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December 2002eCarbon News returnsThis is the first issue of eCarbon News to be distributed for several months because of staffing changes within the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting. We now expect to again distribute the document each month. Subscribers will be asked early next year to comment on eCarbon News and any features they particularly like as well as any they feel are unnecessary. Dennis Ringrose, In this issue: Archives of Past Issues
| Subscribe AUSTRALIAN NEWS
Following extensive consultation the Government has selected four National Research Priorities to focus our investment on research in key areas that can deliver significant economic, social and environmental benefits to Australia. This is the first time that the Commonwealth has set national research priorities, an exercise that will build on our national research strengths while seeking new opportunities in emerging areas. The National Research Priorities are:
These priorities are aspirational in nature and will be recognised by all Australians as areas of endeavour that will help to deliver the kind of future we want. Equally important is that a focus on excellence will underpin success in these priority areas. A broadly based and high quality research system that pursues excellence, particularly in the enabling sciences, remains fundamental. Each of the themes has a number of priority goals: An environmentally sustainable Australia is about transforming the way Australians use the nation's land, water, mineral and energy resources. This will depend on a better understanding of the environment and the application of new technologies to natural resource industries. Promoting and maintaining good health focuses on promoting the healthy development of young Australians and on ensuring that older Australians enjoy healthy and productive lives. It is also about adopting healthier attitudes and lifestyles to promote well being across the lifecycle. Frontier technologies for building and transforming Australian industries is about fostering creativity and innovation by supporting leading edge research in areas such as information and communication technology (ICT), bio-and geo-informatics, nanotechnology and biotechnology. ICT has an important role to play as a platform for ensuring the use and application of new technology to many industry sectors. Support for these areas of research will help stimulate vibrant new industries and ensure our future competitiveness. Safeguarding Australia focuses on a range of research relevant to protecting Australia from terrorism, crime, invasive diseases and pests and threats to our critical infrastructure As a first step towards implementation, all Commonwealth research and research funding bodies will be asked to submit plans to the Government by May 2003 outlining how they propose to support the four priorities. The Government has also announced a major exercise to take stock of the state of Australian science by mapping science and innovation activities across the public and private sectors. December 5, 2002 The following media release was issued by the CRC for Greenhouse
Accounting to mark the publication by the US journal, Science, of a paper
submitted by Dr Mike Roderick and Prof Graham Farqhuar, which has solved
the pan evaporation paradox. The story received a huge run on ABC local
radio across Australia, including a 35-minute talkback segment in Adelaide
involving Mike. He was interviewed by a long list of radio presenters,
news reporters and even became the “star” of a broadcast to
the outback on the School of the Air. Graham, who was in the US at the
time the story hit the airwaves was also interviewed about the paper. Media Release - 15 November
2002 NSW’s Mandatory Greenhouse Benchmarks to operate from January 1 Legislation which will enact the Carr Government’s greenhouse benchmarks system for the electricity supply industry passed through the NSW Legislative Council at 3am on December 6. A spokesman for the government said it was now certain to be finally approved by the Lower House before Parliament rises for the Christmas break, ensuring that the new scheme would be operational from January 1. It is intended to impose compulsory greenhouse gas emission targets on electricity suppliers who will face heavy penalties for failing to comply. Information: David Hemming – tel) 02 9901 8836 or email: hemmingd@energy.nsw.gov.au A number of detailed background papers on the Greenhouse Benchmarks scheme
have been prepared by the leading law firm, Coors. They can be located
on the Coors website: www.coors.com.au/WebStreamer?page_id=1854 COMMENT ON A 'HOW TO' OF PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING How do companies know they are getting it right when they report on their environmental performance? A draft guide released this week by Federal Environment Minister, Dr David Kemp, will help answer that question with a series of indicators and methodologies for public environmental reporting. The Minister has called for widespread comment on the guide, "An Australian Guide to Indicators and Methodologies for Public Environmental Reporting". A recent KPMG survey of the top 100 companies in 19 countries found that, overall, 45 per cent of the world's top 250 companies now publish a separate corporate report with details of environmental and/or social performance, up from 35 per cent in 1999. But while Japan has the highest percentage of top-100 companies producing corporate environment or social reports (72%), followed by the United Kingdom (49%), USA (36%) and the Netherlands (35%), Australia lags behind at only 14 per cent. You are invited to comment on the draft. Comments close 20 December 2002. http://www.ea.gov.au/industry/sustainable/per/indicators.html National Carbon Accounting System results launched The Australian Greenhouse Office released details in August (since the previous edition of eCarbon News) of its National Carbon Accounting System. The CEO of the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting, Dr Chris Mitchell, hailed the system as “a milestone in better understanding the sources of greenhouse gasses and potential carbon sinks”. He said the work of the CRC would ensure that the system would be steadily improved through the application of the best available science – leading to very precise estimates of Australia’s carbon emissions. Information: www.greenhouse.gov.au/ncas/index.html
WORLD NEWSIPCC preparing “Good Practice Guidance” reports As part of its follow-up to the Marrakech Accords, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is working on a range of good practice guides on land use, land use change and forestry. The aim is to ensure that national inventories on LULUCF are recorded
as accurately as possible. The Australian Greenhouse Office is responsible for undertaking Australia’s
review of the documents.
LAUNCH OF $100 MILLION BIOCARBON FUND PROVIDES NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR RURAL POOR Tokyo, Japan, November 5, 2002. A new carbon fund launched by the World Bank today will create an unprecedented opportunity for the poorest farmers and rural communities throughout the developing world. The US$100 million BioCarbon Fund, a public/private partnership, will provide finance for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. farmers and rural communities will find new value in their agricultural lands and forests as they earn income from sequestering or conserving carbon. Combating rural poverty and stabilizing rural economies are among the biggest challenges facing developing countries. Every year 20 times more carbon is exchanged between the atmosphere and the Earth’s vegetation and soils than is released from fossil fuels. About a fifth of the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is derived from land-clearing and other land management practices. Activities to retain (e.g. reduced tillage) or increase (e.g. reforestation) the amount of carbon in vegetation or soils - referred to as ‘sinks’- can make a significant contribution to combating climate change. Many of these activities have additional benefits, such as improving soil fertility, improving crop growth, providing non-timber forest products and maintaining biodiversity. “The BioCarbon Fund is an innovative example of making markets for global public goods,” said Ian Johnson, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development. “The Biocarbon Fund puts it all together by meeting the triple goal of reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere while reversing land degradation, conserving biodiversity, and improving the livelihoods of local communities in poor countries” The biggest winners will be developing countries that until now have been bypassed by direct private sector carbon dollar investment. A recent World Bank study established that in 2001 and the first six months of 2002, only 13 percent of all direct private sector carbon emission reduction dollars went to the developing world. “The BioCarbon fund will make large parts of the developing world attractive for carbon investors, especially those countries with effective regulatory and institutional frameworks,” said Daniel Murdiyarso, a professor at Bogor Agricultural University in Indonesia, and a member of the BioCarbon Fund’s Technical Advisory Committee. The threat climate change poses to long-term development and the ability of the poor to escape from poverty is of particular concern to the World Bank. “From the perspective of a development bank, carbon sequestration offers the greatest convergence between the carbon emission reduction market and sustainable development,” said Ken Newcombe, the World Bank’s Senior Manager for Carbon Finance. “Take the tantalizing image of private sector dollars flowing into such projects in the rural areas of the poorest countries. For example, in the Africa context we’ve already got a potential flow of projects even before we’re out of the starting blocks.” Information: http://www.biocarbonfund.org $573 million in funding agreed for cutting developing country
CFCs by 50% ROME: Negotiators from some 140 Governments have adopted a $573 million funding package to halve the consumption and production in developing countries of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - the leading destroyer of the stratospheric ozone layer - by the year 2005 (relative to a baseline of average 1995 -1997 levels). The funds will also finance projects for reducing other substances targeted for phase-out under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Developing countries have until 2005 to cut CFCs and halons by 50%, the fumigant methyl bromide by 20%, and the solvents carbon tetrachloride and methylchloroform by 50% and 30%, respectively. "Eliminating CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances in developing countries is the top priority today for the global campaign to return our protective ozone layer to health," said Shafqat Kakakhel, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which administers the ozone treaties. "This agreement demonstrates just how much the world's Governments can achieve when they collaborate with one another in good faith to tackle a common challenge. The partnership between developed and developing countries must remain strong for many years to come, however, if the ozone layer is indeed to make a full recovery", he said. The 1987 Montreal Protocol requires developing countries to continue reducing CFCs, halons and carbon tetrachloride by a total of 85% by the year 2007 and to phase them out completely by 2010; they also have until 2015 to phase out methyl bromide. Developed countries phased out virtually all of their CFCs by 1996. The funding levels agreed today - the highest ever - will replenish the Protocol's Multilateral Fund for the 2003-2005 period. The funding includes $474 million in new contributions, $76 million in earlier contributions that were not allocated during the 2000-2002 period, and $23 million from interest earnings and other sources. Last week, the Fund's Executive Committee also met in Rome and approved
the expenditure of $82 million for new projects. These projects will eliminate
the consumption of some 9,000 tonnes of ozone-depleting substances and
the production of 2,000 tonnes. This will bring the total amount to be
eliminated through Fund-supported projects in 125 developing countries
to 226,000 tonnes. The 14th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol and the 6th Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention (which meets every three years and is the framework treaty under which the Protocol was negotiated) was held from 25 - 29 November. CFCs have been widely used since the 1930s in refrigerators, air conditioners, foams and other applications; they remain in the atmosphere for decades or even centuries. Halons are primarily used in fire extinguishers. Together with other chemicals, they destroy ozone molecules in the stratosphere that protect all living things from ultra-violet radiation. Exposure to UV-C and to too much UV-B can cause more melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, more eye cataracts, weakened immune systems, reduced plant yields, damage to ocean eco-systems and reduced fishing yields, adverse effects on animals, and more damage to plastics. Information: sniffenj@un.org Canada plans Kyoto ratification vote soon TORONTO: Canada's Parliament will vote next week on ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, concluding months of rancorous debate that has divided the nation along economic and geographic lines. Prime Minister Jean Chretien said Tuesday that the House of Commons chamber will decide the issue as soon as Monday. His governing Liberal Party holds 169 of the 301 seats, and he has demanded support from his caucus on what is considered a legacy issue for the outgoing prime minister. Ratification by Canada will be a major boost for the 1997 treaty that commits participants to reducing greenhouse gas emissions blamed for contributing to global warming. To take effect, the Kyoto Protocol must be ratified by at least 55 countries, including those responsible for 55 percent of the world's emissions in 1990. While more than 80 have ratified it, the treaty's rejection by the United States, responsible for about one-fourth of the world's human-made carbon dioxide emissions, means virtually every other industrial country must agree to meet the threshold. Russia has indicated it also will ratify, which would bring the treaty into effect. U.S. President George W. Bush rejected the Kyoto agreement because he said it would cost the U.S. economy US$400 billion and 4.9 million jobs. Bush's alternative plan offers voluntary incentives to lure the energy industry into reducing air pollution. Canada's energy-producing provinces, led by Alberta in the west, and the energy industry have waged a belligerent campaign against ratifying Kyoto, saying Canadian industry will be unable to compete with U.S. rivals operating without the treaty's limits. Chretien, who has announced he will step down in February 2004, wants
ratification to be part of his environmental legacy from what will be
a decade as prime minister. His government, backed by polling that shows
most Canadians favor ratification, proposes changes throughout society
to lower emissions, along with assistance for industries most affected.
U.S. maps strategy for researching global warming - critics say it's been studied enough By John Heilprin, Associated Press WASHINGTON: The government mapped out a strategy for researching climate change and its causes over the next five years, studies that critics say are just a means to delay the toughest decisions on global warming until after President George W. Bush leaves office. The Bush administration strategy calls for more accurate projections of the potential economic impacts of climate policy changes and gives the White House more control over the research efforts of more than a dozen federal agencies. John H. Marburger III, the president's science and technology adviser, said Tuesday at the start of a three-day meeting of climate change experts that the White House hopes to refocus the 13-year-old research program on providing data that can be used to shape a "clearly articulated policy ... that doesn't put the economy at risk." For many climate experts, the administration's latest strategy reopens questions that most scientists considered already fairly settled. It also ignores the Environmental Protection Agency's published findings in 2000 from a decade-long federal assessment of potential impacts of climate change around the United States. The new research plan, posted on the Web site of an interagency program led by the White House, asserts that people are clearly agents of environmental change but that still unclear is the degree to which human activities are causing changes such as global warming. "I don't think the science plan really should be used as an excuse to delay tough actions," said Peter Frumhoff, director of the Union of Concerned Scientists' global environment program. "If you're taking a precautionary approach to climate change, you'll both do research and you'll take actions to minimize the risks of really serious consequences." "The plan would be a great plan if it were written five or 10 years ago," echoed Janine Bloomfield, a senior scientist for Environmental Defense. "But we've learned a lot since then." Bush has advocated voluntary measures for industry to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that many scientists blame for warming the atmosphere like a greenhouse. Shortly after taking office, Bush rejected an international treaty negotiated in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997 mandating reduction of those gases by industrial nations. In June, he downplayed the significance of a White House-approved report his administration submitted to the United Nations that mostly blamed human activity for global warming but acknowledged lingering scientific uncertainties. Five months into his presidency, Bush heard back from the National Academy of Sciences that global warming is caused at least partly by human-made pollution, and that it is a real problem and getting worse. With that advice, the president felt he had "a basis of sound science on which decisions can be made," spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters in June 2001. But 18 months later, the administration is now resisting calls for quick action and instead issuing the plan for more study. Some 1,200 scientists and government officials gathered Tuesday for
the start of a three-day workshop at a downtown hotel to hear about the
White House draft strategy and to suggest changes before it is published
in final form by next April. “The role of carbon sequestration in the US response to climate change – challenges and opportunities”. This is the title of a worthwhile article by two American experts on
the prospects for carbon sequestration making a significant contribution
towards mitigating climate change in coming decades. It is published under ELR (Environmental Law Report) as a News and Analysis document. The authors are David J. Hayes and Nicholas Gertler. We cannot reproduce it here because of copyright restrictions.
COMING EVENTSFinal BRS Seminar for 2002 - Friday 13 December
11:00am - 12:00noon, Friday 13 December 2002 Bookings not required. For further details, please call the BRS Seminar Coordinator on 6272 4197. How sustainably are our forests being managed? The demand for forest information is increasing and becoming more sophisticated to also include NRM, climate change, biodiversity and industry interests as well as data on trends. Our current compilation "bottom up" approach is inadequate to meet all of these needs. In light of this, Australia’s National Forest Inventory has a vision for a new approach to forest monitoring. Australia is not alone in concluding that a repeat "top down" inventory approach is necessary. A number of countries comparable to Australia, and faced with similar issues, have developed similar systems. Brad Smith, National Program Leader of the US Forest Inventory and Analysis Program, USDA Forest Service and Steen Magnussen from the Pacific Forestry Centre, Canada are in Australia this week to work along side forest inventory experts to design a forest monitoring system for Australia. In this seminar, an overview will be provided on how the American and Canadian systems operate - what they collect for what purpose, State and Federal responsibilities in implementation and most importantly - who pays and how these models may work for Australia. Information: www.affa.gov.au/brsseminars SUSTAIN 2003 - THE WORLD SUSTAINABLE ENERGY EXHIBITION &
CONFERENCE: This event will be held from 13-15 May 2003 in Amsterdam,
the Netherlands. For more information contact: Marc INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT: This Conference will take place from 22-24 May 2003 in Shanghai, China. Organized by the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology and George Washington University, this Conference aims to provide an international forum for discussing clean city energy and related topics. For more information contact: Liu Daoping; tel: +86-21-6568-9564; fax: +86-21-6568-0843; e-mail: dpliu@online.sh.cn; Internet: http://www.gwu.edu/%7Eeem/ICEE/firstpagenew.htm UNFCCC SB-18: This meeting will convene from 1-12 June
2003 in Bonn, Germany. The UNFCCC Subsidiary bodies will meet to continue
negotiations on the institutional and implementation aspects of INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ENERGY SOCIETY SOLAR WORLD CONGRESS 2003:
This Congress will convene from 14-19 June 2003 in Göteborg, Sweden.
The Congress' scientific programme addresses financial, environmental
and policy issues relating to solar energy. There will also be three thematic
days covering Solar Buildings, Solar Thermal and Solar Electricity. For
more information contact: ISES; THE THIRD WORLD CONFERENCE ON CLIMATE CHANGE: This Conference will take place from 29 September-3 October 2003 in Moscow, Russia. The Conference aims to address key scientific issues and policy responses to the problem of climate change. For more information contact: Conference Secretariat; tel: +95-252-0708; fax: +95-252-0708; e-mail: wccc2003@mecom.ru; Internet: http://www.meteo.ru/wccc2003/econc.htm UNFCCC COP-9: The ninth Conference of the Parties to
the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will convene from 1-12 December
2003 in Milan, Italy. For more information contact:
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