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April 2002
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CRC NEWS
ANNOUNCEMENT
The CRC is proud to announce that its CEO, Professor Ian Noble FTSE, has
been selected for a senior position with the World Bank in Washington
DC. From June 2002, Ian Noble will assume the role of Chief Technical
Adviser to the new "Bio-carbon Fund". The BCF, modelled on the
very successful "Prototype Carbon Fund", is designed to benchmark
the market for high-quality removal of greenhouse gases in forest and
agro-ecosystems. It will seek to create carbon assets that enhance biodiversity
protection,
help fight against desertification, and support socio-economic development.
BCF will also take a long-term view, seeking to understand how a wider
range of developing countries might become engaged in reducing greenhouse
gas emissions.
The recent appointment of Prof Noble to the World Bank is clear recognition
of the high regard in which he and his scientific expertise are held both
nationally and internationally. Ian's appointment strongly augments the
CRC's international linkages and his continued involvement with the development
of IPCC Good Practice Guidelines in Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry
will continue to ensure that CRC research is brought forward in this vital
area of carbon accounting. The staff of the CRC warmly wish him all the
very best in his new endeavours.
The CRC Governing Board has appointed Dep-CEO, Dr Chris Mitchell as
A/g CEO until such time as a new Chief Executive is appointed by the Board.
Chris may be contacted on chris.mitchell@greenhouse.crc.org.au
CRC RESEARCH INTO GRASSLANDS & CO2
This month, Prof William Stock, a CRC member from Cape Town University,
presented some of his research into the natural grasslands of South Africa.
Each year since 1996, Prof Stock has left his Cape Town office in the
southern-most part of Sth Africa and travelled 2000kms NE to Natal Province.
His goal? To study the effect of 70 years of exposure to elevated carbon
dioxide (CO2) on the growth and development of what are known as "C4
grasslands".
C4 Grasslands (eg. maize, sugar cane and other highly productive crops)
are of considerable interest to the CRC because they account for 3% of
all plant species and approx 21% of global primary production of biomass.
Like Sth Africa, Australia's grasslands are predominantly "C4"
in type which means they are found mostly in tropical regions, unlike
"C3" grasses which are found in temperate areas. Generally speaking,
the terms "C4" and "C3" refer to differences in photosynthetic
type.
The Natal study area features many common species of native grasses
and is used for rangelands. The field site itself comprises a 5m x 5m
grassy plot in the middle of which is a pipe, or CO2 "SOURCE",
that juts a foot or two out of the ground. Out of the pipe, sunk by a
bottling company in the thirties but not used, come plumes of naturally-occurring
CO2 (at 5-10m from the pipe, the CO2 concentration in the air is 500ppm).
The CO2 is made by acid leaching down to underground limestone chemically
creating the gas that then seeps up and out of the ground. The source
itself is a natural fault line called the "Bongwan Gas Fault"
that runs for approx. 50kms, in places along the Umzumkulu River. This
river and the surrounding land are home to the KwaZulu who were first
aware of the natural phenomenon that sends bubbles rising from the river
bed.
Conclusions: Prof Stock concluded by remarking upon how this study clearly
revealed the scientific difficulties inherent in extrapolating results
from the smaller to the larger scale. Essentially, what was found to be
the case at the leaf-level in the lab was found not to hold at the ecosystem-level
for this site. So, for example, the marked growth noted in lab plants
under conditions of elevated CO2 were not repeated in the field where
other factors such as disturbances from fire, for example, are presumed
to have a major impact on plant growth and development. Despite laboratory
experiments predicting likely results to the contrary, Prof Stock noted
that to date there had been dramatic change in common species type; no
major functional change (ie the grasslands have not transformed over time
into shrubland or forest); and no CO2 fertilisation (ie no significant
growth responses). What was noted in the first parts of the growing season,
however, was that the speed and development of the grasses had increased
yet there was no change to the final biomass (ie no increase in the final
carbon STOCK). There was also no change to soil organic matter, although
there was some indication of changes to processes of N mineralisation
and C respiration. For more info, please Email william.stock@greenhouse.crc.org.au.
[talk summarised by R Mueller, any errors are her own]
********************
The CRC also warmly congratulates one of its scientists, Dr Richard Harper
of Conservation & Land Management, WA, who was recently awarded an
Adjunct Associate Professorship by The University of Western Australia.
NEWS
Reminders:
COP 8, New Delhi, India, 23 October to 1 November 2002 See: http://unfccc.int/wnew/index.html
AUSTRALIAN GREENHOUSE OFFICE FAREWELLS INAUGURAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Environment-news, Issue 26: http://www.ea.gov.au/minister/env/2002/mr05apr202.html
The Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Dr David Kemp, announced
this month that Ms Gwen Andrews, Chief Executive of the Australian Greenhouse
Office (AGO), intends to leave her position early in May. Ms Andrews is
coming to the end of her second contract period as Chief Executive of
the AGO. "Ms Andrews led the establishment of the AGO and has been
with the organisation for its first four years.She deserves a great deal
of credit for the successful delivery of the range of programs that the
Government has put in place to combat climate change.
The AGO is known internationally for its ground-breaking work and Ms
Andrews is widely recognised both nationally and internationally for her
expertise in this area," Dr Kemp said. The AGO's achievements include
the establishment of the world's first national market in renewable energy
under the Government's Mandatory Renewable Energy Target, the implementation
of the Greenhouse Gas Abatement Program, progressing development of market
mechanisms and establishing solid accounting procedures, especially in
land clearing and forestry.
US DEAL DOES NOT RULE OUT KYOTO SIGNATURE
By Dr David Kemp, Aust. Fed Minister for Environment & Heritage. This
is an edited excerpt from his address to the Ian Clunies Ross Foundation
- March 7.
The Canberra Times
http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=features&subclass=science&category=feature&
story_id=137701&y=2002&m=3
See also: Dept of the Env & Heritage: http://www.ea.gov.au/minister/index.html
SUSTAINABILITY is something we can all agree on in theory, and acceptance
of the concept is now very widespread in our communities and in most of
our industries. In practice, achieving the condition of sustainability
is, as they say, something else, and here communication and leadership
are vital.
Sustainability has not only local, regional and national expressions but
it has a global dimension as well. If securing the sustainability of the
Murray-Darling Basin is a huge challenge, how much more so is achieving
sustainability in the global systems that affect us all. The debate about
global warming illustrates how complex such issues can be. The new Climate
Action Partnership with the United States - agreed on my visit to Washington
last month - emphasises three imperatives:
- the need for a deeper scientific understanding of the problems we
confront;
- practical measures involving the development of new, effective technological
solutions;
- and the effective engagement of industry as well as the developing
countries in what is truly the most global of issues.
The Howard Government has pledged to work towards meeting its commitments
under the Kyoto Protocol. Australia is also firmly of the belief that
only a global response will yield effective results. And any successful
approach must seek to minimise the costs and maximise the incentives for
technological change. One of the weaknesses of Kyoto in what is known
as the first commitment period up to 2012 is the absence from the arrangements
of the US and developing countries whose contributions of greenhouse gases
during the next decade will be greater than those from developed countries.
Even the Europeans accept that there will be no second- commitment period
without the participation of the major developing countries. And without
the US no approach can be genuinely global. All of us understand that
technology will be crucial to meeting climate objectives in a way that
is consistent with legitimate expectations about living standards around
the world. It was in this context that we saw in President Bush's statement
of the US position an opportunity for Australia to engage with the United
States. The statement puts technology front and centre in efforts to reduce
the American impact on global warming. The Bush approach also recognises
that developing countries will have aspirations for economic growth and
that companies that take early action at home or abroad to reduce their
emissions should have the
opportunity to have those reductions officially reflected in a register.
Whatever Australia decides to do on ratification - and we have not made
any decision on that as yet - it is clear there will be a period when
there will be two approaches operating: the Kyoto system and the US policy
model. This could bring with it costs and risks of investment distortions
for international companies,
including our own, and for jobs if it is not handled very carefully. And
it is equally important that the existence of two approaches should not
get in the way of good work on science and technology. So in our agreement
with US on a Climate Action Partnership we have put as a high priority
work on internationally harmonised carbon accounting systems. These will
be very important for companies that operate internationally, in Kyoto
and non-Kyoto countries, and that will seek recognition for greenhouse
gas abatement actions that they have undertaken, wherever they have taken
them.
We have to work hard to make sure that accounting rules put in place
in the next few years in Kyoto and non-Kyoto countries do not make it
harder to achieve a genuinely global approach in the longer run. 'There
will be a period when there will be two approaches operating: the Kyoto
system and the US policy model' Australia has already done some world-leading
work on carbon accounting through the Australian Greenhouse Office, and
the Americans indicated their interest in this work as they begin developing
standardised and transparent registration for their enterprises. Again,
it is important that work on the fundamental issues of the underlying
climate science and the technology to deal with climate change is accelerated,
not slowed in the years ahead.
We aim, under the partnership, to pursue opportunities for our scientists
and enterprises to engage with American counterparts on these key issues.
We did not enter into our Climate Action Partnership with the United States
as an alternative to the Kyoto protocol. It will be an important part
of our overall greenhouse efforts whether the Kyoto Protocol comes into
force or not. We will not be rushed into a decision on ratification. That
decision will require careful consideration of the full range of environmental,
economic and social implications of the Protocol.
GERMANY BEGINS KYOTO TREATY RATIFICATION
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1887000/1887961.stm
Germany has become the first major industrialised country to begin formally
ratifying the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. The lower house of parliament
voted unanimously to make the treaty part of German law. The country will
commit itself to reduce its emissions of carbon dioxide by a fifth by
the year 2012. The upper chamber of the parliament is due to make a final
decision on ratification next month. European Union environment ministers
have pledged to ratify the treaty by August, in the lead-up to the World
Summit on Environment and Development in Johannesburg. The EU is leading
a campaign to persuade other industrialised countries to join it in ratifying
the protocol. These must include Russia and Japan. Without them, and without
the United States which withdrew from Kyoto last year, the treaty will
not have the support of enough of the world's major polluters to become
international law. See also:
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung:
http://www.faz.com/IN/INtemplates/eFAZ/archive.asp?doc
={C81CC495-E28F-46A4-B256-D8082ECD48EE}
&width=1024&height=740&agt=explorer&ver=4&svr=4
Deutschlandfunk Radio:
http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html?id=020322003299&query%22kyoto+protocol%22
Related item:
CONFERENCE ON EU AND GERMAN CLIMATE POLICY - CHALLENGES BEFORE THE
ENTRY
INTO FORCE OF THE KYOTO PROTOCOL: This meeting will be held from 6-8
May 2002, in Hamburg, Germany. Organized by the Hamburg Institute of International
Economics, the conference will focus on the ratification of the Kyoto
Protocol in the EU, challenges with regard to EU national climate strategies,
internal EU emissions trading, integration of EU accession countries,
the role of the Kyoto mechanisms, and EU strategies for achieving entry
into force. For more information, contact: Axel Michaelowa, Hamburg Institute
of International Economics; tel: +49-404-283-4309; fax: +49-404-283-4451;
e-mail: michaelowa@hwwa.de; Internet:
http://www.hwwa.de/climate.htm
WHATS ON THE WEB
(3 May, 2002)
Carbonopoly: Play an interactive emissions trading market simulation
game
Contact: Sonya Williams, Sustainable Energy Development Authority of NSW
(SEDA) on Ph 02 9249 6122 Email swilliams@seda.nsw.gov.au
SEDA's computer model based simulation offers participants the opportunity
to become 'Players' in a hypothetical emissions market involving emission
abatement, sequestration and permit trading to better their positions.
Players trade in small teams representing a diverse range of Australian
industries and other stakeholders. The computer-based model calculates
the current financial and emission status for each Player. Players use
a paper-based system to encourage team negotiations and discussions. The
day will begin with breakfast talks on the current status of current climate
change negotiations and an Introduction to Emissions Trading. Date: 3
May Venue: SEDA Boardroom, Level 6, 45 Clarence St. Further details http://www.seda.nsw.gov.au/events_body.asp
Carbon Contracts Cornerstones - Drafting Contracts for the Sale of
Project-Based Emission Reductions
Contact: Robert Dornau on dornau@ieta.org
Download at http://www.ieta.org.
The paper was produced by IETA Member Baker & McKenzie as a common
starting point for the preparation of Carbon Contracts in the carbon trading
market. The objective is to begin the process of standardizing the Carbon
Contract process to help facilitate trades and emissions projects by streamlining
the contractual process so helping to reduce transaction cost. It is envisaged
that this Paper will mark the beginnings of a process to develop standardized
carbon contracts for different types of transactions. This process will
it is hoped develop and mature alongside the carbon market
Canada's Baseline Protection Initiative (BPI) - On-Line Registration
Contact: bpi.ppnr@nrcan.gc.ca
As of April 10, 2002, Canadian organisations may visit the BPI web site
and register on-line actions they have taken since January 1, 1990, to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Orgs can register with the BPI or update
their files without administrative delays by going to http://www.vcr-mvr.ca
of Canada's Climate Change Voluntary Challenge and Registry Inc. (VCR
Inc.) or http://www.ecogeste.gouv.qc.ca
of the Bureau d'enregistrement des mesures volontaires sur les changements
climatiques (ÉcoGESte) in Québec. The BPI is an initiative
under Canada's First National Climate Change Business Plan that was announced
by federal, provincial and territorial energy and environment ministers
in October 2000. Registrants in the BPI can have their emissions baselines
adjusted to reflect the reduction actions they
have taken since January 1, 1990.
US Global Change Research Program Website: What's New
Contact: Nick Sundt, USGCRP Information & Outreach; Email: nsundt@usgcrp.gov
Web: www.usgcrp.gov
http://www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/new.htm
The page is updated 1-2 times each month. Some recent items include:
- Depths Of The Southern Ocean Being Starved Of Oxygen." Press
release (19 March 2002) from UniSci.
- Antarctic ice shelf collapses in largest event of last 30 years."
Press release (18 March 2002) from Univ of Colorado, USA.
- The Economic Implications of an El Nino." Press release (6 March
2002) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
- Future Volcanic Eruptions May Cause Ozone Hole Over Arctic."
Press release (4 March 2002) from NASA's Earth Observing System.
- Aerosols Found to Brighten Clouds." Press release (dtd 28 Feb
2002) from Brookhaven National Lab, USA.
- Tree Ring Records Link Historic Epidemics to Drought." Press
release (25 Feb 2002) from Univ of Arkansas, USA.
REMOTE SENSING OF FORESTS - PROJECT INFO FROM CANADA
At the GIS and Land Resource Lab of Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario,
Canada, researchers have completed two projects directly related to the
application of remote sensing techniques to forestry resources: The projects
are related to the measurement of carbon stock in tropical forest biomass
and on the assessment, measurement and mapping of plant diversity in the
same tropical forests the relationship to landscape fragmentation. [CC
& Forestry 3/2002, http://www.fao.org/forestry/climate]
Project 1: "Estimation of Tropical Forest Above-ground Biomass
by Multispectral Remote Sensing".
M.Sc. thesis of J. Galarza. Watershed Ecosystems Graduate Program, Trent
University. (To be posted at http://www.trentu.ca/gis).
Accurate estimates of tropical forests' biomass density are required for
inventory and monitoring of carbon sinks in terrestrial ecosystems on
a regional and global basis. Procedures for the estimation of tropical
forest above ground biomass using multispectral remote sensing techniques
supported by ground measurements were investigated. A stratified sampling
scheme was used to place quadrat sampling sites on the ground, using the
classes from a supervised classification of the Landsat Thematic Mapper
image of the area, as the strata for sampling. Standard regression equations
of biomass as a function of allometric measurements of trees, obtained
from quadrat sites on the ground, were fitted to the data.
The spectral response (i.e. Digital Numbers (DNS), radiance and reflectance)
of three different multispectral waveband ratios (NDVI, GVI and NDWI)
computed from the Landsat TM image was correlated to biomass as measured
in the field, yielding relative strong associations. Three predictive
models of biomass as a function of spectral response parameters (DNs,
radiance and reflectance) of the band ratio images were created to estimate
above ground biomass. The results revealed that the best
predictive models of biomass were exponential functions of the DNs of
a GVI band ratio image resampled to match the resolution of quadrat sites
on the ground. Maps of image ground biomass in tropical forests were created
using the reflectance properties of the GVI image and the equations developed.
Respective maps of expected standard error of estimates from regression
were also created as an indication of the spatial distribution of the
expected accuracy of biomass estimates from the developed models.
Project 2: "Mapping the spatial distribution of plant diversity
indices of tropical forests using multi-spectral satellite image analysis
and field measurements".
Ph.D. research of J.L. Hernandez-Stefanoni. Watershed Ecosystems Graduate
Program. Trent University.
The relationships between standard plant diversity indices (species richness,
exponential Shannon diversity index, reciprocal Simpson, Margalef index
and reciprocal Berger-Parker) computed from 73 randomly selected (10x10m)
sampling quadrat sites of vegetation in a tropical forest of the Yucatan,
Mexico, and the landscape element types, as obtained by a supervised Maximum
Likelihood classification of a Landsat Thematic Mapper multi-spectral
image, are examined in order to derive quantitative estimates of biodiversity
over the entire landscape, from the limited number of quadrat sites sampled.
A relatively high map accuracy of the vegetation classes map produced,
was revealed by the overall accuracy assessment and the Cohen's Kappa
statistic.
A standard one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the diversity indices
over the classes defined by multispectral analysis of the satellite image,
as criteria in the ANOVA, confirmed a statistically significant reduction
of the within-class variance of the diversity indices with respect of
their total variance across the landscape. Computed Uniformity Indices
(U) measuring the internal uniformity of vegetation classes on the diversity
indices confirmed the goodness of the mapped classes in stratifying variability
of the diversity indices, and therefore, allowing for the use of the mapped
classes as mechanism for spatial interpolation, prediction and upscaling
of the quadrat- site computed biodiversity indices to the entire landscape
studied. The examination of the spatial variability of the plant diversity
indices with the mapped vegetation classes allowed to establish a pattern
of relationships between the diversity indices and the various stages
of tropical sub-deciduous forest succession, as represented by the landscape
element types or vegetation classes identified and mapped from the multispectral
satellite image classification.
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Science policy: Policy, politics and perspective
by Roger A Pielke Jr. Nature 416, 367 - 368 (2002) The scientific community
must distinguish analysis from advocacy.
Ecological responses to recent climate change
by Walther and Post et al. Nature 416, 389 - 395 (2002) - E-mail: walther@geobotanik.uni-hannover.de
There is now ample evidence of the ecological impacts of recent climate
change, from polar terrestrial to tropical marine environments. The responses
of both flora and fauna span an array of ecosystems and
organizational hierarchies, from the species to the community levels.
Despite continued uncertainty as to community and ecosystem trajectories
under global change, our review exposes a coherent pattern of ecological
change across systems. Although we are only at an early stage in the projected
trends of global warming, ecological responses to recent climate change
are already clearly visible.
GONDWANA to GREENHOUSE
AUSTRALIAN ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE: GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA -
SPECIAL PUBLICATION No.21, Nov 2001.
Edited by: Assoc. Prof. Victor A. Gostin Department Geology & Geophysics,
Adelaide University
Contact: Misha
Frankel at misha@gsa.org.au
Theme 1 - Ancient Australia and environmental changes.
Theme 2 - Geohazards in urban communities
Theme 3 - Mining and Radioactivity
Theme 4 - Water and sedimentary basins
Chapter 11: Hydrogeology and environmental geology of the Great Artesian
Basin, Australia.
Theme 5 - Coastal and nearshore environments
Carbon mitigation potential and costs of forestry options in Brazil,
China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines and Tanzania"
Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 6 (3-4): 185-211,
2001 Copyright © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers.
No electronic copy of the paper is available, please consult the printed
journal. In this issue of the journal Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies
for Global Change titled "Forestry Mitigation Potential and Costs
in
Developing Countries", a set of studies are presented that aim to
estimate the (1) GHG emissions from these and neighboring countries, (2)
potential for emissions avoidance and carbon sequestration, and (3) monetary
and other costs and benefits of forestry mitigation options, and (4) to
assess project opportunities. The countries studied are Brazil, China,
India, Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines and Tanzania.
This paper summarizes studies of carbon (C) mitigation potential and
costs of about 40 forestry options in seven developing countries. Each
study uses the same methodological approach - Comprehensive Mitigation
Assessment Process (COMAP) - to estimate the above parameters between
2000 and 2030.
The approach requires the projection of baseline and mitigation land-use
scenarios. Coupled with data on a per ha basis on C sequestration or avoidance,
and costs and benefits, it allows the estimation of monetary benefit per
Mg C, and the total costs and carbon potential. The results show that
about half (3.0 Pg C) the cumulative mitigation potential of 6.2 Petagram
(Pg) C between 2000 and 2030 in the seven countries (about 200×
106 Mg C yr-1) could be achieved at a negative cost and the remainder
at costs ranging up to $100 Mg C-1. About 5 Pg C could be achieved, at
a cost less than $20 per Mg C. Negative cost potential indicates that
non-carbon revenue is sufficient to offset direct costs of these options.
The
achievable potential is likely to be smaller, however, due to market,
institutional and sociocultural barriers that can delay or prevent the
implementation of the analysed options.
"Les instruments de la Convention-cadre sur les Changements
Climatiques et leur potentiel pour le developpement durable de l' Afrique"
The working paper is currently being translated into English. Electronic
version (in French) will shortly be available on the Forestry and Climate
Change Web site http://www.fao.org/forestry/Climate/
The paper, produced by the FAO in cooperation with CIRAD, contains detailed
discussions of UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, of the CDM and of other
funding possibilities for SFM of the Protocol. In addition, there is useful
background information on Climate Change and forests, as well as proposals
for practical implementation in Africa.
"Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Developed Countries:
1990 - 2010"
[http://www.pewclimate.org/projects/trading.cfm]Contact:
Elizabeth Scheehle - scheehle.elizabeth@epa.gov
This EPA document presents emissions and baseline projections of the non-CO2
gases from major anthropogenic sources for 38 developed countries. The
report is available at http://www.epa.gov/ghginfo/reports
Greenhouse Gas Reporting and Disclosure: Key Elements of a Prospective
U.S. Program
This policy 'In Brief' from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change USA
provides guidance regarding the first step in any domestic program aimed
at securing greenhouse gas emissions reductions: a mandatory greenhouse
gas (GHG) reporting and disclosure program. The program outlined in this
paper would ultimately track at least 75 percent of the human-induced
GHG emissions in the United States, providing policy-makers and the public
a sound basis for developing a comprehensive GHG reduction strategy, and
creating incentives for entities to reduce their GHG emissions. http://www.pewclimate.org/policy/index_ghg.cfm
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY OUTLOOK 2002
The full report of the International Energy Outlook 2002 has been released
in PDF format (PDF - 2 meg). Provides an assessment of international energy
markets with projections of worldwide energy consumption by fuel type
and carbon emissions by regions to the year 2020. (HTML version of the
full report avail by April 30, 2002). See: ftp://ftp.eia.doe.gov/pub/pdf/international/0484(2002).pdf
The Highlights Section of the International Energy Outlook 2002 provides
an assessment of international energy markets with projections of worldwide
energy consumption by fuel type and carbon emissions by regions to the
year 2020. See: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/index.html
UK Renewables Obligation Briefing Note
The recent launch of the RO marks the next stage in the UK government's
plan to meet 10% of electricity needs from renewables by 2010. UK Tyndall
Climate Change Centre researchers have produced a Briefing Note that introduces
the new policy and sketches out some of the challenges that lie ahead
in meeting the 2010 UK renewables target - from the electricity market,
the planning system, established modes of energy regulation, and innovating
in new renewable technologies. Available at http://www.tyndall.ac.uk/publications/briefing_notes/note04.shtml
The Emerging International Greenhouse Gas Market
by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change USA. The Solution Series report
describes the characteristics of the emerging greenhouse gas market and
key features of early trades. It also evaluates the potential evolution
of the market due to ongoing domestic and international climate change
policy
development and potential scenarios regarding the U.S. response to climate
change. Full report and press release available at http://www.pewclimate.org
LINKING U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE STRATEGIES
Pew Center on Global Climate Change USA at http://www.pewclimate.org/events/us_international_whitepaper.cfm
Working paper by Daniel Bodansky This paper identifies potential scenarios
for the linkage of U.S. and international climate strategies; describes
how emerging national and international emissions trading regimes will
shape the context within which such linkages could take place; and examines
issues that must be considered in the design of a U.S. climate strategy
to ensure its compatibility with an international regime.
U.S. CLIMATE POLICY AFTER KYOTO: ELEMENTS FOR SUCCESS
Contact: Scott Nathanson at snathanson@ceip.org
http://www.ceip.org/files/Publications/Bodansky_pb15.asp?from=pubdate
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has published a policy
brief by Daniel Bodansky on US climate policy after Kyoto. According to
the brief, the decision by the Bush administration to abandon the Kyoto
Protocol and go its own way on climate change is not necessarily the disaster
for climate policy often portrayed by environmentalists. Because Kyoto's
success is far from assured, having alternative approaches is a prudent
hedging strategy. The real disappointment has been the failure of the
United States to develop a credible climate change policy of its own.
In contrast to Kyoto-which tries to construct a comprehensive global architecture
all at once-the US should proceed step by step, starting with domestic
action and then moving outward, beginning with like-minded states. It
should initially address fewer greenhouse gases and use relatively simple
procedures. And it should employ a safety valve that caps costs to provide
economic predictability and prevent unexpectedly high costs that would
tempt countries not to comply. In the long run, the race to combat climate
change will go to the most durable policy, not the speediest.
Evaluating the Bush Climate Change Initiative
From the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
(RIVM)
Contact: André de Moor E-mail: andre.de.moor@rivm.nl
RIVM web site: http://www.rivm.nl/ieweb/ieweb/index.html
The report provides an comprehensive evaluation of the President's proposal
to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of the US economy by 18 per cent
between 2002 and 2012. It evaluates the proposed policy target by comparing
it to historical trends and alternative baseline projections. Moreover,
it compares the efforts under the Bush plan with those under the Kyoto
Protocol, both in terms of environmental effectiveness and costs. The
report also explores possible international climate policy implications
of the Bush Initiative, in particular its plea for an intensity targets
approach. The main conclusion is that the Bush Initiative proposes a very
modest climate policy target for the US that is not comparable to the
efforts of the EU and Japan under the Kyoto Protocol, and offers no credible
alternative to the Kyoto Protocol nor a basis for establishing an effective
and acceptable international climate regime. At the same time, the proposal
is of political significance as it explicitly accepts the importance of
the climate change problem and the long-term objective of the Climate
Change Convention. This improves the longer term prospects for US participation
in a global climate change regime.
CICERO Annual Report (2001)
Oslo) http://www.cicero.uio.no/index_e.asp.
The Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo
was founded by the Norwegian Govt in 1990 and is an independent research
centre associated with the University of Oslo. CICERO's mandate is to
conduct research and provide information about climate change. Pål
Prestrud will take over as director of CICERO from June 3. Prestrud has
worked with environmental issues affecting the polar regions for most
of his professional career, in both a
research and an administrative capacity. He currently acts as vice-chair
of ACIA (Arctic Climate Impact Assessment).Contact: Andreas Tjernshaugen,
Tel +47 22 85 87 84;andreas.tjernshaugen@cicero.uio.no
Tomorrow's market: Global Trends and Their Implications for Business
(UNEP/WBCSD/WRI)
Launched in April. Businesses that wish to survive and thrive in a global
economy must respond to major social and environmental trends that are
reshaping markets, says the report released by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
and the World Resources Institute (WRI). Backed with facts and figures,
the new report outlines 19 powerful trends that are reshaping global markets
and changing the roles and strategies of
corporations. Tomorrow's Market: Global Trends and Their Implications
for Business is the first publication that links global economic, environmental,
and social indicators to market development in order to help
businesses better respond to future challenges.
Download report (large - l16MB) in PDF format at http://www.wbcsd.org/newscenter/reports/2002/tomorrows-market/tm_cover.pdf.
Download individual chapters at http://www.wbcsd.org/newscenter/releases/3march02.htm.
AGRICULTURE NEGOTIATIONS BACKGROUNDER THE ISSUES, AND WHERE WE ARE
NOW
WORLD TRADE ORG Website: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/agric_e/negs_bkgrnd00_contents_e.htm
SEMINARS & CONFERENCES
REQUEST FOR SUBMISSIONS
(for July 2003) Submissions are requested for a science poster session
entitled: "Are soils a sink or a source for atmospheric CO2?"
This will be as part of the INQUA - Congress to be held July 23-31 2003,
in Reno, Nevada, USA. The poster session will focus on the following issues
related to impact of atmospheric CO2 on climate: 1) The contents and dynamics
of pedogenic carbonate in different soils during the Pleistocene. 2) The
regional and global balance of CO2 sinks and emissions from soils. 3)
The
fate of CO2 in soils under the different climates of Pleistocene. Information
on the INQUA Congress is available at: http://www.dri.edu/DEES/INQUA2003/inqua
home.htm For further information please contact Yaroslav G. Ryskov,
Institute of Physico-Chemical and Biological Problem of Soil Science RAS.
E-mail: ryskov@ issp.serpukhov.su Fax: (70967)79 05 95
(July, 2002, Queensland)
Innovation in Action - 2002 State Conference Landcare and Catchment Management
Contact: David Wood Burdekin Dry Tropics Group Implementation Officer
Phone: 07 4721 4303 burdekindrytropics@bigpond.com
The Landcare State Conference will be held from 20-23 July 2002 in Townsville
on the Breakwater Marina overlooking Magnetic Island in North Queensland.
The theme is Innovation in Action. An opportunity for people involved
in landcare, natural resource management and nature conservation to share
knowledge and experiences. The conference program promises to cater for
a diverse range of interests including sustainable production, nature
conservation and vibrant communities. Program and registration form
at http://www.burdekindrytropics.org.au/conference.htm
(3 May, 2002)
Detection of Anthropogenic Climate Change in the Australian Region
Prof David Karoly, Monash University
CSIRO DAR Lecture Theatre, Aspendale Contact: Wenju.Cai@csiro.au
Summary: The recent Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that there has been an increase of about
0.6C in the global-mean temperature over the last century, with 1998 being
the warmest year in the last 100 years. The IPCC Assessment concluded
that
most of the observed warming over the last 50 years was likely to have
been due to anthropogenic factors; increasing greenhouse gases and sulphate
aerosols in the atmosphere. All studies that have successfully detected
an anthropogenic influence on recent climate change have considered global
scale variations. It is harder to identify the effects of anthropogenic
climate change on regional scales than on global scales because of the
greater magnitude of the internal climate variability relative to forced
climate change signals.
The results from a regional climate change detection and attribution
study over Australia will be described. Observed climate variability and
change in the Australian region will be compared with climate model simulations
of natural and anthropogenically-forced climate variations over the 20th
century. A number of simple indices of climate variability and change
are defined, including the area-mean temperature over land, the land-ocean
temperature contrast, and the mean diurnal cycle and annual cycle of temperature
over land. These indices are all expected to show a common response to
increasing greenhouse gases but are reasonably independent for natural
climate variations. The simulated interannual variability and
correlation structure of the indices, averaged over the Australian region,
compare reasonably well with the observed indices. The observed trends
over the last 50 years in all the indices over Australia are consistent
with simulated trends in model experiments that include increasing greenhouse
gas and sulphate aerosol concentrations. The observed mean warming over
the last 50 years is not consistent with internal climate variability.
Hence, it is likely that a significant fraction of the observed warming
in the Australian region over the last 50 years is due to human activity.
(May, 2002, UK)
2nd Annual Emissions Trading - the commercial and financial implications
May 20-21, 2002, Thistle Tower Hotel, London E1. This two day conference,
organised by Euromoney Energy Events, will bring together the most experienced
decision-makers in the emissions trading sector and will provide you with
an excellent insight into this rapidly growing market. You will learn
about the future of the international markets and will have an opportunity
to network with the leaders of the industry. website www.euromoneyenergy.com
or Contact: Euromoney Energy Events, Nestor House, Playhouse Yard, London
EC4V 5EX, Tel: +44 20 7779 8103, email: energyevents@euromoneyplc.com.
(May, 2002, USA)
GREEN TRADING SUMMIT
Arranged by Global Change Associates and the MYA Group, this conference
addresses the convergence of emissions markets, renewables and energy
efficiency trading in a risk management context. The conference will be
held in New York City on 14 and 15 May. Topics include SO2, NOx, and CO2
trading as well as renewable energy credit and negawatt trading. For further
information, see: http://www.global-change.com/conferences.html
(April 2002)
S Subunit of Photosystem 2 (PsbS) and its Function in Regulating Photosynthetic
Light Harvesting
Dr Xiao-Ping Li, Dept of Plant and Microbial Biology, Univ of California,
Berkeley, CA 94720-3102 USA.
When: 11.15 am, 29th April; Where: Robertson Seminar Room, RSBS, ANU,
Canberra; Contact: Michael.Roderick@anu.edu.au
Ph 02 6125 4020
Overview: In the photosynthetic apparatus, light absorption, utilization,
and dissipation have to be well regulated. Nonphotochemical quenching
(NPQ) dissipates absorbed light energy as heat before it reaches the photosynthetic
reaction centers and thus plays a critical role in the regulation process.
In vivo, NPQ is xanthophyll dependent and is regulated by the pH gradient
across the thylakoid membrane. The fast induction and relaxation characteristics
of NPQ are consistent with its importance for plants grown in natural,
fluctuating environmental conditions, and NPQ exists in all land plants
studied. By screening Arabidopsis for NPQ-deficient mutants, we found
the 22 kD photosystem II subunit (PsbS) is absolutely necessary for NPQ.
In npq4-1, a psbS deletion mutant, the rapidly relaxing (in time scale
of seconds to minutes) NPQ is totally abolished, whereas the xanthophyll
cycle and the photosynthetic electron
transport are normal. Genetic analysis indicated that psbS has a dosage
effect on NPQ. Further studies showed that the capacity of NPQ is determined
by the amount of PsbS protein and PsbS protein level is
determined by psbS gene copy number. Overexpressing psbS increased the
amount of PsbS in the thylakoid membrane and increased NPQ capacity without
changing other light-harvesting proteins. Plants with higher NPQ are more
resistant to high light stress. Site-directed mutagenesis studies have
identified two lumen-facing amino acid residues, E122 and E226, which
might work as pH gradient
(April, 2002, Victoria)
The Political Economy of Climate Change
Presented: 23 April, CSIRO DAR Lecture Theatre, Aspendale Contact: Wenju.Cai@csiro.au
By Dr. Clive Hamilton, Executive Director of The Australia Institute for
a Just, Sustainable and Peaceful Future, ANU
(April, 2002, Victoria)
The role of modern Earth science in sustainability programs
Prof. Mutter, Executive Deputy Director, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
of Columbia University, USA
CSIRO DAR Lecture Theatre, Aspendale Contact: Wenju.Cai@csiro.au
Prof. Mutter was asked to present an overview of some of the programs
put together at Columbia to address the issues of role of modern Earth
science in sustainability programs.
(April, 2002)
De-coupling economic growth from environmental degradation through eco-efficiency
and communication.
Nordic PrepCom III WSSD side-event held Wed March 27 Contact: Helen Agren
new-york.delegate32@foreign.ministry.se
Arranged by the Govts of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden Moderator:
Ambassador Bohn, Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Program included:
- De-coupling - the key challenge for changing production and consumption
patterns - Astrid Jacobsen, Danish Ministry for the Environment
- Eco efficiency as a means of achieving decoupling - Mikko Jalas,
Helsinki School of Economics
- Cooperation for a product-oriented environmental policy - Helen Agren,
Swedish Env. Protection Agency
- Practical use of life-cycle data and analysis: presentation of Environmental
Product Declarations - Sven-Olof Ryding, Swedish Env. Management Council
(March, 2002, South Australia)
Sustaining Our Communities, Local Agenda 21 Conference [http://www.adelaide.sa.gov.au/soc/]
More than 400 people from more than 100 Local Government Authorities came
together in Adelaide 3-6 March to discuss and develop their approaches
to sustainability. Contact: John Salter, Strategic Environment Officer,
Adelaide City Council Tel: 0417 050 910 or ( (08) 8203 7751; mailto: J.Salter@adelaidecitycouncil.com;
http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com
Snailmail:GPO Box 2252 Adelaide SA 5001
NEW EARTH REPORT TV SERIES ON BBC TO FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
UNEP INFORMATION NOTE [www.unep.org]
LONDON, NAIROBI - The United Nations Environment Programme is the sponsor
of a new BBC series of Earth Report which will begin in April and continue
until August this year to coincide with the United Nations World Summit
on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to be held in Johannesburg (26 August-4
September). The new instalment in the series made by the Television Trust
for the Environment (TVE), will be fully interactive. On the eve of the
Summit, TVE will stage a special Earth Report debate featuring the leading
players at Johannesburg. Earth Report is broadcast five times per week
GMT on Monday at 22.30, Tuesday at 09.30 and 14.30, Wednesday at 02.30
a.m. and Saturday at 1930. For local broadcast times consult www.bbcworld.com
Contact: earthreport@tve.org.uk or TVE website at www.tve.org
ARTICLES & PRESS RELEASES OF INTEREST
STUDY OF TREE RINGS REVEALS CLIMATE HISTORY
CNN March 22, 2002 Internet: http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/03/22/tree.rings.ap/index.html
An unusually warm period a millennium ago may have been part of a natural
planetary cycle, U.S. and Swiss researchers say in a study of tree rings
that scrutinizes the link between human activity and climate change. The
study, appearing Friday in the journal Science, analyzed ancient tree
rings from 14 sites on three continents in the northern hemisphere and
concluded that temperatures in an era known as the Medieval Warm Period
some 800 to 1,000 years ago closely matched the warming trend of the 20th
century.
In recent years, many climate scientists have said an unprecedented
warming spell that began last century and continues is caused by the greenhouse
effect. The greenhouse effect is blamed on an increase in the atmosphere
of gases, principally carbon dioxide, from the burning of fossil fuels,
which
trap heat just as do glass panes in a greenhouse. The tree-ring study
gives another perspective on Earth's natural cycles, said Edward Cook
of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York. Cook is
co-author of the study with Jan Esper and Fritz Schweingruber of the Swiss
Federal Research Institute. Cook said the study shows the Earth to be
"capable of rapid changes and long periods of above average warmth
on its own without greenhouse warming. "We don't use this as a refutation
of greenhouse
warming," said Cook. "But it does show that there are processes
within the Earth's natural climate system that produce large changes that
might be viewed as comparable to what we have seen in the 20th century."
Cook said the study found that, based on the growth of rings in the trunks
of trees that lived hundreds of years ago, the temperatures during the
Medieval Warm Period were about equal to the warming trend that started
in the 20th century.
Refining predictions: "Greenhouse gases were not a factor back
in the Medieval Warm Period," said Cook. The Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change, an international group, has predicted that the current
warming trend will continue deep into the 21st century, with average temperatures
rising by 2.5 and 10 degrees. Based on this prediction, there have been
international proposals for systematic reductions in the burning of fossil
fuels. The proposal has been resisted by the United States, particularly
by the Bush administration. Cook said data used in the climate change
panel's calculation is based on a model that compared the preindustral
age climate with the climate of the 20th century. The model did not include
a Medieval Warm Period. Including data from that era could change the
calculations, Cook said. "The Medieval Warm Period is in some sense
comparable up to 1990 in the 20th century," said Cook. "But
that does not say that the 20th century hasn't been perturbed by greenhouse
gases. The real challenge is to factor out the natural variability from"
man made causes of global warming. Cook said the panel's temperature warming
prediction could be correct. Based on the new tree-ring data, however,
he said the warming could be in the lower part of the temperature range
forecast by the group. Keith Briffa
and Timothy Osborn, climate scientists at the University of East Anglia
in Britain, said the study by Cook and his colleagues "provides evidence
for greater climate swings in the last 1,000 years than has yet been generally
accepted." In a commentary in Science, Briffa and Osborn said a need
exists for more such independent studies to refine predictions for global
warming in this century.
HOTTER TIMES ON PLANET EARTH, RESEARCHERS FIND
National Post 27 March 2002 Internet:http://www.nationalpost.com/search/story.html?f=/stories/20020327/463946.html&qs=climate
A team of American and Canadian researchers has found evidence of real
global warming: the temperature of the Earth's crust is increasing at
a remarkable rate. "We can now say we truly have global warming,"
says Dr. Hugo Beltrami, a geophysicist at St. Francis Xavier University
in Nova Scotia. Until now most data on global warming has been gleaned
from the atmosphere, polar icecaps and oceans, but Dr. Beltrami's team
looked at continental rocks, which cover about 30% of the planet's surface.
The scientists studied 616 deep bore holes that had been drilled into
rock formations from Africa to the Arctic and found evidence of a marked
rise in temperature over the past 500 years. The surface of continental
rocks are, on average, one degree Celsius warmer now than they were five
centuries ago, and most of the warming has occurred since 1900, the scientists
report in a paper being published in the upcoming issue of the Geophysical
Research Letters, a leading geology journal. While one degree may not
sound like much, Dr. Beltrami says there is now about as much heat going
into the Earth from the
atmosphere as there is coming to the surface from the planet's hot molten
core. The warming is most pronounced in northern latitudes, Dr. Beltrami
says. On Ellesmere Island and in laska, ground temperatures are four to
five degrees higher than they were in 1500. The rise is having a significant
effect on permafrost, turning some northern areas that were once perpetually
frozen into "several metres of muck," he says.
Dr. Beltrami and his colleagues from the University of Michigan found
that more than half of the land's heat gain over the past 500 years came
during the 20th century, and 30% since 1950. The new data from the rocks
fits with evidence from the oceans and atmosphere showing that all major
parts of the Earth's climate system have warmed over the past half-century.
The geophysicist's conclusion means that the warming has been truly global.
Dr. Beltrami says the historic temperature profile of bore holes is a
more reliable reflection of warming trends than tree rings because heat
absorbed from the atmosphere by rocks slowly permeates the Earth, leaving
a distinct signature in the temperature profile of the rocks as it moves
down. "We can plot the heat actually going into the ground,"
he says. Heat absorbed 100 years ago is now about 150 metres deep, and
heat from 300 years ago is between 250-300 metres below ground, depending
on the type of rock. The bore holes were up to one kilometre deep, and
had been drilled by mining companies and geologists. Greenhouse gases,
including carbon dioxide generated by the burning of fossil fuels, are
believed by many scientists to be responsible for the global warming trend.
While the
thought of warmer weather in Nova Scotia or Saskatchewan may sound appealing,
scientists predict the warming will bring with it a rise in the number
of so-called "extreme weather events" such as ice storms, droughts
and hurricanes. "That's what worries me the most," Dr. Beltrami
says.
(April, 2002)
U.S. MOVES TO OUST HEAD OF GLOBAL WARMING PANEL
International Herald Tribune April 3, 2002 Internet: http://www.iht.com/articles/53401.html
After a year of urging from energy industry lobbyists, the Bush administration
is seeking the removal of an American scientist who for nearly six years
has directed an international panel of hundreds of experts
assessing global warming, several government officials have said. The
specialist, Robert Watson, chief scientist of the World Bank, is highly
regarded as an atmospheric chemist by many climate experts. He has held
the unpaid position of chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change since fall 1996. Now his term is expiring, and the State Department
has chosen not to renominate him to head the panel, which is run under
the auspices of the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization.
Watson is an outspoken advocate of the idea that human actions - mainly
burning oil and coal - are contributing to global warming and must be
changed to avert environmental upheavals. Energy industry lobbyists and
some Republican elected officials in the United States have criticized
him as biased and focused on building a scientific argument to justify
cutting the use of coal and oil. Monday night, a State Department official
said the Bush administration was leaning toward endorsing a scientist
from India, which along with other developing countries has been eager
for a stronger role in the climate assessments.
Rajendra Pachauri, an Indian engineer and economist who is now one of
five vice chairmen, is the only other significant candidate nominated
for panel chairman. He is highly regarded by many, but many scientists
said his lack of grounding in atmospheric science made him an unsuitable
choice. Nevertheless several lobbyists for energy companies and auto manufacturers
were scheduled to meet with senior State Department officials Tuesday
afternoon, when they are expected to press the administration to endorse
Pachauri. One of the lobbyists said that in a two-man race, it was necessary
for industry to make a choice - and that the choice should not be Watson.
(April, 2002)
CSIRO Press Releases
CSIRO tracks the world's air pollution
A new model of The Air Pollution Model (TAPM) allows environment agencies
to track emissions from cities, enables operators of industrial sites
to determine pollution impacts and lets researchers establish how far
air pollution extends from its source. More at: http://www.csiro.au/page.asp?type=mediaRelease&id=TAPM2
US ozone award to CSIRO scientist
Dr Paul Fraser from CSIRO Atmospheric Research recently won a prestigious
2002 US EPA Ozone Protection Award. The award was made in recognition
of his "exemplary efforts and achievements in protecting stratospheric
ozone". Dr Fraser, an atmospheric chemist, has been measuring levels
of ozone
depleting chemicals in the atmosphere since the mid-1970s. Govt and industry
in Australia and overseas have used his findings to implement and track
phase-out of CFCs and halons. Read more at:
http://www.csiro.au/page.asp?type=mediaRelease&id=OzoneAward
(April, 2002)
Fed Gov Press Release
COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS COMMUNIQUE - NATIONAL ACTION PLAN
FOR
SALINITY AND WATER QUALITY AND PROPERTY RIGHTS
INTRODUCTION: The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) recently held
its 11th meeting in Canberra. The Council, comprising the Australian Prime
Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers and the President of the Australian
Local Government Association (ALGA), had wide ranging discussions on
important areas of national interest. This Communique sets out (some of)
the agreed outcomes of the discussions: The Council reviewed progress
in implementing the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality
(NAP) in Australia agreed on by COAG on 3 November 2000.
The Council noted that all jurisdictions except Western Australia have
signed the Intergovernmental Agreement that sets out the overarching commitments
and obligations of the NAP. The Council noted that Bilateral Agreements
are in place with South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland,
that the Bilateral Agreement with New South Wales is ready for signing,
and that a range of key policy tools to support the implementation of
the NAP have either been agreed or substantially progressed. These
include national criteria for accrediting integrated regional Natural
Resource Management plans, a national framework for Natural Resource Management
standards and targets and a national monitoring and evaluation framework.
Council noted that although regional planning is progressing well in South
Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, there was a need for a greater
urgency in this task with the objective of achieving accreditation of
a significant number of plans by June this year. The Council noted that
funding for priority projects in South Australia totalling $15.1 million
had been provided and that foundation funding, priority actions and capacity
building activities totalling $15.8 million were approved by Commonwealth
and Victorian Ministers in February 2002. Council members emphasised their
ongoing commitment to working with communities to undertake an integrated
approach to natural resource
management on a regional scale. The Council agreed to accelerate the implementation
of the NAP including by:
- signing of the Intergovernmental Agreement by all parties that have
not yet done so;
- concluding the remaining Bilateral Agreements by the end of June 2002,
including progress on foundation funding, capacity building and priority
projects; and
- making substantial progress on regional plans in all jurisdictions
by the
end of 2002.
The Council agreed to support arrangements that include adequate:
- local government representation on regional bodies;
- local government involvement in the development of integrated natural
resource management regional plans; and
- awareness of regional objectives in local planning.
The Council noted water has been a key driver in regional and national
development and, in recognition of the need to address adverse economic
and environmental consequences of past water management policies and practices,
in 1994 COAG adopted a strategic framework for reforms to national water
governance. A key part of these reforms has been the development of a
system of water property rights on a jurisdiction by jurisdiction basis.
The Council also noted that substantial progress is being made on the
national water reforms. Water management is currently in a transition
phase as jurisdictions implement new water allocation arrangements. There
have been a number of calls for clarification to water property rights.
Council reaffirmed the importance of water property rights issues in dealing
with the nation's salinity and water quality problems. Council further
noted that during this transitional period, there may be a lack of information
in the community about the nature of property rights, including responsibilities
of water users. There also needs to be consideration of the implications
of changes to water property rights for investment and the impacts of
the changes on water users, particularly farmers. In order to clarify
these issues jurisdictions agreed to report to COAG by September 2002
on opportunities and impediments to better define and implement water
property rights regimes (including water trading markets and where appropriate
the responsibilities of water users); and how they are addressing uncertainties.
(April 2002)
APPOINTMENT OF FED SCIENCE ADVISER BY FEDERAL MINISTER BRENDAN NELSON
For further information: Ross Hampton 0419 484 095 [MIN 46/02]
I am pleased to announce that Dr Thomas Barlow has accepted an appointment
as my Science Adviser. Dr Barlow is a researcher and science writer with
a highly credentialed background. Dr Barlow ommenced studies at the University
of Sydney and completed his training at St John's College, Oxford. He
continued as a Research fellow at Balliol College, Oxford for a further
three years. In 1998 Dr Barlow was a Visiting Research Fellow at M.I.T.
Cambridge in the United States. The focus of his research was protein
structure prediction and small molecule drug design. Dr Barlow went on
to be a regular contributor to the Financial Times, writing about science
and its role in society. Dr Barlow will work closely with advisers
in Science Minister Peter McGauran's office, provide a contact point for
peak science bodies and interested agencies and ensure that the voice
of Science is heard loudly and clearly in my office.
(March 2002)
BIG ANTARCTIC ICE BREAK-OUT RAISES CLIMATE CHANGE CONCERN
[http://www.ea.gov.au/minister/ps/2002/psmr21mar02.html
- Environment-news, Issue 24]
Parliamentary Secretary responsible for the Antarctic, Dr Sharman Stone,
said the recent loss of an area of nearly 8800 square kilometres from
the Antarctic ice sheet - more than three times the size of the Australian
Capital Territory - is a disturbing reminder of the fact that global warming
is a reality. A 5500 square kilometre piece of the Thwaites Glacier Tongue
in West Antarctica has broken away and floated into the Amundsen Sea,
southeast of Australia, producing an enormous iceberg code-named B-22.
(April, 2002)
PRESS RELEASE: CO2SIM TO BE KNOWN AS CARBONSIM
Contact Craig Windram via www.carbonsim.com
The term carbon dioxide equivalent, or CO2E, is one that we in the climate
change community have been using for decades. However, since 8 September
2000 it has been a registered trade mark of e-speed Inc, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Cantor Fitzgerald LLC and a partner in CO2E.COM LLC ? a
company formed by the Cantor Fitzgerald group in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
On 4 March 2002, Allens Arthur Robinson, acting on behalf of their client
e-speed Inc, issued a letter addressed to CO2SIM
(Australia) Pty Ltd (our company) asserting Trade Mark Infringement, Breaches
of Trade Practices Act and Passing Off. (The full text of this letter
may be accessed electronically from our web page www.carbonsim.com).
Our company is a leading developer of greenhouse gas emissions trading
platforms, simulations and software. Since January 2002 the company has
been successfully growing its global business, providing tailored software
solutions that assist clients to manage their greenhouse gas emissions
liabilities. In that letter, lawyers acting on behalf of e-speed Inc asserted
that CO2SIM operated a website that was "a marketplace for emissions
trading?operating in competition to our client's website". And that
in so doing, CO2SIM infringed e-speed's registered trade mark CO2E, engaged
in misleading or deceptive conduct and engaged in conduct that constituted
the tort of passing off. As such, e-speed "demanded" a number
of undertakings, including that we refrain from using the mark CO2SIM,
refrain from using the domain name CO2SIM.com, take steps to effect a
change of the company name and deliver up to e-speed all stocks of brochures,
stationery, advertising or promotional material that bears any of the
company name CO2SIM (Australia) Pty Ltd, the mark CO2SIM, or the domain
name CO2SIM.com.
Our company does not accept that there is any confusion between the
two businesses, simply because both businesses are in a related field
and both names incorporate the chemical formulation CO2. (The full text
of our response may be accessed electronically via our web page www.carbonsim.com
). Our company is not a marketplace for emissions trading; rather the
company is focussed upon the development of tailored software solutions
that will assist companies to manage their greenhouse gas emissions liabilities
and to trade in the associated emission permits, allowances or credits.
We believe that this position is clear in all our corporate literature,
on our website, and in the press releases that have been issued to date.
However, irrespective of the rights of the case, we were faced very costly;
or to capitulate to the demands of e-speed Inc. After some consideration
we decided to comply with their "demands" as we are a small
and innovative company that has limited resources. Faced with a choice
of
spending our time on the style of our company name, or on the substance
of our business, we decided to focus upon what was most important to us
? our customers and our products. This is not a decision that we took
lightly, as we are people of passion and principle. Therefore from today
our company will be known as CARBONSIM. Our business will continue unaffected,
with simulations rolling out in Europe and the Nordic Countries in May
and in Canada and Australia in June. In truth our business won't miss
a beat, and we would like to thank all our clients and partners for their
support during this short transition. As CARBONSIM, our company will continue
to be a leading developer of greenhouse gas emissions trading platforms,
simulations and software and will continue to deliver tailored software
solutions that assist our clients to manage their greenhouse gas emissions
liabilities.
CARBONSIM's next simulation will be held in Europe between 28th and
30th May 2002, and will be based upon the proposed European Commission's
draft directive on emissions trading. The simulation will give participants
a practical insight into how a future emissions trading regime might work,
and what the ramifications of it might be, as well as the opportunity
to evaluate the impact of different trading rules on real business scenarios
and to experience the dynamics of a regional carbon market.
CLIMATE CHANGE: Kyoto Reluctance Costs Australia Millions, Firms
Say
March 27 (UN Wire) http://www.unwire.org/unwire/current.asp#25047
Climate Change Spreads Drought Across Australia
March 14 (ENS) http://ens-news.com/ens/mar2002/2002L-03-14-03.html
(March, 2002)
AUSTRALIA SECURES WORLD LEADING IRON AND STEEL TECHNOLOGY
MEDIA RELEASE ISSUED BY MINISTER IAN MACFARLANE (ITR)
24 April 2002 02/065 Contact: Murray Fearn, Invest Australia, 02 6213
7560
The Commonwealth Government will provide a $125 million investment incentive
to Rio Tinto to secure the commercialisation and development of its HIsmelt
echnology at Kwinana, Western Australia. The Minister for Industry, Tourism
and Resources, Ian Macfarlane, announced the support this morning adding
that Rio Tinto has plans to invest as much as $1.2 billion in an iron
ore processing plant and integrated steel operation. More than 500 new
jobs would be created in the process. "The commercialisation of HIsmelt
in Kwinana represents a landmark in the development of a revolutionary
and largely Australian technology. Around $600 million has been spent
developing this process over the last 20 years," said Mr Macfarlane.
The Commonwealth and Western Australian governments have worked cooperatively
to ensure this new technology is developed in Australia rather than overseas.
Rio Tinto had also been examining the possibility of building the first
commercial HIsmelt plant in the United States. Rio Tinto will develop
infrastructure including a co-generation plant, an industrial gas plant
and water recycling facilities. All of these plants will be available
to other users on commercial terms. The HIsmelt technology represents
a quite different way of producing iron and steel using cheaper and lower
quality raw materials, like non-coking coal and iron ore with high impurity
levels. Mr Macfarlane has applauded the significant environmental improvements
of this new technology. "This process is capable of reducing greenhouse
gas emissions from traditional iron and steel making by between 20 and
50 per cent. The HIsmelt technology can also utilise and recycle some
of the wastes produced by steel plants," he said. The HIsmelt technology
doesn't use coke ovens, sinter plants or blast furnaces and emits no dioxins
or furans making it significantly more greenhouse friendly than current
operations. Through Rio Tinto's joint venture partners, there is a very
substantial opportunity for Australia's HIsmelt technology to become widely
adopted in China. Further, the technology could potentially be utilised
by steel makers world-wide, resulting in significant reductions of greenhouse
gas emissions related to global steel production.
(MARCH 2002)
SCIENTISTS WARN OF GLOBAL COINCIDENCE
Rising Temps, Oceans, and Greenhouse Gas Proof of Weird, Unrelated Happenings
- an amusing take on Global
Warming from Satirewire.com
[Article in full at http://www.satirewire.com/news/march02/coincidence.shtml
]
Washington, D.C.? Sea levels swelled, but still they doubted. Temperatures
soared, but still they questioned. Glaciers disappeared, yet even so,
they refused to believe. But now, the sudden disintegration of a massive
Antarctic ice shelf may convinced even the most hardened skeptics that
Earth
truly is threatened by Global Coincidence. "If there was before,
there can be no doubt now that there is one very obvious reason why all
these things are happening," said Dr. Milton Suter of the Center
for Climatological Happenstance.
"And that reason is: Because
they are."
The numbers supporting Global Coincidence, Suter insisted, don't lie.
In the last 100 years, while carbon dioxide and methane emissions have
surged, the world's average land surface temperature has risen 1.0ºF,
and the oceans have risen 6 to 8 inches. "For most people, that would
be enough," Suter noted. "I mean, right there, all that adds
up to a pretty strange coincidence."
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