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April 2003In this issue: Archives of Past Issues
| Subscribe CRC NEWSClimate change dialogue In the second Australian Government – Business Climate Change Dialogue, business presented its views in mid-April on long-term greenhouse gas abatement and adaptation strategies. Business views were outlined in reports from five working groups made up of industry associations and representative groups. The Agriculture and Land Management Working Group’s report on Implications of Climate Change and Greenhouse Policy for Rural and Regional Australia sought Commonwealth support and commitment to a substantial research program to:
In a media release issued shortly before the Climate Change Dialogue Ministerial Roundtable, the Cattle Council of Australia separately called for a national research program to quantify the net impact of the beef industry on greenhouse gas emissions and abatement. The Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting is undertaking research in some of the areas of need identified by the Agriculture and Land Management Working Group and the Cattle Council of Australia. CRC for Greenhouse Accounting Research has made significant advances in understanding of:
While research currently being undertaken — by the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting and others — is directed toward some of the needs identified by the Agriculture and Land Management Working Group and the Cattle Council of Australia, it is clear that gaps remain. Further information: Government-Business Climate Change Dialogue reports CRC for Greenhouse Accounting research programs
Tell us how you use eCarbon News Help us make eCarbon News more useful for you. I have just joined the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting as its Communication Manager, and I would like to make eCarbon News as useful and as interesting as possible. Please let me know how you use eCarbon News, what you find most interesting, and any changes you would like to see. All suggestions will be welcomed. Email me today. Bruce Wright
Australia and the Kyoto Protocol The web site of the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting now includes links to relevant news items in the Australian media. Check Australian media coverage of Kyoto and greenhouse issues at http://www.greenhouse.crc.org.au/crc/ecarbon/news_aukyoto.htm
AUSTRALIAN NEWSIndustry dirty on cleanup Companies will be driven offshore if they are forced to pay a carbon tax, according to industry lobbyists who want the Government to pay companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Details: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6285819%255E462,00%20.html Energy transformed Australian Prime Minister John Howard launched one of the largest targeted scientific research programs in Australia’s history. It included the Energy Transformed Flagship to help position Australia as a world leader in clean, cost-efficient, reliable and secure energy supply and use. Details: http://www.csiro.gov.au/index.asp?type=mediaIndex&xml=mediaReleases&style=mediaReleases Car fuel efficiency The Australian automotive industry will introduce a Voluntary Code of Practice to improve the fuel efficiency of passenger vehicles by 18 percent by 2010, the Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Dr David Kemp, and the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Ian Macfarlane, announced. Details: http://www.ea.gov.au/minister/env/2003/mr15apr03.html Renewable energy The Federal Government announced a further allocation of more than $11 million in funding for four new renewable energy projects. Details: http://www.ea.gov.au/minister/env/2003/mr09apr303.html Councils reduce greenhouse emissions Thirty local government councils in the Australian state of Victoria receive awards under the Cities for Climate Protection program for their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Details: http://www.ea.gov.au/minister/env/2003/mr08apr03.html Past meets the future The historic Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne is now powered by solar energy, thanks partly to a grant under the Australian Federal Government’s $54 million Renewable Energy Commercialisation Program and a contribution from Melbourne City Council. Details: http://www.ea.gov.au/minister/env/2003/mr06apr03.html
WORLD NEWSClimate changeAdapting to climate change The World Bank has approved a Mainstreaming Adaption to Climate Change Project to help islands and low-lying states in the Caribbean adapt to climate change. Funding is coming from the World Bank's Global Environment Facility and governments in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean. Details: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20106244 Treasurers concerned Four US state and city treasurers and comptrollers, representing approximately $130 billion in investments, have expressed concern about the risks of climate change to long-term investments and have announced plans to hold a summit with other institutional investors to examine the issue. Details: http://www.enn.com/news/2003-04-16/s_3809.asp Water levels predicted to fall Water levels in the North American Great Lakes, the world's largest freshwater ecosystem, could drop by as much as 8 metres by 2030 as temperatures rise by as much as 11 degrees celsius as a result of global warming, according to a report released by the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Ecological Society of America and the David Suzuki Foundation. Details: Flooding fears Flooding, which already affects about one-fifth of Bangladesh, could increase by 40 per cent as heavier rainfall triggered by climate change swamps riverbanks, according to a report in New Scientist. Details: http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=1008 Emissions and energySenate to debate global warming The US Senate energy bill slowly winding through committee has been stripped of its climate change provisions, moving the debate over global warming to the Senate floor early in May. Details: http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030416-51244156.htm ‘No economic benefit’ in Kyoto The Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade has concluded Details: http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=257445 Wind turbines for Britain Hundreds of new wind turbines, both inland and offshore, are to be built Britain in the coming years as part of a grand design to generate 20 percent of energy from "renewable" supplies by 2020. Details: http://www.co2e.com/News/story.asp?StoryID=1080 White Paper on energy future A Government White Paper sets out the UK’s energy strategy up to 2050, including initiatives to reduce the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions 60 percent by that time. Details: Industry slashes emissions British industry proved far more adept at cutting carbon dioxide emissions than expected, slashing output by 13.5 million tons last year — almost three times above the targets made under climate change agreements, according to a government report. Details: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2926001.stm ‘No chance’ of meeting targets Details: http://politics.guardian.co.uk/green/story/0,9061,929046,00.html Defence of IPCC methods Ten U.N. scientists rebut criticisms published in The Economist of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's method for forecasting the economic development that drives industrial production and, consequently, emissions of the greenhouse gases scientists believe are behind global warming. Details: http://www.unfoundation.org/unwire/util/display_stories.asp?objid=32961 Canadian greenhouse emissions down Canada's greenhouse gas emissions declined in 2001 even though the economy grew, according to a new report by Environment Canada. The 1.3 per cent dip is being hailed as a turning point because it occurred while the economy grew 1.4 per cent. Details: Community investment Canada has announced a $1.27 million investment in a series of community-level actions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector. Details: http://www.ec.gc.ca/press/2003/030416_n_e.htm Fund for energy efficiency in buildings The Canadian province Alberta is set to establish a $100-million fund from which municipalities would be able to draw interest-free loans to overhaul public buildings to make them more energy efficient. Details: http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/story.asp? Energy companies questioned Canadian energy companies face shareholder questions about financial risks associated with curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Tax deals The New Zealand Government has made it easier for large emitters
of greenhouse gases to negotiate deals exempting them from a planned
carbon tax. OECD could cut energy The world's rich industrial countries could slash nearly a third of their energy use by 2010 by using more energy-efficient electrical appliances, the International Energy Agency said. Details: http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/20517/story.htm Fuel-efficiency proposal rejected The US House of Representatives rejected a proposal that would have toughened fuel-economy standards by requiring cars and light trucks to use 5 per cent less fuel by 2010. Details: http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=1005 Largest wind farm Iowa in the US may soon host the world's largest wind farm, after Govenor Tom Vilsack signed a measure removing regulatory hurdles to clear the way for a project by MidAmerican Energy Co for a 200-turbine facility in northern Iowa that would produce up to 310 megawatts of electricity. Details: http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=1009 Temporary tax on fossil fuels The Environment Ministry aims to introduce a new temporary tax on fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline in 2005 to reinforce Japan's efforts to curb global warming, ministry sources said. Details: http://www.co2e.com/News/story.asp?StoryID=1078 TradingEuropean trading In an effort to fight global warming, the European Union will launch an international greenhouse gas trading market in 2005. Details:
PUBLICATIONSCarbon transactions An Overview of Carbon Transactions: General Characteristics and Specific Peculiarities - This report aims to shed light on the project characteristics of the first traceable 100 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents intended for contracting under the project-based mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol. Abstract and report at: http://www.ecn.nl/library/reports/2003/c03022.html
CONFERENCES/WORKSHOPSTechnology transfer The workshop on enabling environments for technology transfer, on 9 and 10 April 2003 at Ghent University, Belgium, was organised by the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in collaboration with the Center for Sustainable Development, Ghent University. Summary: http://www.iisd.ca/linkages/climate/cghen Upcoming conferencesSustain 2003 - The World Sustainable Energy Exhibition & Conference, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 13-15 May 2003. Details: http://www.sustain2003.com International Conference On Energy And The Environment, Shanghai, China, 22-24 May 2003. Details: http://www.gwu.edu/%7Eeem/ICEE/firstpagenew.htm XIVth Global Warming International Conference an Expo: Extreme Events & Energy, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Management, Boston, US, 27 May to 29 May 2003. Details: http://www.GlobalWarming.Net UNFCCC SB-18, Bonn, German, 1-12 June 2003. Details: http://www.unfccc.int Advanced Institute on Urbanisation, Emissions and the Carbon Cycle, NCAR, Boulder, CO, US, 4 August to 22 August 2003. Details: afreise@agu.org European Emissions Trading 2003 Details: http://www.iqpc.com/cgi-bin/templates/105033148542010498046800001/genevent.html?topic=168&event=3331 Search for upcoming conferences or list details of your conference: http://www.greenhouse.crc.org.au/gcec
ON A LIGHTER NOTEDry conundrum The paper wasting towel or the energy-sucking hot-air dryer? What
to do with kitty litter? Will the ozone layer ever recover? Get
answers to all these and more – or send in your own question
- to Greenhouse Q&A at Planet Slayer!
Suzy Becker, Grist Magazine, 11 April 2003 http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha080299.asp?source=daily
© 2003 CRC for Greenhouse Accounting Please notify the Communication Manager, Bruce Wright, if you have public information suitable for this mailing list (or wish to subscribe/unsubscribe). The CRC and its partners cannot accept responsibility for the views contained in public information received and posted on this list. The CRC attempts to reference the origin of the information provided in these news updates as accurately as possible to encourage Internet users to explore primary sources.
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