An Unsustainable Winning Streak

As Australia claims the most medals at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games, it gets a far less illustrious global ranking among the 10 most unsustainable countries on the planet. The study, commissioned by WWF, measures the amount of natural resources needed to sustain a person’s lifestyle, including energy, transport, food and infrastructure. Australia ranked eighth in the study and those with a worse footprint are the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Denmark, Belgium, the United States, Estonia and Canada. In contrast, we heard positive things from Climate Change Minister Greg Combet at the Carbon Expo in Melbourne, which we attended this week and also heard from China’s eloquent carbon supremo Dr Hu Tao. We also picked up good news from Climate Friendly, the Energy Efficiency Council, ACF, Intelligent Pathways & Carbon Conscious. Off to a promising start is the Carbon Market Institute, MBD with its algae bio-sequestration and the Biofuels Association of Australia. Greenroofs tops off things in style with its national conference coming up, Portugal shows its plans for an eco-city and Singapore – where we have also just visited again – offers some good advice on planning sustainable urban centres, even with butterflies rampant in Orchard Road. And back to the top theme: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) say we’re paying for it with the earth. Conservation is an investment, not a cost! – Ken Hickson