The Economic Perspective 8 August 2025

The Latest Trending Economic News Curated for You by Balmoral Group Australia

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Good morning dear readers,

This week we’re discussing policy and industrial methods of tackling climate change, with a spotlight on AI. According to the Institute of Marine Science, our Great Barrier Reef is taking punch after punch from heat waves, and coral populations are plummeting. To balance this disheartening news, the Treasurer’s economic reform round table has opened discussions on the carbon price policy, raising hopes for industry adaptation.

In AI news, new generative models have been developed by Nestle and Google that may streamline materials science and satellite data-processing. Nestle’s model intakes chemical structures and spits out potential materials for food packaging, and Google’s “AlphaEarth Foundations” uses satellite data imaging to produce model-maps “at any place and time”. We’ve attached one of the maps generated by Alpha Earth below.

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Hope you enjoy the articles and have a great weekend!

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World’s biggest coral survey confirms sharp decline in Great Barrier Reef after heatwave 

The newest Annual condition report for the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) found that the record-breaking marine heatwave in 2024 struck a massive blow to hard coral populations. Regions declined by 14-30% from 2024 on average, and some die-offs reached up to 70.8% for specific sections of coastline. Figures demonstrated rising frequency of bleaching events over time, spelling grim news for the GBR’s future. Read more here.

Economists want a carbon price comeback – but does Australia have the political courage? 

This month’s economic reform roundtable, held by the Albanese government and composed of leading economists, has brought the carbon price back into the fold. Discussion pivots around practicality, efficiency, and challenges - such as ensuring low-earners are protected from utility-price pressure. Backed by academic research, economist opinion, and observations of successful implementation in other countries, the carbon price may be the way forward. Read more here.

IBM, Nestlé Use Generative AI to Develop Next-Generation Sustainable Packaging 

Nestle has fined tuned a fit-for-purpose language model to understand chemical structures. In collaboration with IBM Research’s regression transformer, the tool has then been configured to link structural features with physical-chemical properties – allowing the model to identify packaging material concepts for evaluation. The generative products may result in better packaging, protecting food from from moisture, oxygen and temperature fluctuations. Read more here.

Google AI model mines trillions of images to create maps of Earth ‘at any place and time’ 

Google has released a new AI model, dubbed AlphaEarth Foundations, that weaves together observations from satellite and radar, acting as a "virtual satellite". The model could help research ecological impacts of climate change and deforestation, and ecologists from the Global Ecosystems Atlas hope the latest model will speed up the arduous task of satellite data processing, which previously took from tens to hundreds of days. Read more here.

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AlphaEarth Foundations 

The AI system AlphaEarth Foundations integrates satellite images with other types of maps to produce generative models of the Earth's surface, such as the irrigated cropland depicted below.

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