushfires-costing-australia-6b-annually/107272000 Link to the report: https://bit.ly/bushfirecost

Live nowhere near the bush? Bushfires are still costing you. A new Emergency Leaders for Climate Action report finds they’ll cost Australia $6 billion a year, from hospital visits and lost work to rebuilding public infrastructure. Check out the new report here: https://bit.ly/bushfirecost

The NSW Government will introduce special laws to let Mount Pleasant coal mine in the Hunter Valley expand to produce 16.5 million tonnes a year, despite the High Court ruling against the same expansion just weeks ago.

Helen Haines has always shown up for her community with integrity and care. We join with people across her community and the nation today in holding her in our thoughts.

🎤 drop. Great question… If approved, the Hunter Valley coal mine extension would become the Albanese government’s 39th coal, oil or gas approval since taking office. The Albanese Government should put people before corporate interests and refuse this project.

30,000 homes made $2m in two hours 🔋 700,000+ Aussie homes now have a battery helping out when coal can’t. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-17/home-batteries-make-money-in-nsw-power-price-spike/107260880?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

One of the world’s most powerful batteries is now fully operational in NSW. 🔋⚡ Built on the site of the former Munmorah coal-fired power station, the Waratah Super Battery can deliver 850 MW of power and store 1,680 MWh of energy.

Australia’s biggest wind farm is one step closer! 🍃 The Victorian Government has given its final approval to the Warracknabeal Energy Park in the state’s west.

The Climate Council spent the last couple of days at Parliament House talking to decision makers about the summer ahead and the year beyond.

Climate scientists have released a new tool showing the harm from new fossil fuel projects. According to the tool, pollution from the HVO coalmine extension will result in a loss of food production equivalent to the amount required to feed 273,000 people a year. Check it out:

The University of Melbourne has just released a second season of Climate Kids, a free video series built entirely around questions asked by primary school students. https://www.theeducatoronline.com/k12/news/university-of-melbourne-launches-climate-education-videos-for-primary-schools/289267

Since 2000, the coal we’ve shipped overseas has created more than 19,000 metric tonnes of climate pollution. That’s 41 times more than what Australia releases in a year. To protect communities we need to stop approving new coal mines & get on with building renewable energy and storage.

Under Australia’s current laws, new coal and gas projects must meet best-practice pollution limits. Expansions don’t. Unless that changes, the Climate Council estimates it will add 4.5 million tonnes of climate pollution every year by 2035.

Did you know that transport is one of Australia’s fastest growing sources of climate pollution? To cut transport emissions, we need to change how we travel and shift the focus to moving people, not cars. Think walking, cycling, taking the train or bus 🚌🚶🏽🚴🏼 How did you get to work today?

A little good climate news for your feed. 🌏💚 🚗 EV sales surging across Australia ⚡️ Less energy needed to power our economy ☀️ Solar helping power emergency healthcare 🔋 Big plans for an even bigger battery Progress comes in all shapes and sizes. Swipe through for this fortnight’s good news. 👉

How one little town is going for a little less conversation, a little more (climate) action. 🕺☀️ One solar farm in the region sits in a sheep paddock and makes enough clean energy to power more than 21,000 homes.

Should coal mines count their pollution? High Court says yes. Add your name 👉 https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/actions/end-the-free-ride-petition/ https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/08/has-the-high-court-set-australias-fossil-fuel-producers-shaking-in-their-boots-they-should-be

The fossil fuel industry has had a free ride for too long. It's time the Federal Government made fossil fuel corporations pull their weight and stop rewarding them for causing harm. If you agree, add your name to our petition! 👉 https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/actions/end-the-free-ride-petition/

Today’s High Court decision is groundbreaking for climate law in Australia. 🎉🤸🏽‍♀️ It means decision-makers must consider climate pollution from exporting coal when assessing coal mine applications in NSW, and how to reduce that pollution.

🎉📣Huge news from the High Court. Australia's first climate case at the High Court has gone the community's way: NSW coal mine approvals must consider the local climate damage caused by the polluting coal they export.

Are you worried about the rapid growth of data centres? Right now, the Federal Government is drafting new rules that will decide how data centres are built and powered in Australia. We have until 9 October to make our voices heard. Take action here: https://bit.ly/47A1WYb ⚡

Fiannuala Morgan's phone died and the broadcast tower burned. Shoalhaven had planned for it. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-04/bushfire-telecommunications-fail-black-summer-phone-reception/107210562?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

👀 Check out some highlights from our CEO Amanda McKenzie’s lunch with The Age’s Bianca Hall discussing the Climate Council’s crowdfunded beginning and why "the future is not written". Age subscribers can check out the full convo here: https://climc.nl/4y5YSOd

As leaders convene in the Pacific for pre-COP31, UNSW's Dr Wes Morgan says Australia's biggest climate contribution is exporting coal and gas, which emit more than double our domestic economy. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-05/pre-cop31-australia-challenged-over-fossil-fuel-expansion/107220650

Renewed conflict in the Middle East illustrates how vulnerable we are to international price & supply shocks when we rely on imported fuel. There is an alternative: electrifying our households, businesses & transport & powering them with our sun & wind. Clean energy puts us back in control.

No matter how we choose to respond to sea level rise it is going to be complex and costly. The first, best step is to stop such damage in the first place by cutting pollution from coal, oil and gas. 📖 Read the full report: https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/rising-seas-rising-bills/

A community-owned solar farm in Goulburn has just landed a 10-year deal with one of Australia's biggest technology companies to help power its headquarters ☀️ https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/9361291/australian-tech-giant-taps-into-community-solar-farm/

Caption: EVs: 1. Fuel prices: 0.⚡️🚗 While fuel prices stay sky-high, Aussies have been switching to EVs in record numbers. Sales have more than doubled since last August, and this year's new EV drivers are set to save $76 million on fuel by December. 💚 Would you make the switch?👇

The largest coal project in NSW history has just been approved by the state's Independent Planning Commission. Former Fire & Rescue NSW Commissioner and Climate Councillor Greg Mullins says workers deserve better. 🎧 Listen to the clip here

Victorians can get free power midday thanks to solar! Find out more about how solar, wind and storage is the only thing driving down our power bills, and what's driving them up in our report: https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/power-games-whos-driving-high-power-bills/

More than 213mm of rain fell near Bangkok in just 24 hours, flooding streets across the city. Climate pollution is driving record-hot oceans, and hotter oceans fuel heavier, more intense rainfall. The more we keep polluting, the worse this gets.

It’s 2026, the climate crisis is all around us. How are we still approving polluting coal mines? What NSW exports as coal, we experience as worsening bushfires, floods, heatwaves and droughts. No matter where coal, oil and gas is dug up and burnt, we experience it as climate harm at home.

🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 That means 800 million more tonnes of climate pollution - more than seven times what NSW emits in an entire year.

A record number of Aussie households are taking control of their power with solar and batteries. 180,000+ solar, 276,011 batteries in H1 2026 = cleaner power! https://reneweconomy.com.au/australian-households-installed-record-amount-of-rooftop-solar-and-home-batteries-in-first-half-of-2026/

Approving the HVO coal mine expansion would unleash decades of pollution at a time when Australians are already paying the price for worsening climate impacts. We need to protect our communities from worsening climate disasters and costs, not add more fuel to the fire.

Need a reason to feel hopeful? We've got five. 🌏💚 Proof that progress is happening, one policy, panel and species at a time. ☀️ Swipe through for your fortnightly dose of good climate news. 👉

As climate pollution drives worsening floods, bushfires and heatwaves, it’s time for major sporting codes, arts bodies and event organisers to stop giving a free kick to fossil fuel sponsorships. #getoffmychest

Floods that were once rare are becoming routine, as rising seas driven by climate pollution push ordinary tides higher up our coastline. This is one of the ways sea level rise will hurt Australia's coasts. 📖 Read the full report: https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/rising-seas-rising-bills/