The Latest Breaking News from Christian Downie

‘Extremely disappointed’: WA government seeks reimbursement from Deloitte over flawed university report

State paid consultancy firm $166,000 for feasibility study on merging the three tertiary institutions

The Guardian - AU · Oct 25

‘Scary’: how misinformation and AI hallucinations are infiltrating Australia’s parliament

Exclusive: Guardian analysis reveals that dozens of policy submissions from across the political spectrum incorrectly summarise real research and invent or wrongly cite sources

The Guardian - AU · Aug 31

Afternoon Update: Senate hears social media ban report could contain AI hallucinations, Hayden Panettiere dies, and ‘ugly dogs’

A section of a report supporting Australia’s teen social media ban appears to include links to academic articles that do not exist, a Senate inquiry has heard

The Guardian - AU · Aug 17

Brazil is trying to stop fossil fuel interests derailing COP30 with one simple measure

In recent years, more and more lobbyists from the oil, gas and coal industries have taken part in international climate negotiations. Estimates of lobbyist numbers have risen sharply, from 503 at the 2021 Glasgow talks to 1,773 at last year’s talks in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.

The Conversation · Nov 19, 2025

Media and political attacks on Australia’s emissions targets ‘straight out of the climate obstruction playbook’, expert says

Prof Christian Downie points to the Business Council of Australia and News Corp newspapers as examples of deliberate obstruction

The Guardian - AU · Oct 7, 2025

PR firms are spreading climate misinformation on behalf of fossil fuel companies. Could Australia stop them?

Have you heard offshore windfarms kill whales? (They don’t.) Or that electric vehicles catch fire more often than petrol cars? (It’s the opposite.) Perhaps you’ve heard “natural” gas is clean? (It can be worse than coal.)

The Conversation · Oct 1, 2025

A reversal in US climate policy will send renewables investors packing – and Australia can reap the benefits

President Donald Trump is trying to unravel the signature climate policy of his predecessor Joe Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act, as part of a sweeping bid to dismantle the United States’ climate ambition.

The Conversation · Jun 11, 2025

Fading US climate leadership opens door for Australia

Australia could end up with cheaper electric cars and renewed opportunities for green manufacturing as United States' climate leadership goes on hiatus.

AAP · Jan 24, 2025

A Donald Trump presidency is bad for climate action, but Australia should get on with the job

Donald Trump’s triumph over Kamala Harris in the US presidential election matters for many reasons, but especially climate change.

The Conversation · Nov 7, 2024

COP28: Turning the tap off slowly – why Australia's decision to end overseas fossil fuel finance matters

Until recently, financing fossil fuel projects has been relatively easy.

The Conversation · Dec 7, 2023