Morning mail: Australia’s climate ‘smoke and mirrors’, Indigenous families fight for justice, Bernie Madoff dies

Thursday: Leading climatologist says Coalition policies do not address crisis and the US won't be fooled. Plus: what Australia can learn from other countries' vaccine rollouts

Good morning. Australia could be in for a frosty reception at global warming talks, a police shooting fans tensions in Minneapolis once again and Indigenous families call for justice, 30 years after the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody. All that, and more, in today's morning mail.

One of the world's leading climate scientists has accused the Australian government's approach to emission reductions of being smoke and mirrors", cautioning that the Biden administration would not be fooled" by rhetoric designed to mask a clear record of inaction". Michael E Mann, a distinguished professor of atmospheric science, also said renewed American leadership" on the crisis would increase scrutiny on Australia, as Scott Morrison prepares for a virtual climate summit next week at US President Joe Biden's invitation. A major report suggests Australia would need to triple its 2030 emissions reduction target and achieve net-zero emissions by 2035 to help prevent temperature rises above 2C. Meanwhile, WWF Australia has announced it will help fund community legal challenges against development decisions that involve forest clearing.