Blog

I write about climate, human rights, biodiversity, and uncomfortable truths. From the wisdom of First Nations caring for Country to the global action needed to protect ecosystems and ensure intergenerational equity, these stories are personal, political, and urgent. They aim to inspire hope.

Explore my Yeah But... series for sharp takes on deflection, denial, and double standards. And scroll through Climate Conscious Man's reflections on what it means to live responsibly on a heating planet.

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Caught in Conflict: Journalism in Adversity with Integrity

A full house at the Canberra Writers Festival leaned in today as Peter Greste, Cheng Lei and John Lyons pulled back the curtain on what it takes to report truth when power would rather the lights stay off. It was a masterclass on journalism in adversity with integrity, expertly chaired by Karen Middleton. What struck me wasn’t only the courage on stage; it was the context. Peter Greste reminded us that last year was the deadliest on record for journalists since the Committee

Gregory Andrews

Oct 262 min read

Still Stuck at the Lights on Climate Action

I’ve just finished reading the latest State of Climate Action report which is released each year ahead of the Climate COPs. One line keeps echoing in my mind: “Most, if not all, of the bright spots represent isolated instances of rapid change - a far cry from the systemwide transformations urgently needed to close the greenhouse gas emissions gap for 1.5°C.” It’s a stark truth. There are glimmers of hope everywhere - solar uptake, electrification, people installing home batt

Gregory Andrews

Oct 252 min read

No Climate, No Koalas: Australia's Broken Environment Protection Laws

Australia’s making another supposed attempt to improve its ineffective environment protection laws. But this week Environment Minister Murray Watt confirmed the government’s re-write won’t include a “climate trigger”. Greenhouse gas pollution won’t be considered in project approval decisions. There will be no power to refuse projects on climate grounds. Let’s tell it like it is. Broken laws mean broken Country. No climate test means no protection, for Country or community. Wh

Gregory Andrews

Oct 243 min read

Climate Conscience Man’s Slow Wardrobe vs. Fast Fashion

Climate Conscience Man has never treated clothes like snacks. He likes clothes, but has never enjoyed buying them. He hates the shops and really doesn’t get the buy-wear-dump carousel. It frustrates him especially when it comes to the global plastics and climate crises. He’s read the stats on fast fashion - the water, dyes, plastic fibres, and waste. And he can’t shake the images of clothing from Australia washing up on beaches in West Africa. At home, he’s outnumbered by the

Gregory Andrews

Oct 222 min read

From COP to AlterCOP: Join Me for the People-Powered One

For years, I was part of the so-called COPs. I represented Australia at the global climate conferences where negotiators spend sleepless nights arguing over commas. While emissions kept climbing, I helped write dodgy paragraphs. I even chaired some of the negotiations. I remember at COP18 in Doha I didn't go back to my hotel for three days. I slept sporadically in a prayer room while the planet burned! Don't get me wrong. I'm a firm believer in the importance of the United N

Gregory Andrews

Oct 212 min read

We’re Touching 1.9°C - And It’s Only 2025

Real time data coming out of the world’s climate measurement systems should be stopping us in our tracks. The latest estimate by climate scientist Dr Karsten Haustein shows that, this week, the Earth is 1.9°C warmer than before humans began burning fossil fuels at scale. Haustein’s work is widely respected in the field of climate science. A researcher at the University of Leipzig and formerly of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute, he specialises in the modelling and attr

Gregory Andrews

Oct 202 min read

The Hollow Cliff: Australia’s Paddock Trees Are Dying Out

Why we must grow the next century. #FloraAndFaunaFriday Cycling through the wheat–sheep belt between Canberra and Melbourne to #CitSciOz25 last week, something hit me harder than any of the headwinds. The big, old trees dotting the paddocks are the last elders of a pre-clearing world - they’re sentinels holding space for Nature. But they’re reaching the end of their lives. These paddock trees aren’t just scenery. They’re habitat pillars. Their hollows shelter parrots and cock

Gregory Andrews

Oct 173 min read

Batteries Are the New Solar: And Our Next Leap for Climate Hope

Ten years ago, solar power was often dismissed as too expensive, too small-scale, too niche. Then the cost curve bent - steeply. In 2023, the world installed more solar than in 2021 and 2022 combined, and then 2024 smashed the record again. Now, batteries are tracing the same curve as solar. Batteries are becoming the new solar: according to the Financial Times, prices are down over 95 per cent since 2010, and around 50 per cent lower than just 18 months ago. Each drop in cos

Gregory Andrews

Oct 153 min read

Citizen Science: A Quiet Revolution

I'm up early to start cycling back to Canberra this morning, but still buzzing after keynoting at the Australian Citizen Science Association 's annual conference #CitSciOz25 in Naarm Melbourne yesterday. It was an honour to share the stage with Professor Brendan Wintle from the Univeristy of Melbourne and Dr Amanda Caples, Victoria’s Chief Scientist, and to share why citizen science matters now more than ever . Citizen scientists are helping to reverse three great unravelling

Gregory Andrews

Oct 142 min read