David Spratt

2 days ago | johnmenadue.com | David Spratt

It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing on 17 May of Ali Kazak, at the age of 78. Over five decades, Ali dedicated his enormous energy to building understanding and support for Palestine, the land of his birth. As a young activist, as the PLO representative and then Palestine ambassador, and as an educator and organiser Ali Kazak was, more than any other person, at the centre of the transformation of the politics of Palestine in Australia.

1 month ago | johnmenadue.com | David Spratt

The record-breaking warming years of 2023 (1.5°C) and 2024 (1.6°C) were above expectations and shocked scientists. Their responses and the subsequent research are a good example of how quickly the physical reality is changing, driving new and contested understandings. In late 2023, as global and ocean temperatures soared, the most upfront assessment came from Zeke Hausfather: “Staggering. Unnerving. Mind-boggling.

2 months ago | johnmenadue.com | David Spratt

The fact that the IPCC incorporates in its core business risks of failure to the Earth system and to human civilisation that we would not accept in our own lives raises fundamental questions about the efficacy of the whole IPCC project. If low risks of failure are taken as a starting point, net zero 2050 becomes not a soundly based policy aim, but an appalling gamble with existential risk.

2 months ago | johnmenadue.com | David Spratt

Up to 100,000 people most of whom derive their professional status and income from climate-related politics, advocacy and business flew into Dubai for the COP28 annual global climate policy-making event, the Conference of the Parties under the United Nations climate convention. And the result? An unmitigated disaster. Indigenous people, frontline communities and climate justice groups rebuked the deal as unfair, inequitable and business as usual.

2 months ago | johnmenadue.com | David Spratt

After a succession of record-breaking months of record heat including 1.8C in September, global warming for 2023 as a whole will likely tip 1.5C, with 2024 even hotter as the effect of the building El Nino is felt more fully. Already hundreds of thousands have died and millions displaced, primarily in countries least responsible for climate change. The annual economic cost globally is in the hundreds of billions.