“We are not getting to net zero, we are not going to meet our climate goals, unless we deal with the emissions associated with international trade.” Emma Aisbett.

A double-header episode, firstly covering climate change and international trade, then an update efforts to better manage a key threat to Australia's biodiversity.

Preventing catastrophic climate change requires a new approach to international trade.

But the World Trade Organisation has struggled to step up. What is being done to ensure trade policy doesn’t stand in the way of climate change action, but is instead supportive of it? And what more can be done?

In this episode, you'll hear from climate and trade expert Emma Aisbett, Associate Professor at the Australian National University School of Law.

Emma has a bachelor of chemical engineering (UNSW), a masters degree in environmental change and management (Oxford University), and a PhD in economics (UC Berkeley).

Her current research centres on trade-related climate policy and international green industrial policy, and she has some intriguing things to say, covering issues including carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs) and guarantee of origin schemes.

Then, it's a change of topic. You'll hear from Mark Tilly, Asia Pacific editor of Carbon Pulse and Biodiversity Pulse about one of the biggest threats to Australia's biodiversity, and what's being done about it.

Feral cats in Australia kill over 1.5 billion native mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs, and 1.1 billion invertebrates each year. Predation by cats is a recognised threat to over 200 nationally threatened species, and 37 listed migratory species. 

Mark gives us an update on the latest efforts by federal, state and territory environment ministers to deal with this threat.

Discover more:

Papers that Emma has recently contributed to include:

·      Eight principles to design certification for embedded emissions in major export products. https://policybrief.anu.edu.au/eight-principles-to-design-certification-for-embedded-emissions-in-major-export-products/

·      Principles for embedded emissions accounting to support trade-related climate policy. https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/publications/principles-for-embedded-emissions-accounting-to-support-trade-rel

You can find out more about Australia's efforts to deal with feral cats here https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/invasive-species/feral-animals-australia/feral-cats. 

And you can find out more about Carbon Pulse and Biodiversity Pulse here https://carbon-pulse.com.