David Spratt (pictured) points to Australia's commitments to other crises to illustrate his arguments on how and why we should respond to the unfolding emergency of climate change.

He wrote about that in an article published recently in The Canberra Times, available now on his website, "Climate Code Red".

The article asks the question: "How bad can climate damage get?" And then answers that "Worse than you imagine".

David, working with the late Phillip Sutton, co-wrote, in 2008, the prescient book "Climate Code Red".

In the final paragraph on his latest piece, David writes: "All of this leads to one conclusion: we are on the edge of a precipice and humanity now needs to throw everything at the climate threat, literally “all hands on deck”. The late Prof. Will Steffen’s call to make climate the primary target of policy and economics is now a survival imperative. The business-as-usual delusion embraced by policymakers that climate is just another issue is laid bare by the 1.5°C time-bomb."

David is an Australian climate policy analyst and advocate, and Research Director at the Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration. Spratt co-authored the 2008 book Climate Code Red: The Case for Emergency Action, which argued for urgent, large-scale action to address the climate crisis. He co-authored 2018’s What Lies Beneath: The Understatement of Existential Climate Risk with Ian Dunlop, which called for a reframing of climate science within an existential risk management framework. His work explores climate threats and human security, risk methods, and the need for restorative action.

Donald Trump's order to have the U.S. military attack uranium enrichment sites in Iran refreshes our understanding of the "tyranny of the immediate".

From The New York Times, we hear about "Pentagon Details Multipronged Attack on Iranian Nuclear Sites".

The military is not included in the 2019 Paris emissions targets due to pressure and agitation from the U.S., and this bombing raid clearly illustrates the reasons for that, as the emissions would have been equal to those of a small country.

However, the Iranian assaults are a clear reminder of the tyranny of the immediate and why we need to rise above that and remember that climate change remains, all the time, in the background as an existential threat.

And here is that earlier episode of Climate Conversations - "Press briefing: Covering Climate Now helps us understand the tyranny of the immediate in global conflicts".

Covering Climate Now takes us into the world's war zones to help us understand how the tyranny of the immediate distracts us from the hard realities of climate change.

The group, an organisation set up by journalists, for journalists, most recent "press briefing' was entitled: "War and Climate Change".

The group says: "War and climate change are intertwined in ways that journalists need to understand. Violent conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, and elsewhere are not only causing terrible human suffering, they are feeding the climate crisis.

"War — and military operations in general — have a massive carbon footprint that is often overlooked, partly because militaries’ emissions are excluded from limits imposed under UN climate agreements. Not only does conflict contribute emissions, but extreme weather and other climate impacts can kindle armed conflict — both within nations as people from drought-stricken rural communities migrate to cities and between nations. Perhaps most challenging for journalists is that, when guns and bombs are killing people, that necessarily grabs headlines, but also edges out climate change on the news agenda."

Guardian reporters, Josh Nicholas and Nick Evershed, alert readers to the frightening impact of a Western Australia gas project: "Revealed: the astonishing greenhouse gas emissions that will result from the North West Shelf project"

Geoff Rose (pictured), a Professor in Transport Engineering, Monash Institute of Transport Studies, Monash University, discusses the trials, challenges and opportunities of E-bikes and E-scooters in his article on The Conversation: "E-bikes and e-scooters are popular – but dangerous. A transport expert explains how to make them safer".

Geoff delves into history to tell us of an early interview about e-bikes in which a woman in Portland, Oregon, in the U.S., told him how an e-bike had enabled her to recover her life.

He urges authorities to abandon their fixation with the power of e-bikes and e-scooters and allow law enforcement to administer comparatively simple speed restrictions.

Dr Philip Lawn (pictured at COP 23, where he dared mention population and was almost thrown out of the room) was the preeminent speaker at the June 14 Swanpool Environmental Film Festival.

Dr Lawn's address followed the screening of the movie "Climate Extreme: At the abyss?"

The small country at Swanpool (about 20 km south of Euroa) was booked out for the annual festival.