Earth Matters

HR23: Preventing drug-related harm; protecting human rightsStrength in Solidarity was the theme of the Harm Reduction International Conference held in Naarm/Melbourne from April 16th to 19th this year. Policy makers, advocates, people who use drugs, academics and service providers called for an end to the international war on drugs and the punitive policies that have a devastating effect on some o...

On this episode of Loss, Damage, and Denial, Jacob speaks with Tongan law student Soane Tupola about how climate change will affect his island home, and his hopes for a climate positive future. We speak with Mahealani Delaney from the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions on how the broader region will be impacted socially, environmentally, economically, and culturally by the clim...

Earth Matters speaks with Sweltering Cities, a campaign in Sydney and Melbourne seeking  to empower communities experiencing extreme heat by lifting up stories of lived experience and building community organizing campaigns around local impacts and public health.  Earth Matters speaks with Executive Director of the campaign, Emma Bacon on the data surrounding heatwaves and the need for an intersec...

Forest campaigners Avi Mahaningtyas and Patrick Anderson talk about the importance of recognising forest peoples rights in  Indonesia, the  30 by 30 Biodiversity Convention, the effectiveness of tropical timber boycotts and certification, the success of lobbying financiers,  the effect of social media, and the slow food movement. Guests:  Avi Mahaningtyas is a     board member of the. Shas been wo...

Last month millions of fish washed up dead in Menindee as blackwater starve the river of oxygen. Barb Quayle of the Barkindji Elders Council in Menindee speaks in the days after the fish kill and for lesbian visibility week, we remember an important anti nukes campaign on the mid 90s Guests:Barb Quayle – Barkindji Elders Council MenindeeKirsten Blair – Attended the Jabiluka Blockade & works with M...

Despite contributing the least to global emissions, Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most climate vulnerable regions in the world. With economic dependence on agriculture, high levels of poverty, and political instability in some regions, a more unstable climate will exacerbate existing issues. Young people are leading action on the climate crisis, but there are growing calls for more funding from...

 The Resistance Rocket Frog and Ecuador's anti-Mining Campaign Liz Downes chats with Judith about the reasons behind the recent proliferation of mining companies in Ecuador,  the impact it's having on the people who live there and on the environment in one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. Liz Downes is the coordinator of the Ecuador Endangered Campaign at the Rainforest Information C...

Last year the Federal government announced a First Nations Clean Energy Strategy aimed at ensuring First Nations people have a say in energy policies and programs in the transition to net-zero. The first roundtable with First Nations leaders was held last week in the Pilbara. How did it go and what are the steps needed for such a system overhaul? This week Earth Matters speaks with Ruby Heard from...

From the Women's Climate Congress:   Presenting evidence of First Nations climate impacts on country.  The case of the Waratah Coal mine, climate & human rights. Part Two This is the second part about the Youth Verdict  win. In a  recent historic ruling The Queensland Land Court rejected Clive Palmer's proposed coal mine on the Bimblebox Nature Reserve.   This ground breaking case was a test for Q...

In a  recent historic ruling The Land Court rejected Clive Palmers proposed coal mine on the Bimble Box Nature Reserve. This ground breaking case was a test for Queensland’s new human rights act. Hear  how the case was framed as a first nations case  presenting evidence of first nations impacts on country. Alison Rose, Patricia Julien, Lala Gutchen, and Murrawah Johnson will be in conversation wit...

CoP27 held last November in Sharm el-Sheikh reached a landmark agreement to establish a loss and damage fund. Rich countries have agreed to bear some of the costs for permanent and irreversible climate impacts experienced by poorer, less developed nations. But what does loss and damage look like in the 'Global South'?Jacob spoke with Ugandan climate activist Nyombi Morris and Rwandan ecofeminist I...

PEP11 and the impact of underwater noiseThe gas-drilling proposal known as “Petroleum Exploration Permit 11” or PEP 11, is back on the agenda despite opposition from the community and environmental groups. The project covers 4,500 square kilometres of ocean from Newcastle in the north to the Sydney suburb of Manly. Sam Hepburn, professor in environmental law from Deakin Law School at Deakin Univer...

Did you know that Emissions from native forest logging in south-eastern Australia are greater than Australia’s domestic aviation industry? This episode we speak with Dr Jennifer Sanger from environmental research group, Tree Projects. Dr Sanger discusses three new reports tracking the carbon footprint created by native logging in Southeast Australia and the efforts being taken by the logging indus...

Threats to Australia's wild bees Around sixteen hundred and fifty species of bees indigenous to Australia have been identified through western science and it’s estimated that well over a thousand are yet to be described. As bulldozers clear even more land and wildfires decimate the bush, Australia's native bee species are being added to the IUCN Red List and there are fears that more will be lost....

The climate emergency will continue to bring fire, floods, and extreme weather events all across the world— but not everyone is going to be affected in the same way. Communities that are white and wealthier are conventionally better resourced to deal with the ramifications of an increasingly unstable climate, while poorer communities, who often face overlapping crises will be left more vulnerable....

Takesa  explains  her connection to  the forest she lives in on Yuin Country, NSW,  the  impacts  of taking trees and why  Australian forests need protection now more than ever.  Later in the show Joslyn gives us practical advice on doing   roadside banner events  that  make your message visible to  passing  cars. Music: Morning in the Australian Bush:  Andrew  Skeoch and Sarah KoschakEarth Matter...

Carbon offsets have underpinned Australia's climate policies for the last decade. But the credibility of the carbon credits market has been tarnished with allegations of fraudulent credits, and questions over what constitutes a carbon offset, with one category called 'avoided deforestation' paying landholders not to clear trees they had permits to clear. So is the carbon market just another tool f...

 The sustainability movement likes to tout self-promoted actions of recycling and zero waste, but are these movements possible for everyone? This week we problematise the lack of inclusivity in the sustainability movement for those living with a disability.  Speaking with Professor of social inclusion Simon Darcy, Earth Matters looks critically at "Eco Ableism" and where the sustainability model n...

From the Martuwarra Fitzroy River in North West WA to the Darling Baaka River in Far West NSW.Remote communities are seeking control over disaster information and flood management as questions are raised about government handling of flooding on major rivers. Guests:Dr. Anne Poelina – Chair of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River CouncilGraeme McCrabb – Menindee Resident  Support the Martuwarra Fitzroy Riv...

This week Earth Matters explores how uniting Indigenous world views with emerging legal concepts offers a strengthened calls for rights for nature.  It’s a republication of 2DRY FMs Water Watch episode from World Water week in 2022, featureing Prof. Anne Poelina, a Kimberley, Nyikina Warrwa Indigenous scholar and chair of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council and Dr Erin O'Donnell from the Melbourn...

Jo Dodds, co-founder of Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action observed at COP27 that stories from victims of extreme climate impacts help depoliticise discussions aimed at solving the global heating crisis. She also  talks of her group's landmark successful legal case  ordering the Environmental Protection Agency of NSW  to act on the climate crisis. Links Bushfire Survivors for Climate ActionMusi...

 Biodiversity on the line at COP 15The COP 15 UN biodiversity meeting held in Montreal Canada in December 2022, was seen as a "last chance" to save the nature upon which the world depends. The resulting Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework here announced on December 19th is being celebrated as an historic first step and will be watched closely into 2023 to see how and what it delivers. O...

Japan is not doing great when it comes to climate action. Absent from COP27, awarded "the infamous 'fossil' award and leading a revitalized push by for Nuclear energy, there is a lot to be desired for a healthy climate. To better understand it Earth Matters presenter Eiddwen speaks with Japan Friends of the Earth (FOE) campaigners Houze and Ayumi. Their conversation looks at FOE's anti-nuclear cam...

Rikki Danks;  a Karanjini Gundanji women talks from COP27 in Egypt. She wants compensation for first Nations people impacted by climate change and poor resource  extraction decisions To protect country and prevent global heating Rikki wants fracking out of the Beetaloo Basin and land management handed back to traditional owners, as a simple and effective way to protect country  and climate for eve...

Sybil Disobedients: Aprons, agitprops and climate protest You may have seen them on your telly or in front of the AGL building in Melbourne’s CBD in their hooped skirts and yellow aprons...moving slowly, floating to the beat of a single drum, calling out the government’s continued support for the fossil fuel industries that are destroying the planet. This week on Earth Matters you’ll meet them, th...