Japanese Car makers are catching up with Chinese and US brands, with recent announcements regarding their EV intentions. With new factories from Honda and Toyota, EV battery production is forecast to grow by 430% from 95.3 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2020 to 410.5 GWh in 2024, according to GlobalData. Ford’s 3 new battery plants will enable 129 GWh a year of production capacity. General Motors’ four new battery factories have annual capacity of 140 GWh, while VW is aiming at six battery plants operating in Europe by 2030 for a total of 240 GWh a year. https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/honda-and-lg-chem-will-build-a-2444-billion-ev-battery-factory-in-the-us/ar-AA11euFg 

A newly released Australia Institute report provides a clear pathway to an EV future: "Introducing fleet fuel efficiency standards would reduce transport emissions, save motorist money, increase availability of electric vehicle models, and reduce Australia’s reliance on imported oil".https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/P1269-Fuel-Efficiency-Standards-WEB.pdfReleased the same day as revelations of lobbying to slow our EV transition by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries: 

A reconstruction of the Earth's beating heart over a billion years, illustrating the connection between deep-seated convection currents (just above the core-mantle boundary), tectonic plate movements, and the authors' cities in green (Sydney, Qingdao, Leeds, Austin). The mantle convection video below is based on a "mantle reference frame" that optimises the positions of the plates and their boundaries relative to the mantle, a necessity for understanding the connection between deep-seated mantle upwellings and surface volcanism - Dietmar Müller...Model data and additional videos > https://lnkd.in/gAGvhC3Y andOpen-access Solid Earth paper >  https://lnkd.in/g94zcE_T 

The Australian Government has voted in legislation that includes a 43% emission reduction target by 2030. This is a substantial breakthrough and reflects the views of a new make-up in Parliament - as well as the will of the people and their recent vote.Meanwhile in the US a Bill involving $369 Billion on environmental and energy initiatives looks set to pass, thanks to Senator Joe Manchin changing his mind.The Australian legislation comes after 10 years of climate inaction. However the US Bill will be a pacesetter for the rest of the world. http://www.afr.com/news/politics/national/albanese-stares-down-greens-on-climate-business-urges-libs-to-follow 

Saul Griffith’s The Big Switch – Australia’s electric future – is a far-sighted analysis of why we should rapidly transition to a renewable-driven all-electric energy future. Significant efficiencies are available in both the supply and demand of energy. Also, Australia is very well placed to easily satisfy local energy demand cheaply and export energy either directly or in value-added materials. The other big reason for rapid transition - It could save the planet. The author is founder of Rewiring America and now Rewiring Australia and will present in a webinar from 6pm 2nd August via www.climateandpeace.com.au

Quilibrium is bringing efficient and scalable seaweed farming to Southeast Asia and around the world and supporting sustainable income development for coastal communities. Floats anchored to the seafloor in coastal areas create a 3-dimensional eco-system in which framers can grow seaweed for food production while mangroves growing on top will capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide.And at the same time, endangered coastlines will be revegetated and protected from erosion.https://www.siliconbeach.org.au/start-ups/quilibrium