Same old story: for 7th year in a row, China & Russia block new Antarctic MPAs

For the seventh year in a row, the international community has declined to establish new marine protected areas (MPAs) around Antarctica. Scientists, conservationists and some governments have been pushing for greater protections, concerned that the melting of ice in Antarctica has reached alarming levels, jeopardizing the existence of several key animal species in the region. The stalemate comes even as a new threat to wildlife emerged in the region: the discovery last week that a virulent form of avian flu had reached Antarctic bird colonies.

https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/amid-record-melting-countries-fail-again-to-protect-antarctic-waters/

Report: 1.5ºC climate goal looking further and further out of reach; cuts needed within 6 years

Five years and change. That’s how long humans can keep pumping carbon into the atmosphere at our current rate before we’re likely to push global warming past the most ambitious limit set by the Paris Agreement, according to new estimates released Monday by a team of climate scientists.

The calculations add weight to a dismal conclusion that many researchers already take as foregone: that we are cutting emissions far too slowly to have much hope of keeping warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 Fahrenheit. Already, human activity has raised average global temperatures by about 1.2 degrees Celsius relative to preindustrial conditions.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/30/climate/carbon-budget-paris-agreement.html

Australia | NSW government will use aerial gunners to kill feral horses in Kosciuszko NP

Aerial culling of brumbies is set to resume in the Kosciuszko National Park as part of a NSW government plan to manage growing numbers.

Friday's decision by the NSW government means aerial culling will be added to the 2021 Kosciuszko National Park wild horse management plan, which requires numbers to be reduced to 3,000 by June 2027.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-27/aerial-shooting-decision-wild-horses-kosciuszko-national-park/102995732