Over the past few weeks, over a thousand of you took the time to write to the Senate Inquiry on the overhaul of our national nature law. I read every single submission.
It was genuinely inspiring to see the heart, clarity and courage you poured into your messages. You came from every age group and from communities all over the country. You are students, farmers, grandparents, bushfire survivors and scientists. Many of you told stories of the places you love, the wildlife you want to protect and the future you want for the next generation.
Your submissions showed that when we act together, shoulder to shoulder, we are powerful. You are part of a community that refuses to accept the destruction of our forests as normal. You reminded decision makers that environmental protection laws have one job: to protect the environment.
In reading your submissions, one theme stood out. Our shared love for forests runs deep, and the care you expressed for wildlife, a safe climate, and future generations was clear. You spoke of powerful owls, quolls and gang-gang cockatoos. You spoke of the loss of old growth forests and the heartbreak of watching them destroyed for low value products like toilet paper and woodchips.
Near my own home, ancient trees continue to fall and threatened species lose what little habitat remains. Our current nature law allows agricultural deforestation and native forest logging to continue without proper oversight. With your support, we are hopeful that will finally change.
Your messages to decision makers
Here are just a few of your powerful submissions:
Please have the foresight and the courage to improve the laws protecting our environment.
Younger generations are losing faith in their future, and who can blame them? We have shown them that inaction is acceptable, and that profit outweighs protection. If we are to restore hope, we must model it through positive action and courageous, prosocial policymaking.
I cannot expect everything to go our way, but I do expect change. I do expect the extinction rates to go down, even by a bit. And I do expect you to review the reform and help not just us, but the koalas, the corroboree frog, and the famous tazzie devil.
The consequences of deforestation are far greater than any short term rewards. Please take urgent action to protect our forests and the wildlife that depend on them. I speak on behalf of my generation and the generations to come when I ask you to put an end to deforestation and its destructive impacts.
Your voices matter
Australia remains a global deforestation hotspot with one native animal killed every single second due to deforestation. Closing the loopholes that allow deforestation is essential if we want laws that actually protect nature. Parliament must now work together to fix the significant shortcomings in the proposed nature law reforms and deliver an environmental law that lives up to its name.
Thank you for everything you do for people and the planet. Your submissions showed leadership, compassion and determination. They reminded us that change is possible when communities refuse to stay silent.
Stay tuned for the outcome of the final reforms to the nature law. Greenpeace will continue to hold the government accountable in their implementation of these reforms, and we will keep pushing for strong nature protection in every forum and every avenue we can: on the streets and in the halls of parliament.
Together, we can keep forests standing, wildlife thriving and the Great Barrier Reef protected. Taking action to halt the climate and nature crises will help secure a safe and liveable future for all of us.
Italy has delayed the permanent closure of its four coal-fired power plants to 2038, after the war in the Middle East caused the cost of producing electricity from gas to spike.
The government inserted the measure into a broader bill aimed at addressing the energy crisis. Parliament approved the legislation on Wednesday after the government tied it to a confidence vote, meaning that losing the vote would see the right-wing coalition government collapse.
The decision marks a climbdown from a pledge first made under centre-left Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni in 2017 to phase out coal by 2025 on the mainland and by 2028 on the island of Sardinia.
The Mediterranean island’s 1.5 million people remain heavily dependent on coal for electricity due to limited grid connections with the European mainland and a slow rollout of renewable energy.
Riccardo Molinari, a member of Parliament for the governing coalition Lega party, which championed the amendment, said the plants could be kept open as a “strategic reserve”, which can be turned on if needed.
“Unnecessary” decision
But analysts say the practical impact of the move is likely to be limited. Luca Bergamaschi, executive director of Italian climate think tank ECCO, described the extension as “largely symbolic”.
“Keeping them open will not materially affect electricity prices, which are driven by gas – for most hours of the day – and EU market rules,” he told Climate Home News. “The decision sends a negative signal but we don’t expect any meaningful impact on prices or emissions, which shows how unnecessary this is”.
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Coal has already been largely phased out of Italy’s power mix. Generation from coal hasfallen over 90% since 2012 and accounted for less than 2% of electricity production last year, almost entirely in Sardinia.
In 2024, Italy got about half of its electricity from gas and half from clean sources like hydropower, solar and wind.
Coal plants on stand-by
Italy has four coal-fired power plants left but only two, both in Sardinia, are still producing electricity.
The other two are run by the country’s largest utility Enel, in Brindisi and Civitavecchia. They were shut down at the end of last year after they became uneconomic.
The company had planned to begin decommissioning them, but the government intervened at the last minute, requiring them to remain on standby in case of an energy crisis.
Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Italy’s Minister of Environment and Energy Security, said at the end of March that these two power plants could be switched back on “right away, with a government decree”.
Italy’s move comes amid a broader, though limited, shift back towards coal in some parts of the world as countries respond to restricted gas supply. Germany slightly increased coal-fired generation in March and has considered reactivating idle plants as a precaution.
Outside Europe, the trend has been more pronounced. Several Asian countries heavily exposed to disruptions in Gulf gas supplies have increased coal use.
Japan has allowed its coal power plants to operate at a higher rate to reduce the need for liquified natural gas (LNG). Bangladesh, Thailand and the Philippines have also increased electricity generation from coal since the start of the conflict in the Middle East.
But analysis from Zero Carbon Analytics suggested that producing electricity from solar is cheaper than coal in most south-east Asian countries.
“Energy security in Southeast Asia will not come from switching between fossil fuels,” Amy Kong added. “It will come from reducing dependence on them altogether.”
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