It might be the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and the global leader in energy consumption, but China is rapidly rising as an international leader in investment and manufacturing in the clean tech sector. It just goes from strength to strength, writes Ken Hickson in the latest issue of Australia China Connections, the Bilateral Business Bulletin. He also reports on the current trade mission to China by Australia’s solar city Townsville.

China has passed the US this year to become the world’s biggest energy consumer, according to new data from the International Energy Agency, which reflects both China’s decades-long burst of economic growth and its rapidly expanding clout as an industrial giant.

China is also rapidly rising as a world leader in investment and manufacturing in the clean tech sector.

While Australia might not figure large in global terms for investment in clean tech, it is seen as a place of innovation and inventiveness. The quality of its research and development in clean tech makes it ideally placed to both attract investment in this sector but also to contribute to developments in massive manufacturing and consuming markets like China. (Remember that the solar giant Suntech had its beginnings in Australia).

Global investment in clean technology will rise 35 percent this year, according to a report published by research firm Datamonitor. New Energy Finance predicted global clean tech investment in 2010 would reach US$160 billion, compared with $125 billion in 2009

The Cleantech Group says investment in this sector fell in 2009, but it fared better than many other industries and has overtaken biotech and IT as the largest venture capital investment categories.

While US dominance of the sector slipped to 62 percent of investments against 72 percent in 2009, China saw its share of global clean tech investment rise to 6 percent.

China also boasted the largest Merger and Acquisition deals (in clean tech/energy) over the past year, with 23 transactions worth a total of US$5.4 billion.

China has initiated new laws that require its power grids to buy power from renewable plants and wind farms, or face very stiff fines. This will result in even more investment in the renewable energy sector.

There is little doubt that China is rapidly becoming a leader in the new green industrial revolution, following the example of Germany, which has also managed to maintain a strong position in manufacturing (note its automobile industry leadership).

In the global Clean Tech Survey by Cleantech Investor and Norton Rose, the US, followed by China, are seen as the countries that will benefit most from private equity driven investment in clean tech. The same survey noted that energy efficiency is the sub-sector expected to attract the most money in the immediate short term, with wind generation and solar next on the list.

China will also find that it has increasing opportunities to invest in clean tech beyond its borders, and Australia is crying out for outside investment in a sector heavily represented by innovation and energy, but lacking sufficient Government recognition and incentives.

What do we mean by Cleantech?

Energy generation – solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, hydro, wave & tidal

Energy Efficiency – building efficiency, smart grids, waste heat recovery

Energy storage – transport & stationary applications

Waste recycling – organic matter, plastics & electronics

Emissions reduction – trading & offsetting, filter systems & technology, carbon emissions & foot-printing

Water – waste water filtration, desalination, water saving/efficiency

Clean tech materials – biodegradable materials & packaging

Clean tech enabling systems – clean combustion technology, measuring & control technology

Next generation biofuels – algae & cellulosic ethanol

From Townsville with Love and Clean Energy

Every day of every week there are trade missions from all parts of the world descending on China’s cities determined to exploit the opportunities to learn and do business. But few would be as determined as a Townsville group to get a sustainability business message across and see where its particular clean and green applications and innovations can find a home in China writes Ken Hickson.

Townsville in tropical north Queensland seems a long way – in more ways than one – from the bustling and booming cities of China, like Shanghai, Changshu and Dezhou. But there’s growing interest from a bunch of enthusiastic and innovative businesses from the small city of less than 200,000 to explore opportunities in China.

Twenty Townsvillians are braving language and cultural differences to embark on a business and life-changing experience, on a mission this month (September) to attend the Solar City Congress in Dezhou and visit the rapidly expanding solar city, as well as visit the World Expo in Shanghai and the “big-sister” city of Changshu.

Lying in the Yangtze Delta, which is the most economically developed area of China, Changshu enjoys the advantage of being adjacent to Shanghai, the economic center of China, and other big cities such as Suzhou, Wuxi and Nantong. With a mild climate and fertile land, it has a good harvest every year, thus got its name as Changshu, meaning “good harvest all the time”.

But the Townsville delegation to China is not only visiting its sister city – with a population of 1.2 million – but also focussing a lot of attention on Dezhou Solar City where 80 percent of the city has solar hot water. And that’s the venue for the Dezhou Solar City Congress.

Solar and the heat from the sun is important to Townsville, not only because it is in the tropics and has a thriving tourist industry due to its location close to the world heritage listed Great Barrier Reef, but because it is one of Australian’s dedicated solar cities.

Its solar city status and commitment to a renewable energy future contrasts with its role as a major port for export of mineral concentrates and sugar, and its proximity to the rich North-West Minerals Province, which collectively contribute more than A$10 billion to the economy each year.

The solar project, which largely revolves around the off shore Magnetic Island, trials a range of initiatives that aim to reduce wasteful energy usage, increase solar energy usage and cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50,000 tonnes.

The Townsville team’s visit to Changshu will include visits to nearby solar  technology plants, including one of the famous Suntech facilities in China, founded  in 2001 by leading solar scientist Dr. Zhengrong Shi, who, Australians  like to remind the world, was educated at the University of New South Wales where he developed his particular “brand” of solar technology.

Aside from the Dezhou Solar Congress, the trade mission will also visit several big companies in Dezhou related to renewable energies: Himin Group, Bright Air-conditioning Co., Ltd., Jupiter Wind Composites Co., Ltd., Zhongli New Energy Science Co., Ltd. and Century Wind Energy Equipment Co., Ltd. 

Dezhou is also home to the “One million solar roofs” and “solar bathrooms in thousand villages” project. Almost all downtown residential buildings have solar water heaters on their roofs – with an impressive view of one million solar roofs proof of Dezhou’s dedication towards being a world solar city.

Learning from China as well as exploring opportunities for trade in products and services in the clean tech sector will be the main purpose of the visit and the Townsville team includes some very innovative and enterprising tropical Queensland businesses, including Ergon Energy’s Solar City Manager Ian Cruickshank who will exchange experiences at the conference on Townsville’s Solar City.

Other Queensland businesses being represented through the Townsville mission to the Dezhou Solar conference include project management consultancy Revere Projects, Allsafe Energy Efficiencies Products, rock and solar geology exploration company Rocsol, VRM Biologic, Funnel shipping business, My Clean Sky (a carbon offset provider specialising in air travel), sustainability consulting firm SEA O2, Cafalo, boutique ecological design & project management firm Zingspace as well as representatives from the Townsville City Council.

For all the articles in the latest issue of Australia China Connections, go to the website:

Source: www.chinaconnections.com.au

How a Typical Family Can Cut Carbon Footprint by 85%

Volvo Car Corporation has entered into a partnership to test whether a typical family can cut their carbon footprint by more than 85% by switching to more sustainable housing, transport and energy solutions.‘One Tonne Life’ is a joint project involving three Swedish companies – house builder A-hus, energy supplier Vattenfall and Volvo Cars.

The Auto Channel reports (27 September 2010):

Volvo Car Corporation has entered into a partnership to test whether a typical family can cut their carbon footprint by more than 85% by switching to more sustainable housing, transport and energy solutions.

‘One Tonne Life’ is a joint project involving three Swedish companies – house builder A-hus, energy supplier Vattenfall and Volvo Cars. It aims to show how households can cut their CO2 consumption from today’s global average rate of seven tonnes per person per year, to a more sustainable one tonne per person per year – the figure experts believe will minimise the human impact on long-term climate change.

The project will ‘recruit’ an ordinary Swedish family to live in an energy-efficient A-hus house and drive the electric C30 for six-months. Meanwhile experts from Chelmer University will track their energy usage to see how the new technology changes their habits and improves energy efficiency.

The house will feature state-of-the-art insulation and ventilation systems, plus solar power for hot water, heating and electric appliances. Meanwhile, energy supplier Vattenfall will contribute new technology to measure the family’s electricity consumption in real time.

The family’s Volvo C30 DRIVe Electric will, meanwhile, offer the same safety, comfort and interior space as a conventional petrol or diesel car, but emit no CO2 at all as it is charged using renewable electricity. Powered by a lithium-ion battery that is recharged via a regular wall socket, a full charge takes about eight hours and gives a range of up to 90 miles.

Participation in the ‘One Tonne Life’ project gives Volvo cars the opportunity to study how the electric car fits in with a modern family’s lifestyle.

Paul Gustavsson, manager of electrification strategy at Volvo Cars, said: “We will draw immense benefit from the project in our on-going development of electric cars. We will get clear information about what we need to deliver so that buyers feel that a battery-powered car is attractive and cost-effective to drive and own.”

“One Tonne Life will demonstrate in concrete terms what it means for a family to live with a far smaller carbon dioxide footprint. With the right know-how, the right technology and a consistent attitude, we believe it is possible to approach the one-tonne target already today – and without making any major sacrifices to one’s regular lifestyle,” says Torbjorn Wahlborg, Managing Director of energy provider Vattenfall Nordic Region.

“Much of the technology and the solutions we are giving the family are already available to the public or will be in the very near future. So in other words, this is no far-fetched science-fiction project but rather utilisation of what is ready, here and now,” he concluded.

The house is currently being constructed in Hasselby Villastad in the western parts of Stockholm and the hunt has begun for a family to move in from early 2011

Source: http://www.theautochannel.com and  www.onetonnelife.com

The Last Word – A Tribute to Don Norton

It’s is hard saying goodbye to a friend. I did a week ago and I did again this week at his funeral. Don Norton lived a good life and a full life. You would hardly call him an environmentalist, as he was someone who spent most of his career working in the resources industry. But in recent times – all the time I have known him – he has been selling the virtues of Envirofriendly, an innovative liquid waste solution, produced in Brisbane, which dramatically “saves water, saves money and eliminates waste problems” . Different people make an impression on you. Don is one such person. Here I’ve put together something of Don and his contribution, based on his words, those of his dear wife Maree and former work colleagues. Read More

Ian Dymock, in an eulogy at Don’s funeral on Wednesday 29 September 2010, had this to say:

“I met Don in the mid-1980’s when he was the PR manager of BHP Petroleum and I was PR manager of BHP Coal; although we lived in separate states for many years, we often caught up with each other over a beer or two, and quite often with our mutual friend and colleague John Devers, PR manager of BHP Steel, who also joins us here today.

“Don was a remarkable character, and it never failed to impress me how he was prepared to take on something new and challenging, both personally and professionally, without a backward glance. In fact, it was only earlier this year that he asked me to join him on a business venture that was to take him into unchartered new territory; when I questioned our mutual lack of expertise in this area, he merely said – “well, we’ll both learn from the experience, won’t we?

Since coming to realise he had a “death sentence” some months ago  - the terminal illness of leukemia – Don decided he would  put pen to paper in a document he called “My Life”. Part of it was read at his funeral and a full copy passed to me:

“Maree and I had a discussion about how the story of my life should be put together and we both felt it might be better if I wrote it myself as I had actually been through it all. I also had the time, and hopefully I can remember most of the major events in my life.

“The other great thing is that I can also edit it, if required, to make it sound better – or even more interesting, but I will try to keep it as I remember it and try to keep it short and not to put you all to sleep.

“I was born in Hartford Hospital on 1 July 1946, to Muriel, nee Lely, and William, [Bill], Norton and joined my brother David who is five and a half years older than me. Both families can proudly trace their family trees back many centuries and can count many luminaries on its branches. Gregory Norton, the governor of the tower of London, signed King Charles the First’s death warrant. When his son Charles the Second came to the throne from Holland, he brought Sir Peter Lely with him as his court painter. 

“Robert Peele, a prime minister and the inventor of the postage stamp and the policeman was also a member of the Lely family. My father Bill had been an accountant on tea plantations in China and Indonesia prior to World War II. During the war, he joined Mountbatten’s intelligence team and worked at Bletchley Park deciphering the Enigma code. After the war he went up to London as a Stockbroker.

“My early recollections are of a happy life living in a relatively big and comfortable house, and a range of Swiss girls who came to look after us over a number of the early years.

“My life as a Tonbridge public school boy was unremarkable and I certainly did not set any records for academic achievement. My exam results were such that it was felt by my parents that I might achieve the required levels in a couple of subjects at a more focused local College of Further Education rather than continue at an expensive public school. This proved to be a masterstroke as I passed my subjects in one term and was also able to live at home after eleven years or so at boarding school.

“This was followed by a period at Grenoble University in France – no historical English establishments for me – after my brother seemed to have had a wonderful time five years previously, and I think put in a good word with the parents. I did learn to speak French and gain a good early grounding in life as well.”

Don’s dear wife Maree, took up the pen and provided further insight into the man and his mission in life, particularly his career highlights:

“Don was a sailing instructor on the English west coast before he drifted into public affairs with the assistance of a friend’s father. But by 1967, at the age of 21, his feet became itchy and he wanted to move on.

“He set his sights on Canada, till he reached Canada House in London. Finding a very long queue, and being his adventurous self, he went across the road to Australia House and arranged his 10-pound fare to a new country and a new life.

“Don loved being around boats, and on arrival in Australia, he worked for P&O; the sailing bug bit again and he set off crewing a tall Ship, “The New Endeavour” around the Great Barrier Reef.  

“When he finally hit land he found himself in Capella, in Central Queensland, and spent a number of months working on a farm till he bought an old MG and made his way down the East coast until he reached Melbourne.

“During his time in New Zealand – working in Auckland and Christchurch – Don had returned to a career in Public relations. He eventually moved back to Australia and worked initially with BP and when he moved to Woodside Petroleum, and in 1984 to work with BHP Petroleum as their public affairs manager.

“Don left BHP in 1997 to work for himself as a consultant, working with Sedexo France, Hamiltons, Hancock Coal, Anaconda, Geo Dynamics, and Peabody Coal to name a few.”

Here’s a description Don gave me a few months ago which describes the work he was doing through his business, Norton Associates, and which also reflected his past work:

“Norton Associates provides advice to clients on Reputation Management, a vital, hard won, commercial asset and one which companies squander at their peril.

“We work with companies, organisations to develop the desired reputation and brand among all stakeholders using a wide range of appropriate communications strategies, practices and tools to achieve the results that meet with a company’s objectives.

“We can also assist established companies and organizations with recognised brands and reputations to determine if these are in line with stakeholder perception. We will work with the company’s management and staff to implement all or various aspects of the reputation audit and/or development program.

“We also work with companies, organisations and groups to develop plans and strategies to protect a hard won reputation. We conduct an initial audit process and report in the first instance to allow an organisation to understand its risks and determine the level of preparedness it may choose to deal with possible issues or emergencies.

“We can prepare appropriate plans, assist in implementing those plans, train staff and provide on site support to the company in the event of an incident, emergency or crisis. We also provide a social impact assessment and planning service for companies in the resource sector. Norton Associates has many years experience in this area gained through working for a range of national and international clients.”

Besides his work and his love of golf and sailing, Don has been a wonderful father to two boys – now strong young men – Jeremy, living in America and Mark, living in Perth.

Jeremy has already been doing some great work to help Don get the Envirofriendly product into North and South America.

Maree, his dear wife, is also committed to continue the work Don has started, and she will manage the product distribution for Envirofriendly here and overseas.

Here’s a more personal message from me (Ken Hickson), based on some of the things I said to Don in a personal note a week before he died. So often we say things about someone when they’re gone. I wanted him to hear it/read it from me while he was still very much alive:

“I felt bad yesterday discussing business with you both when doctors and nurses were coming and going and obviously you were having trouble even breathing, but I think you are both excited about the prospects for Singapore. 

“I want to say to you Don that I am determined to continue the good work that you have started for Envirofriendly, and I will do all I can to not only promote the product in Singapore, but to help get Maree into the scheme of things so she can not only enjoy it but also benefit from the business development work.

“You have done some wonderful work over the years and I am surprised that our pathways have not crossed before last year, even though we have had somewhat similar work experiences.

 “But I want you to know how much you will be missed by me. How much I have enjoyed our times together – the personal chats and the business planning – and I will do my best to follow your example: To communicate well. To deal in a firm but friendly fashion with all I do business with.

“I want you to know from me that you move on knowing you have made a great contribution to this world – through your work, through your personality, through your values and your commitment to the good things in life.  Your dear wife (and your sons) will also continue to follow your great example as well.

“Go quietly and go well. You have done your life’s work.”

If anyone would like to know more about Don Norton and his work, or make contact with his family, please let me know. – Ken Hickson

Source: www.abccarbon.com

Time will tell, but we are quite convinced that the very public intervention by BHP’s Marius Kloppers will turn out to be a crucial turning point for Australia and its climate change response. Timed to coincide with a new Government finding its feet – emboldened by a stronger Green component – and with a Mining Tax geared to suit the big miners, the commitment from the big resources end of town makes it look quite certain that a price on carbon will be in place before long. There’s plenty to talk about this week, with a focus on business and building. It is World Green Building Week, so fresh from the global congress in Singapore, reports of so much that is happening on the construction site. Clean tech gets more deserved space, with a major Singapore commitment to R&D and innovation, along with an assessment of Australian sector investment, as well as what’s happening in China. Sustainability Indexes get a look in, along with global aviation moves to cut emissions. Melbourne is streets ahead with a green zone drive and the greenest Pixel building ever seen.  A new acronym – PES – crops up and Paddy Manning has his say on long awaited climate action. We have lift-off! – Ken Hickson

Profile: Marius Kloppers

His very public assertion of BHP’s preferred political response to climate change caught Australia by surprise. CEO Marius Kloppers’ acknowledgement of  the reality of the impact of carbon emissions on climate and his equally blunt assertion of the policy settings required to deal with the issue have attracted slightly stunned endorsement or blunt scorn. He is providing the leadership from big business that has been lacking to date.

Matthew Stevens in The Australian (18 September 2010):

YOU wouldn’t call it a conversion on the road to Damascus so much as a confirmation on the way home from Copenhagen.

On Wednesday, Marius Kloppers confirmed BHP Billiton was a supporter of the mainstream view on climate science and recommended that Australia embrace a “mosaic” of policy responses based on the prompt introduction of a carbon tax, even if that meant we moved to efficiently price emissions before our international peer group.

From the moment the Copenhagen climate summit collapsed last December under the predictable weight of national economic self-interest, Kloppers set about ensuring BHP would be properly primed for the renewal of the debate over how to price carbon in Australia.

From BHP’s perspective, Copenhagen proved that nations would act in their own interests on emissions. It also established the validity of individual, purpose-built responses to the climate challenge. Essentially it said the debate had moved away from the “silver bullet” responses being promoted by academic economists and that national interest and pragmatism had won the day.

Without the possibility of global consensus on emissions trading and carbon pricing, Australia’s proposed emissions trading scheme, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, looked as politically improbable as it was essentially economically irrational.

Kloppers’ public assertion of BHP’s preferred political response to climate change caught Australia by surprise. His plain English acknowledgement of BHP’s long-standing position on the reality of the impact of carbon emissions on climate and his equally blunt assertion of the policy settings required to deal with the issue have attracted slightly stunned endorsement or blunt scorn.

It’s a strange world where Bob Brown’s Greens and Tony Maher’s coal union find themselves in alignment with BHP while the Coalition is left in an angry lather about what it perceives as a sudden shift in the miner’s attitude.

Needless to say, none of them seems yet to fully appreciate what Kloppers has promoted. The Greens hear him talk about a carbon tax and the necessity of properly pricing emissions and little more. The noise from the Opposition reflects not only a worrying ignorance of BHP’s consistent views on emissions management but a similar failure to actually go to the source material and attempt to digest and appreciate the complexity of the BHP position.

Like so many of the core strategies that have shaped the modern BHP, the approach to climate change was established in the early 2000s by then boss Paul Anderson. A former heavy in the US gas industry (and now a director of BP), Anderson asserted that climate science was authentic; carbon pricing was coming; a carbon tax was the only way to go; and BHP needed to “get involved or get trodden on”.

When he left, the greenhouse nettle was grasped by Chip Goodyear, who went on to articulate a climate change policy and in 2005 committed to spending $US300 million on emissions mitigation. A year later BHP had formalised greenhouse targets and established reporting standards that are reported annually in its sustainability report.

In the end, though, for all its quiet commitment to the emissions management task, BHP felt it had been caught flat-footed by the rapid redirection of Australian industry policy in the wake of Kevin Rudd’s election in November 2007. And nowhere was that more apparent (until the super-profits tax debacle, at least) than in the rapid and comparatively isolated progress of the Garnaut Climate Change Review.

The fact that the Garnaut process ran ahead of any debate reflects, in part, its strange genesis but also that industry was working to a completely different set of rules to the newly elected Rudd.

Garnaut’s review, you may recall, was created by Rudd and the state premiers in April 2007, while the Queenslander was still in Opposition. It was then something of a sideshow until Rudd’s election in November. But by then, Garnaut had a full head of steam.

In what became a fairly familiar story during Rudd’s prime ministership, before industry really had a chance to properly articulate its individual or collective views, the Garnaut report steamrolled through the green paper and white paper stages and by the end of 2008 Australia was on the way to embracing the slick, elegant European emissions solution: a giant trading scheme.

But when Rudd’s progress to an ETS was interrupted by the Copenhagen debacle and the trickiness of the Greens, BHP was back in the game. And this time it was ready to get very much on the front foot by first plainly articulating and then strongly promoting its preferred approach.

To do that, Kloppers called in the recently appointed boss of Heath, Safety, Environment and Community, Ricus Grimbeek — one of a community of South Africans at the pointy end of BHP.

Grimbeek’s task was to ready BHP for the return of carbon pricing to the political agenda. Kloppers wanted a very specific, totally informed program that expressed the company’s point of view and supported that view in deep detail. Kloppers insisted that it was time to move beyond general platitudes about climate change and corporate life. Rather he wanted Canberra to be presented with a fully formed, simply expressed, platform of carbon mitigation initiatives.

It is said at BHP that, from December until Wednesday, Grimbeek has “put in man-years of work” in capturing and digesting all the available underlying data on climate change policy around the globe and in assessing what can work and what can’t work.

The response Grimbeek, Kloppers and the rest of the senior BHP management settled upon is supported, rather typically, by six simple principles. It sends a clear price signal, it is revenue neutral, it is trade friendly, broad based, predictable and gradual in transition and it is simple and effective.

The platform is built on the idea that through a direct, simply constructed carbon tax, the federal government can become a clearing house to reprice carbon and then recycle the funds generated back to the energy users.

It is not, in other words, a great big new tax. It is merely a means of forcing a pricing disincentive on energy use and, at the same time, a pricing incentive to make more carbon-friendly energy choices over the medium and long term.

For example, it will encourage generators to invest in combined cycle gas-fired power stations rather than coal stations. And that will leave Australia more cost-competitive when the rest of our trading world starts pricing carbon properly.

The trade friendliness is built around the idea that carbon tax generated by exports will be rebated until there is a level playing carbon playing field. This means Australia might successfully reduce its emissions while not undermining the ability of its exporters to compete globally.

While refuting the effectiveness of a broad-based ETS, mostly because of its indescribable and constraining complexity, the BHP plan recommends a trading scheme for the electricity sector, which speaks for 51 per cent of Australian emissions.

And finally, the BHP scheme would seem to be predicated on the idea that where carbon pricing won’t change consumer habits, then you have to regulate. So government has to get down and prescribe the way we construct our homes and the efficiency of the services we install in them.

Now, if you think this is a strange level of detail for BHP to be burying itself in, then you would have been right until about three years ago. Before Rudd’s election, it would have been unimaginable that the simplifying Global Australian would go to such efforts to establish itself a base camp at the broadest points of the climate change issue. But one of legacies of the ill-fated Rudd government is an erosion of confidence in the quality of the governance of the commonwealth.

Over 25 years federal governments from both sides have reinforced a consultative, reforming pragmatism that encourages business to maintain an historically light and deeply confidential engagement with Canberra. But the days of quiet are over.

Source: www.theaustralian.com.au

Mathew Murphy in The Age (21 September 2010):

LESS than a week after BHP Billiton chief Marius Kloppers called for immediate action on climate policy, a world report card has given his company a B grading for its carbon-management policies, ranking it lower than rival Rio Tinto.

The Carbon Disclosure Project, which represents 534 institutional investors with more than $64 trillion of assets under management, has found that 85 per cent of leading companies had entrusted board members or senior executives with responsibility for climate policy, up from 82 per cent a year earlier.

The report ranked National Australia Bank as the best-performing of the Australian companies, scoring 93/100 or ninth of all companies globally. Rio Tinto scored 89/100 and a B grading, putting it among the top handful of companies in the materials index.

The scores, which are based on consideration of business-specific risks related to climate change and good internal data management of emissions, put BHP further back with a score of 71/100. Companies scoring above 70 are considered to have achieved a high grade.

The report found that Australian companies were still lagging behind the rest of the world – only 40 per cent of S&P/ASX 200 Index companies had emission reduction targets, compared to an average of 70 per cent for the Global 500. The top 200 Australian companies lagged in every indicator except the percentage of companies that perceived regulatory risks associated with climate policy (69 per cent of ASX 200 companies compared with 66 per cent of the Global 500).

Chief executive of the Investor Group on Climate Change Nathan Fabian said Australian companies should follow Mr Kloppers’s lead on the mitigation of greenhouse gases.

”It is a positive that BHP is describing their policy view. We need all leading companies to do that. Keeping quiet on the issue won’t make it go away or aid a smooth policy transition,” he said. ”Part of the score is calculated on the public position of companies. Determining the policy for your company should not be underestimated, but that does not get the company to a strong position on abatement or mitigation and every company that is emissions exposed is going to have to go through that hard process.

”I think the global results are showing that companies around the world are getting on with the job. Even in the US, which you would argue has had substantial regulatory uncertainty, the S&P 500 numbers increased by a substantial amount,” Mr Fabian said.

BHP Billiton is due to release its annual sustainability report tomorrow. It is expected to show that its greenhouse gas emissions have reduced from 51.7 million tonnes in 2008 to 45.9 million tonnes. This is tracking at 93.2 per cent of its 2006 levels, meaning it has, in effect, already met its 2012 target of reducing emissions by 6 per cent.

Mr Kloppers’s intervention on carbon policy mirrors a global trend – 80 per cent of companies surveyed said they were engaging with policymakers, up from 71 per cent a year earlier

Source: www.theage.com.au

From the 2010 BHP Billiton Sustainability Framework

The issues associated with climate change continue to be a challenge for governments, communities and industry around the world. The urgency and complexity of these issues require responses from all of us. BHP Billiton shares the view that the rational choice is to accept that the mainstream science is right in pointing to high risks from unmitigated climate change.

Risks of climate change may include changes in rainfall patterns, water shortages, rising sea levels, increased storm intensities and higher average temperature levels, which may result in damages to crops, buildings, infrastructure and ecosystems.

As a global community we have the potential to reduce the worst impacts of climate change, and clearly the greatest benefits will come from acting early. Alliances to tackle this challenge will need to cross national and cultural boundaries, but the developed world has a clear leadership responsibility in achieving a global approach.

Scientists tell us the world must aim to stabilise global carbon dioxide concentrations in the range of 450 parts per million to avoid the most severe impacts. An international climate framework must establish binding commitments for all developed and major developing economies if real reductions in emissions are to be achieved.

From our perspective, the key principles for an effective international response include:

• A global regime that prices carbon to allow enough certainty for investment in new technology and abatement opportunities to occur while still promoting economic growth.

• Strong measures to help avoid deforestation and fund reforestation (large landholders like BHP Billiton have a role to play here).

• Support for the poorest countries in adapting to the physical impacts of climate change and pursuing low carbon pathways to development through energy efficiency or the adoption of alternative energy technologies.

• Business leadership and ingenuity is critical to achieving low carbon growth and, as a major resources company, we are committed to playing our part.

In addressing this and other issues affecting all of us, we appreciate that governments have to consider the needs of industry and communities as well as the global implications.

Carbon Pricing Protocol

BHP Billiton maintains an internal mechanism for costing carbon and determining carbon price impacts on Greenfield and brownfield developments, and on mergers and acquisitions.

The Carbon Pricing Protocol includes a range of prices for developed and developing countries based on likely scenarios of government requirements and technology deployment, as well as the associated costs and economic impacts. Our valuations for investment decisions and planning processes include the expected impacts of carbon emissions (both cost and price impacts). The Carbon Pricing Protocol is updated annually to reflect internal and external carbon price modelling and proposed treatment of carbon permits in countries where we operate.

Source: www.bhpbilliton.com

China Tops Climate Stimulus Spending Spree

THE global climate change industry is now worth more than A$528bn, powered by China’s rise as one of the top nations for climate revenues. The HSBC research report shows that private sector climate-related investment in China, which had grown thirtyfold since 2004, coupled with focused climate stimulus spend, is set to propel China to the forefront of developments in the emerging low-carbon economy.

Sarah-Jane Tasker in the Australian (18 September 2010):

THE global climate change industry is now worth more than $528bn, powered by China’s rise as one of the top nations for climate revenues.

As the debate on setting a price on carbon in Australia continues, HSBC Global Research issued a report on climate change that showed the sector had proved resilient to the global slowdown, seeing less than a 0.9 per cent decline in revenues in 2009, as companies push ahead with plans despite political uncertainty over green policies.

“Despite concerns over the risks that governments may retreat from their pledges to deliver emission reductions and continuing uncertainty surrounding the withdrawal of regulatory incentives in key markets, global climate revenues have held up remarkably well and in 2009 stood at $US530bn for listed companies,” the report says.

The headline figure is greater than the global wireless telecoms services sector and comparable to the GDP of Switzerland, the report says.

The research also shows that private sector climate-related investment in China, which had grown thirtyfold since 2004, coupled with focused climate stimulus spend, is set to propel China to the forefront of developments in the emerging low-carbon economy.

HSBC says this will ultimately feed into the future growth of China’s economy.

“In terms of climate stimulus spend, China leads the pack, having already disbursed over 70 per cent of the funds it pledged two years ago,” the report says.

The climate change debate in Australia was reignited this week when BHP Billiton boss Marius Kloppers called for the nation to lead the way and introduce a carbon tax before any international agreement.

John Atkinson, the managing director of White Energy, which focuses on clean coal technology, said he did not believe that businesses needed certainty on carbon tax today.

“Other countries would be surprised if Australia took the lead on the issue,” he said. “I would’ve thought that the more sensible approach is for the major emitters to agree on the issue and then implement what they agree.”

But Mr Atkinson said it was good to have the debate, because the industry was not deterred by the political uncertainty and initiatives were being implemented on a global basis.

Just this week, White Energy announced that the US state of Kentucky had sought out the company to address an emissions problem around sulphur, offering White Energy accelerated permits and funding for low-sulphur fuel for the state’s coal-fired power generating companies.

“When people are faced with real problems, they look hard at trying to show they are doing something positive that can assist the situation long term,” he said.

The HSBC report reveals that over the past year, despite a number of key countries wavering on their commitments to addressing the issues of climate change, the number of companies engaged in providing climate-related goods, products and services grew to 367, a 140 per cent rise since 2004.

The research also highlights that firms in key industries, which HSBC identified as being critical to the emerging low-carbon economy, continue to focus on growing climate revenues, relative to their other businesses.

Vijay Sumon, an index specialist at HSBC Global Research, said in the climate change sector, energy efficiency and energy management remained key areas.

“Not only has this sub-sector performed well, but we predict that it is likely to continue to do so next year, as a beneficiary of further stimulus spend,” he said. “We see it as a no-regrets option, as it makes sense for businesses regardless of climate change.”

Source: www.theaustralian.com.au

Some Outstanding Profits in Australian Clean Tech Sector

The dark days of the clean tech sector in Australia may be getting brighter. Emerging environmental companies have turned in a mostly positive reporting season, including some outstanding profits. Solar energy installer and wind farm developer CBD Energy enjoyed a maiden profit with a $12.1m turnaround, going from a loss of $3.7m to a profit of $8.5m. The result was mainly due to its acquisition of eco-Kinetics. Victor Bivell of Eco Investor Magazine reports.

Victor Bivell in The Australian (17 September 2010):

The dark days of the clean tech sector may be getting brighter.

Emerging environmental companies have turned in a mostly positive reporting season, including some outstanding profits.

But the sector continues to show extraordinary volatility, and there is also bad news. Two companies are in receivership and a third has major debt issues and has been suspended.

Emerging environmental companies are stocks outside the ASX 300 index, but whose sales and, for the most part, profits place them ahead of the many microcaps that sell little and make even less.

It’s an attractive part of the market for many investors because the companies are well past their start-up phase. Some even pay dividends and are in striking distance of the ASX 300. But the sector has risks, and long-term success is still not assured.

The good news is that 12 of the 17 emerging stocks made a profit, and only two made a loss. In 2008-09, 10 out of 17 stocks made a profit and seven made a loss.

Four companies increased their profits, and four were able to turn the previous year’s loss into a profit. Four companies had reduced profits, one went from profit to loss, one reported a much greater loss, and three have more serious issues.

The biggest profit increase was by landfill gas developer Energy Developments, which repaid the faith of its private equity buyers and those investors who refused to sell into their takeover. Profit rose 347 per cent, from $3.6 million to $16.4m, on a 7 per cent rise in revenue, but the big changes were lower borrowing costs and much lower one-off costs.

Energy Developments was removed from the ASX 300 list after the majority private equity takeover because of its reduced liquidity.

Hazardous waste manager DoloMatrix enjoyed a 341 per cent turnaround, from a loss of $1.4m in 2008-09 to a profit of $3.4m. It also announced a maiden dividend of 1 cent per share.

Although revenue fell by nearly $3.5m, costs fell even more. DoloMatrix says recent acquisitions should contribute strongly in 2010-11.

Solar energy installer and wind farm developer CBD Energy enjoyed a maiden profit with a $12.1m turnaround, going from a loss of $3.7m to a profit of $8.5m.

The result was mainly due to its acquisition of eco-Kinetics. CBD is also paying a maiden dividend.

Used car battery and waste recycler Hydromet went from a loss of $3.3m to a profit of $3m as revenue jumped from $27.9m to $43.1m. But there was also a net gain on the revaluation of land and building of $2.5m.

Profit at environmental engineering group Clean TeQ jumped 160 per cent to $1.3m as revenue doubled to $17.1m.

The company said trading conditions had picked up after a difficult period due to the global crisis, and that continued investment in people and research had helped it to stay at the forefront of its industries. The outlook was good with significant potential business opportunities in all areas, it said.

Architectural sunshade maker Gale Pacific moved from a loss of $12m to a profit of $6m. The company reinstated its dividend and will pay 2c per share, 1c of which is a special dividend.

The company had strong sales growth of 10 per cent in Australia and 6 per cent in the US, and its China manufacturing plant improved performance.

This year the company will release a new waterproof outdoor material, and will focus on “branded screening and shading products for domestic, commercial and industrial applications”.

Among the companies that went backwards, profit at solar hot water and heat pump company Quantum Energy tumbled from $30.2m to $8.4m.

Revenue fell 24 per cent, or $26m, to $81.2m. But the cost of manufacture fell only $12.8m, and employee benefits, loss on the fair value of financial assets, and impairment of receivables cost another $6.9m.

The directors said the decrease in profit was due to changes in government incentives. However, the company was focused on new sales and distribution channels and these should “facilitate a strong performance in the financial year 2011″, it said. Landfill gas and wind farm owner Viridis Clean Energy reported a loss of $64.1m after a loss in 2008-09 of $19.3m.

The size of the loss was mainly due to a charge of $73.6m for impairment of assets. Directors say they classified its main assets as “held for sale”, and wrote down their carrying value to reflect the three-month price of Viridis securities.

Viridis said it had a number of proposals for the sale of its assets.

Carbon sink developer CO2 Group reported a loss of $3.7m, a sharp deterioration from a 2008-09 profit of $600,000.

Although revenue rose from $14.8m to $22m, there was a $5m increase in plantation costs, and the postponement of the government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme led it to write down another $5.5m on intangible assets of its WA mallee plantings.

Three companies have not released results.

Metals recycler CMA Corporation’s shares have been suspended since February while its works through debt issues.

Ironically, the year’s biggest losers were two long-established companies with histories of rising sales, profits and dividends. These were the two mid-tier plantation forestry companies, Forest Enterprises Australia and Willmott Forests.

Both are in receivership due to the ongoing collapse of the managed investment scheme industry.

Victor Bivell is editor of Eco Investor magazine.

Source: www.ecoinvestor.com.au

Singapore Aims for Energy Resilience for Sustainable Growth

The Singapore Government commits S$16.1 Billion to support research, innovation and enterprise for the next 5 years and seeks ways to solve complex national challenges with R&D. A key challenge will be addressed by “Energy Resilience for Sustainable Growth”, which aims to develop cost-competitive energy solutions for deployment within 20 years to help Singapore improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and increase energy options.

Reported by Gov Monitor (19 September 2010), which is a leading global platform for internationally respected and innovative online news and information:

Singapore Government commits S$16.1 Billion to support research, innovation and enterprise for the next 5 years and seeks ways to solve complex national challenges with R&D.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Chairman of the RIEC, announced today that the Singapore government plans to spend S$16.1 billion over 2011-2015 on research, innovation and enterprise.

The Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC), comprising several Cabinet Ministers and eminent international leaders in science and technology, endorsed this allocation at the end of its fourth meeting today.

The new allocation was recommended by a Whole-of-Government exercise, and is a 20% increase over the S$13.55b committed from 2006 to 2010.

This reflects the growing importance of R&D in Singapore’s development as a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy.

Government to commit S$16.1 billion to support research, innovation and enterprise in the next 5 years

PM says Singapore’s long-term aim to be among the most research-intensive, innovative and entrepreneurial economies in the world in order to create high value jobs and prosperity for Singaporeans

R&D expertise to be harnessed to solve complex national challenges with global demand – “Energy resilience for sustainable growth” would be the first challenge to be addressed

PM Lee said: “Singapore’s long term aim is to be among the most research intensive, innovative and entrepreneurial economies in the world in order to create high value jobs and prosperity for Singaporeans. Research and innovation underpin the competitiveness of our industries, catalyse new growth areas, and transform our economy. Increasingly, intellectual capital will be critical for our next phase of economic development. Hence, the government will allocate S$16.1 billion to support research, innovation and enterprise activities in the next 5 years.”

In Sweden, Finland and Israel, private enterprises take the lead in R&D. Likewise, Singapore aims to increase gross expenditure to R&D of 3.5% of GDP by 2015 through greater private sector R&D activity, as recommended by the Economic Strategies Committee.

We want our R&D efforts to have greater economic impact, and create more high-value investments and jobs. We will do more to facilitate collaboration between industry and public research institutions to foster greater commercialization of R&D.

A larger portion of R&D funding will be awarded on a competitive basis to projects that will strengthen our capability and contribute to economic and societal outcomes. “We want to create an ecosystem of competition and collaboration across institutions and with industry, for the best ideas to thrive, succeed in the market, and impact people’s lives”, said Dr Tony Tan, Deputy Chairman of the RIEC.

Strengthening Singapore’s R&D Foundation

Members of the RIEC noted the transformation in Singapore’s R&D landscape. They also reviewed the progress of a range of activities initiated since the establishment of the RIEC and the National Research Foundation (NRF). Government ministries and agencies are more actively engaged in R&D and innovation to enhance service delivery and foster stronger economic growth.

Our universities have raised their international profiles for research excellence and academic entrepreneurship, attracting more partnerships and providing more opportunities to their students.

Renowned foreign institutions have set up a significant R&D presence in Singapore, helping Singapore to establish herself as a global R&D hub. This will help us to attract talent and generate intellectual property, and enhance our competitiveness in this increasingly globalised world. A*STAR’s research institutes have built up a spectrum of research capabilities to meet the technological needs of industry.

The RIEC also noted the substantial progress made in the three strategic research programmes – Biomedical Sciences Translational and Clinical Research (BMS TCR), Environmental and Water Technologies (EWT – Clean Water and Clean Energy), and Interactive and Digital Media (IDM). The RIEC was also pleased to see the early successes of the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), the Competitive Research Programme (CRP) Funding and projects under the National Framework for Innovation & Enterprise (NFIE).

The RIEC agreed that the R&D foundation will be strengthened through a more competitive funding process in the future, riding on the success of the earlier NRF initiatives.

Harnessing R&D to Address National Challenges

The RIEC discussed ways to harness the considerable R&D capabilities developed in Singapore over the years to achieve economic and social objectives. RIEC members noted that Singapore’s size, well-developed infrastructure and a highly efficient and integrated government enable our country to effectively tackle large, complex problems facing many cities. Our solutions will also be useful to other cities facing similar challenges in the same way as we have done in developing our water industry.

Over the past years, NRF has built up world-class R&D capabilities in a wide range of areas, such as energy resilience, transportation, environmental sustainability and urban systems, through initiatives such as the Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE), the Research Centres of Excellence (RCEs) and the Singapore NRF Fellowship. Deep technological knowledge also resides in our universities and research institutes.

The RIEC envisages the “National Innovation Challenge” as a way to harness multi-disciplinary research capabilities to encourage innovations and cost competitive solutions. It therefore supports NRF’s proposal to focus on developing solutions to a few large, complex national challenges facing Singapore as a major new R&D thrust for the next 5 years.

A coordinated effort to marshal the diverse R&D expertise to address complex national challenges can produce innovative and impactful solutions. This would not only solve Singapore’s own problems and make life better for Singaporeans, but also develop our industry and spawn new businesses to exploit opportunities abroad.

The RIEC endorses S$1 billion for the “National Innovation Challenge” to develop innovative solutions to national challenges in areas such as energy resilience, environmental sustainability, and urban systems.

Energy Resilience for Sustainable Growth

The first national innovation challenge proposed by the NRF is “Energy Resilience for Sustainable Growth” which aims to develop cost-competitive energy solutions for deployment within 20 years to help Singapore improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and increase energy options. A programme office would be set up to engage all entities that could contribute to this effort. A Whole-of- Government process would be employed to identify other national innovation challenges over the next five years.

Mr Peter Schwartz, Co-founder and Chairman of Global Business Network, said “There are many challenges awaiting us, for example, energy for the long term and food security. Singapore is well placed to bring together its scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs to create solutions to these challenges for itself and possibly for the world”.

Prof Paul Herrling, Head, Corporate Research of Novartis International AG said, “It is fundamentally important to build a critical mass of in-country science and technology capabilities and know-how to be able to recognise and harness breakthroughs whenever these occur. The NIC will allow Singapore to achieve this.”

Dr Tan said: “It is heartening to note the transformation in Singapore’s R&D landscape over the last few years after the government elevated R&D into a national priority by setting up the RIEC and the NRF. The National Innovation Challenge will open up an exciting new frontier for Singapore. It will bring together the considerable R&D expertise built up over the years to solve our own challenges while also developing our industry to take on global opportunities.”

The RIEC will meet in 2011 for its fifth meeting in Singapore.

The National Research Foundation (NRF)

The NRF sets the national direction for research and development (R&D) by developing policies, plans and strategies for research, innovation and enterprise, funds strategic initiatives, builds up R&D capabilities and capacities through nurturing our own and attracting foreign talent, and coordinates the research agenda of different agencies to transform Singapore into a knowledge-intensive, innovative and entrepreneurial economy. It provides secretariat support to the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC), chaired by the Prime Minister. A five-year budget of S$5 billion has been allocated to the NRF in 2006 to achieve this mission. The NRF aims to:Transform Singapore into a vibrant R&D hub that contributes towards a knowledge-intensive, innovative and entrepreneurial economy; and make Singapore a talent magnet for scientific and innovation excellence.

Source: www.thegovmonitor.com and   www.nrf.gov.sg

Energy Efficiency, Affordable Housing, Job Creation & Disaster Recovery

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, buildings consume between 30-40% of global energy. There is no single larger global contributor – and thereby potential reducer – of carbon than the building sector. Green buildings can also play an important role in providing affordable housing, job creation and disaster recovery, according to a new report.  Fresh from its Global Congress in Singapore last week, the World Green Building Council launched the start of World Green Building Week.

From the World Green Building Council (20 September 2010):  

According to the United  Nations Environment Programme, buildings consume between 30-40 per cent of global energy. There is no single larger global contributor –and thereby potential reducer –of carbon than the building sector.

Green buildings can also play an important role in providing affordable housing, job creation and disaster recovery, according to a new report.  Fresh from its Global Congress in Singapore last week, the World Green Building Council launched the start of World Green Building Week.

The building sector directly employs 5-10 per cent of the workforce in most countries.

Tackling Global Climate Change, Meeting Local Priorities highlights how green buildings can play a valuable role in meeting local needs worldwide, including in areas hit by natural disasters, as well as providing the most cost-effective way of tackling climate change.

“In the past some thought we could only address environmental concerns when the going was good and that ‘green’ had to take a back seat to economic growth when times got challenging,” notes Jane Henley, chief executive officer of the WorldGBC.

“This report shows that to be a false choice. We have a growing evidence base of international examples in which homes, buildings and communities are addressing pressing local needs and reducing carbon emissions at the same time.”

Green buildings can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 35 per cent –and in some cases can be carbon neutral.

They can also reduce waste output by 70 per cent, water usage by 40 per cent, and energy usage between 30-50% –in some cases producing energy that can be sent back to the grid.

“Buildings are simply the most cost-effective way of reducing carbon emissions and policy- makers around the world must recognise this at the upcoming international negotiations at

COP16 in Mexico,” Jane Henley says.

Tony Arnel, Chairman of both the WorldGBC and the Green Building Council of Australia says: “This report provides a timely message of what proactive government and private sector initiatives can do to harness the potential of green buildings to deliver important social, economic and environmental benefits for people around the world.”

Romilly Madew, Chief Executive of the GBCA says: “While the local challenges facing countries around the world may vary, the global importance of the built environment cannot be understated.  As we work together to radically reduce our carbon emissions, we can’t miss thewin-win opportunities to addressboth global climate change and the local issues preventing communities from enjoying a high quality of life.”

The report, which includes a foreword from WorldGBC Chairman Tony Arnel and a testimonial by UN Environment Programme Director Achim Steiner brings together case studies from across four world regions, and provides evidence of how green buildings have been used effectively to meet local needs, while cutting carbon, including disaster recovery.

Natural hazards vary globally and some may be exacerbated as a result of climate change. Their impact also varies, often depending on the ability and resilience of the built environment and communities to deal with that hazard. The recovery effort following disaster is a crucial time. It is an opportunity for communities to be at the heart of planning, creating homes and buildings that meet social and economic needs, enhance quality of life and also contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The report shows how green building councils have worked with local NGOs to do just this, for example in Australia through the “Build it Back Green” program following wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes andkilled over 100 people in Victoria; and in the USA where, after Hurricane Katrina, the USGBC brought local communities together with experts in urban planning, waste and water management, engineering and architecture to play an active part in lower carbon reconstruction after the floods.

Job creation and local economy:

The financial crisis and ensuing recession has made job and wealth creation the number one priority in many places around the world. The crisis has hit some countries harder than others andcountries have responded in different ways to the challenge. But a common theme is the extent to which construction and refurbishment of existing buildings has been recognised as an important way of stimulating local economies.

South Africa is using the Kyoto Protocol’s “Clean Development Mechanism”, in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, to retrofit 2300 homes in an established low-income housing area. Energy efficiency measures include insulated ceilings, energy-efficient light bulbs and solar water heaters. Not only does this reduce energy use and carbon, but the revenue from the CDM is used to fund a trust to employ and train local residents.

In BogotáColombia, one of the largest residential projects in the country, Green City, is a mixed-use project that supports the generation of economic activities and jobs for residents and surrounding areas. In the first stage the investment in infrastructure will rise to USD$30.2 million, create 21,000 direct and indirect jobs, and offer public facilities for the community.

Affordable housing and fuel poverty:

In both developed and developing countries, there is often a shortage of affordable, secure and healthy homes, particularly for low income or vulnerable people. Developing new or refurbished greener homes can offer benefits to both residents and the environment.

In Egypt, the GBC has been involved in the design and planning of the country’s first eco- village which will be located South of Cairo. This initiative is motivated by Egypt’s critical situation with its homeless population. The eco-village is expected to deliver to its community members guaranteed health care, basic education, religious guidance, effective social assimilation, work training and skill development. In return the community will produce food, energy and engage in numerous cooperative enterprises.

In Europe, the “Pay As You Save” idea is rising up on the agenda. The UK Green Building Council has campaigned for the introduction of an innovative financial mechanism that allows homeowners or landlords to access finance to improve the energy efficiency of a property, with the capital repaid over a long period of time from the savings on energy bills.

The greatly reduced energy bills mean the resident is better off from immediately, despite having to repay the initial cost of the refurbishment.

The UK government will introduce legislation to enable this policy in November 2010.

Similarly, the Romanian GBC is working with several banks to develop new financial products that could boost the retrofitting of green buildings in Romania along similar lines.

However, the situation is particularly acute in Romania, where subsidies for energy have been removed after many years, leaving a huge number of vulnerable families in poor quality housing exposed to high energy prices this winter.

About World Green Building Week

World GBC and its member green building councils celebrated the inaugural World Green Building Day on September 23 2009 to raise the profile of green buildings globally in the lead up to COP15 in Copenhagen.  This year’s World Green Building Week will be celebrated through a number of key activities including the launch of the WorldGBC Special Report ‘Tackling Global Climate Change –Meeting Local Priorities’ and a host of synchronised green building events around the world.Green building councils in over 18 countries around the world will be hosting an event in or around this week.

Source: www.thefifthestate.com.au and www.worldgbc.org

Aviation Industry Seeks Global Co-operation to Cut Emissions

The global aviation sector called on governments to agree on a global set of rules on tackling the industry’s carbon emissions to avoid chaos. Officials from airlines, airports, air traffic bodies and major manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing also asked for more cooperation from states and energy firms. The appeal, issued ahead of a meeting of member governments of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, said only “a global framework to limit and reduce aviation emissions” could enable the industry to meet its pledge to cap them by 2020.

Aviation chiefs seek global emission cutting scheme

By Robert Evans in a Reuters report in Climate Spectator (20 September 2010):

GENEVA  – The aviation sector called on governments on Friday to agree on a global set of rules on tackling the industry’s carbon emissions to avoid chaos from a range of competing systems.

Officials from airlines, airports, air traffic bodies and major manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing also asked for more cooperation from states and energy firms for their drive to meet their own green targets.

The appeal, issued ahead of a meeting of member governments of the U.N. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, said only “a global framework to limit and reduce aviation emissions” could enable the industry to meet its pledge to cap them by 2020.

In a submission to the ICAO meeting, from September 28 to October 8, the aviation leaders called for governments to agree the new set of rules before climate change negotiators hold talks in Cancun at the end of the year.

At a two-day aviation and environment conference in Geneva, delegates from all sectors of aviation said their aim to improve fuel efficiency by 1.5 percent a year over the next decade would be imperiled without an ICAO accord.

EU TRADING SCHEME

They argued that a European Union emissions trading scheme in operation for some five years, and hotly contested by the industry and most governments outside Europe, showed the danger of unilaterally imposed measures.

Critics of the scheme, applied to all airlines flying into member states, say it discriminates against long-haul companies by counting emissions from the last take-off point, meaning a flight from Japan would be taxed in Europe for its whole route.

The industry leaders said that if similar schemes, and taxes nominally for environmental purposes but often used to feed overall national budgets, were to spread it would damage aviation “and adversely affect the world economy as a whole.”

The view was backed at the conference by John Byerly, U.S. deputy assistant secretary for transportation affairs. “If we don’t reach consensus at ICAO, it will be chaos,” he said.

Aviation, responsible for some 2 percent of the world carbon emissions blamed for global warming and climate change, has been assigned a special status for the Cancun meeting, allowing it to stand separately in a world climate pact.

But that will apply only if the industry can go to Cancun with government support for the emission control plan that it has already proposed, as well as a worldwide framework of rules backed by ICAO governments.

The head of the airline grouping IATA, Giovanni Bisignani, told the Geneva conference airlines and biofuel producers had used scarce funds and energy to develop alternatives to the polluting kerosone used by the world’s aircraft.

“Governments invested peanuts and the oil companies even less,” he said. “Biofuels could break the tyranny of oil and lift millions from poverty along with providing a sustainable fuel source for aviation.

Source: http://www.climatespectator.com.au