The 31st annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (known as COP31) kicks off in Türkiye in a couple weeks. Drilled climate reporters — and COP veterans — Nina Lakhani, Amy Westervelt, and Royce Kurmelovs download everything you need to know as the talks commence. Plus, Nina interviews climate activist Harjeet Singh about what the climate […]
Royce Kurmelovs
Royce Kurmelovs is an investigative journalist in Australia. In addition to contributing to The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Rolling Stone and several other outlets, he is the author of several books, including Slick, a 2024 book on Australia’s toxic relationship with the fossil fuel industry.
Posted inInternational climate negotiations
What the Pre-COP in the Pacific Tells Us About What to Expect at COP31
The world was drawing a line between talking and doing on climate change in 2026. That was the message from Fiji. Speaking at a press conference in the final hours of the four-day pre-COP meeting in the Pacific, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) executive secretary Simon Stiell warned “every nation is on […]
Posted inFossil Fuel Industry
A Team of Australian Researchers Wants to Bring Attribution Science to the Masses
It is not clear what is happening at first. In one video, a CCTV camera looks out over a port facility; in another it is a grand building that marks the Nepal-China border crossing. There are people in these images but from this distance, they look like specks. But the specks on the screen are […]
Posted inNews
New Zealand to Become First Country in the World to Lock the Courthouse Door on Climate Change
Borrowing a tactic from the United States, New Zealand will adopt a law authored by industry to give legal immunity for tort claims against fossil fuel producers and big emitters.
Posted inNews
“It’s By Stealth, Isn’t It?” Australian Fossil Fuel Companies’ Multi-Million Dollar Effort to Get Into Schools
Australian oil, gas and coal companies want to get into school to shape what kids learn about their industry and climate change. One group has been trying to map the scale of the problem.
Posted inNews
Australian Oil and Gas Company Santos Offered Communities Help in Exchange for Good PR
Campaign groups say the company’s disaster-relief fund for outback communities during 2025 flooding came with strings attached.
Posted inNews
U.S. and Japanese Government-Funded Foreign Policy Think Tanks Want Australia to Keep Pumping the Gas
One former staffer raised concerns about Japanese influence on Australian climate and energy policy saying it would not be tolerated if China were responsible.
Posted inNews
Australian Court Finds Context Is King in Clearing Oil Company Santos of Greenwashing
Last month Australian courts cleared oil company Santos of greenwashing over claims it produced “clean energy’. Subsequently, fossil fuel companies demanded a “crack down” on green groups.
Posted inNews
“Simply Cannot Be Ignored”: How Australia’s fossil fuel industry shaped the climate future by capturing economic models
Heatwaves and bushfires burned across southern Australia this January thanks in part to climate change. An Australian government agency once insisted it might not happen.
Posted inNews
New Documents Reveal Japan LNG Industry’s Influence on Australian Politics
A new report from Influence Map shows employees from Japanese companies involved in major Australian gas projects have been regularly meeting with Australian ministers, directly shaping policy.