Group items tagged

"National Greenhouse Accounts Factors-July 2012"

Really clear and informative discussion about carbon accounting methods -how the two main methods work. Which is most effective - trading scheme or carbon tax?

"Global drought has not increased significantly over the past 60 years, a report in Nature has found. Previous assessments of global drought have relied on the Palmer Drought Severity Index, which only accounts for temperature, and does not consider sunlight, humidity or wind. These assessments have falsely indicated that global drought will increase as the planet warms. The paper's authors show that when these additional factors are included, worldwide drought has actual changed very little since 1950."

"More than 32 million people fled their homes last year because of disasters such as floods, storms and earthquakes - 98% of displacement related to climate change. Asia and west and central Africa bore the brunt. Some 1.3 million people were displaced in rich countries, with the US particularly affected. Floods in India and Nigeria accounted for 41% of displacement, according to the International Displacement Monitoring Centre and Norwegian Refugee Council"

"Buried in a little-noticed rule on microwave ovens is a change in the U.S. government's accounting for carbon emissions that could have wide-ranging implications for everything from power plants to the Keystone XL pipeline. The increase of the so-called social cost of carbon, to $US38 ($A40) a metric ton in 2015 from $US23.80, adjusts the calculation the government uses to weigh costs and benefits of proposed regulations. The figure is meant to approximate losses from global warming such as flood damage and diminished crops. (That figure also compares with the $A23 per tonne carbon tax in Australia.)"

"Gadgets get discarded at ever faster rates and account for millions of tons of consumer electronic waste every year. To feed production, more and more resources are claimed and we are beginning to suffer from the immense burden on the natural and social environment. What is the purpose of driving the technological advancement? Does it help us create something that will last? Where are we going so fast? We don't know. Or do we?"

"The timing was appropriately perverse. On the day that most listed Australian solar companies had finalised the release of a massive splash of red ink on their accounts, the result of a series of boom-bust cycles inspired by various state governments, Victoria decided to trigger another mini boom-bust cycle by becoming the latest, and presumably the last, to slash its solar feed in tariffs."

Developed by World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in collaboration with businesses worldwide, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol provides the foundation for more sustainable climate strategies and more efficient, resilient and profitable organizations.

The Contest is the project of the Real Food Media Project, a collaborative initiative using online movies and a web-based action center along with grassroots events around the country to spread the stories of sustainable food and farming. The Project is a program of Corporate Accountability International.

"The food the world wastes accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than any country except for China and the United States, according to a United Nations report."

"United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that the battle for global sustainability will be won or lost in the world's cities. Cities and urban areas are estimated to account for 80 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and more than half of the world's population live in them, so what we do in our urban centres will, to a large extent, define the future of our world. Governments are struggling to agree on action against climate change, but thankfully many city authorities are just getting on with tackling the problem as best they can. Element takes a look at what authorities in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch are expecting, how they are trying to minimise the damage and preparing for the worst, and how their plans shape up against those elsewhere."

"In its draft form, the fought-over paragraph declared that, to have the best chance of not exceeding the international target for global warming of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, society can burn no more than about 1 trillion tons of carbon, in the form of fossil fuels, and spew the resulting gases into the atmosphere. More than half that carbon budget has been used already. Moreover, the draft made it clear that if countries want to be safe and take account of other gases that are warming the planet, the carbon budget would be even less than a trillion tons. At the rate things are going, we will exceed the budget in 30 years or fewer."

"California's ambitious carbon cutting policies will start to pay off for residents of the state this month, as 'climate credits' of $29-40 are paid into their bank accounts. Customers of some of California's major energy firms will benefit from the payments, which will go to small businesses, schools, hospitals as well as individual customers."

"A common refrain by climate sceptics that surface temperatures have not warmed over the past 17 years, implying climate models predicting otherwise are unreliable, has been refuted by new research led by James Risbey, a senior CSIRO researcher. Setting aside the fact the equal hottest years on record - 2005 and 2010 - fall well within the past 17 years, Dr Risbey and fellow researchers examined claims - including by some members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - that models overestimated global warming. In a study published in Nature Climate Change on Monday, the team found that models actually generate good estimates of recent and past trends provided they also took into account natural variability, particularly the key El Nino-La Nina phases in the Pacific."

"Accountancy Age TV Insider Top Tip featuring Andrew Marris, chief executive of dcarbon8, on how to make your business truly sustainable."

"Your specification of locally made paper contributes significantly to Australia's social, economic and environmental future and wellbeing. For every tonne of Australian Paper that you specify, you can receive an independently assured statement of impact against triple bottom line metrics that are consistent with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Through our Tonne of Value Australian Paper can provide you with a reportable and credible triple bottom line paper account. Your decision to choose Australian made paper helps take risk out of your supply chain and shows your key stakeholders that you are a responsible organisation. One that aligns values with responsible actions, which can be shared with all stakeholders."

"Each year we save tens of thousands of people money on their home and business energy accounts by helping them to source a better deal on their electricity and gas. There are around 20 active energy retailers in Australia to choose from; Energy Watch is here to help you make an informed choice on which one fits your needs best"

"When we talk about greenhouse gases we usually talk about carbon dioxide. When media reports depict climate change, we invariably see the cooling towers of a coal power station. Which is fair, because carbon dioxide, or CO2, is the big one: nearly 75% of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions are carbon dioxide. Most of those come from the energy sector and the combustion of fossil fuels. But there are other gases involved in the greenhouse story. Methane and nitrous oxide are also contributors to Australia's greenhouse gas account. And both have a much greater impact on the atmosphere in terms of global warming than carbon dioxide."

"The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Technical Guidelines (NGER Technical Guidelines) assist corporations to understand and apply the NGER (Measurement) Determination 2008."