Major Economies to Meet Again on Energy & Climate

Representatives from the 17 nations responsible for 80% of the emissions thought to be the cause of global warming, including Australia, will meet in New York next week (20/21 September). US special envoy for climate change Todd Stern said the meeting, under the aegis of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate launched by US President Barack Obama last year, is part of ongoing global talks for climate change action.

AFP Reports (15 September 2010):

Representatives from the 17 nations responsible for 80 per cent of the emissions thought to be the cause of global warming, including Australia, will meet in New York next week.

US special envoy for climate change Todd Stern said on Tuesday the meeting will take place on September 20 and 21, as part of ongoing global talks on reducing harmful emissions that cause climate change.

The talks fall under the aegis of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, launched by US President Barack Obama to facilitate climate talks ahead of last year’s disappointing United Nations conference in Copenhagen.

The successor conference to the Copenhagen meet is set for this November in Cancun, Mexico.

Stern said the New York meeting would provide a chance for “a candid dialogue among major developed and developing economies to make progress in meeting the climate change and clean energy challenge”.

The meeting will also “advance the exploration of concrete initiatives and joint ventures that increase the supply of clean energy while cutting greenhouse gas emissions”, he said.

Environment ministers from 45 countries are also scheduled to meet in Geneva in September at the invitation of the Swiss and Mexican governments.

And negotiators from the 194 signatories to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change are to meet in Tianjin, China for a final preparatory round of talks in October.

The New York talks later this month will also include representatives from Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, and the United States.

Source: www.news.theage.com.au

Advice For China at World Economic Forum in Asia

The founder and chairman of the forum, Klaus Schwab, urged China to reduce its excessive reliance on coal and other fossil fuels and to increase nuclear power. A director of the London based non-government, Climate Group, said China should have clearer legislation and a full blown carbon trading scheme. But Peter Sheehan, the director of the Centre for Strategic Economic Studies at Victoria University says it would be premature for China to move into an international emission trading scheme.

Radio Australia “Connect Asia” (14 September 2010):

An international economic gathering in China has been told governments and business leaders need to act urgently on climate change. 

The three day World Economic Forum’s Asian meeting has been opened by premier Wen Jiabao in Tianjin, south of the capital, Beijing. Over one thousand delegates will discuss resource limits, the role of Asia’s soft power, and the Korean peninsula.

Presenter: Karon Snowdon
Speaker: Peter Sheehan, director, Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University 

SNOWDON: The premier, who gives the opening speech at the forum each year, also takes a leading role in China’s climate change policies.

Ahead of the forum he’s been given a range of advice.

The founder and chairman of the forum, Klaus Schwab, urged China to reduce its excessive reliance on coal and other fossil fuels and to increase nuclear power.

Wu Changhua, China director of the London Based non-government, Climate Group, said China should have clearer legislation and a full blown carbon trading scheme.

But Peter Sheehan, the director of the Centre for Strategic Economic Studies at Victoria University says it would be premature for China to move into an international emission trading scheme.

SHEEHAN: China is addressing a large number of policy issues about this and I think taking it seriously, but I think an emissions trading policy is some years down the track for them. It’s really important to remember that China is still a developing country – its GDP per capita is only about 15 per cent of the US and it doesn’t have a lot of the institutions, the data and so forth that’s required. It’s trying to get those and it’s trying to develop a lot of other policies. There are a lot more down to earth and immediately effective things that it can do.

SNOWDON: The forum is the Asian version of the World Economic forum held each year in Davos – its theme this year is an unsurprising ‘Driving Growth Through Sustainability’.

It’s expected to focus on increasing energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions, and developing green technology.

In an early salvo, the National Development and Reform Commission – the major body in China working on climate change – criticised rich nations.

Su Wei, the head of the commission’s climate change office, said they still expected countries like China and India to commit to large cuts in emissions.

He was critical, too, of what he says is their emphasis on market mechanisms to supply funds and transfer climate change new technology.

Tianjiin will be the focus again next month. It’s the city where negotiators will meet in October ahead of the December meeting in Mexico that is meant to finalise the global climate change talks which failed in Copenhagen last year.

Peter Sheehan says the divisions between rich and developing countries will still be evident, but that China is making progress to cut its emissions.

SHEEHAN: For example, it’s trying to work with companies to reduce their levels of energy use, close down a large number of very inefficient coal mines, it’s trying to develop all sorts of renewable technologies. So, there’s a great flurry of activities and I think this is the most important game.

SNOWDON: What’s your view of the meetings later this year to find a replacement agreement for the Kyoto Protocol? What are the chances of the world arriving at an agreement when China and the US are still at loggerheads over who should do what?

SHEEHAN: Well, my view of the Copenhagen meeting is that it really demonstrates that the world isn’t going to see a single binding agreement that all countries sign that addresses this problem. And I think it’s good that we realise that. I think we’re going to have to have a sort of ‘learning by doing’ approach, a series of agreements as countries learn how to do it. The dream, as it were, of a single uniform agreement covering everybody – I think that’s a misinformed dream. We’re into the actual reality doing it now.

Source: www.radioaustralia.net.au

Big Business is Now Saying it is the Time to Act

Global mining company BHP Billiton’s CEO Marius Kloppers has certainly made a dramatic intervention into the Australian climate change debate. He said this week  it was clear that Australia did need to take strong action to reduce its emissions, it needed to look beyond coal and towards other energy sources, and it needed to do so to protect its international competitiveness. TRUenergy and AGL Energy also called this week for an Australian emissions trading system to spur investment to replace coal-fired power plants.

Giles Parkinson in Climate Spectator (16 September 2010):

There can be no doubting now that a carbon price is back on the political agenda. Big business – or, more to the point, the biggest business – has spoken, and there is now no hiding from the issue.

BHP Billiton CEO Marius Kloppers certainly made a dramatic intervention into the debate.

He took three three pillars of the fossil fuel lobby’s defence of the status quo and threw them out the door. He didn’t just skirt around their Maginot Line, he ploughed straight through it. And he’s challenged the nation’s politicians to do something about it.

The three key elements from Kloppers speech was that it was clear that Australia did need to take strong action to reduce its emissions, it needed to look beyond coal and towards other energy sources, and it needed to do so to protect its international competitiveness.

The need for global action on climate change is not, apparently, just a left-wing conspiracy. And it is now, once again, a front page issue.

“We do believe that such a global initiative will eventually come and, when it does, Australia will need to have acted ahead of it to maintain its competitiveness,” he said.

The opportunity of Australia acting ahead of anyone may have already been lost, but you get the picture. Kloppers is now showing the sort of leadership from the biggest companies that has been so desperately lacking in the last 12 months.

The business community largely fell mute after the CPRS was dispatched, and has remained so, despite the massive investments towards the low carbon economy overseas, and some dramatic decisions by many of the world’s leading industrialists to reshape their businesses and invest in what they now freely call the “green economy.”

Kloppers has set the tone and the Australian dialogue can now change. And business can finally wake up to growing cost of inaction – AGL managing director Michael Fraser put the cost of delays at $2.1 billion in energy pries a year by 2020 – that works out roughly to an extra $8 per megawatt hour in energy costs to business, just as a result of doing nothing.

So, it is no longer good enough to allow politicians to put it in the too-hard basket. It’s time for Labor to have the courage to deliver on its election mandate, the Opposition can no longer put their hands to their ears and say “this is not happening”, and the Greens must be brought into negotiations.

The question now returns to what sort of carbon price mechanism should be imposed. Kloppers is keen for action, but he is wary of the economy-wide schemes that were contemplated by the CPRS, no matter the compensation levels.

He said on Wednesday that he favours a simpler, if less elegant solution, and he talked of a mixture of a trading system limited to the energy sector, and a focus on land use initiatives.

As this web site noted yesterday and in the past, a staged implementation that begins with the energy sector is now emerging as the most likely compromise between the government and the business community – AGL added its name to the supporters list yesterday – although it’s not entirely clear which of the Coalition or the Greens would support that.

The Coalition should have no problems with such a concept, but its current embrace of a standing Green Army (sounds like a socialist cliché), its direct action plan (since when did Liberal politics favour big government over a market mechanism?), and its refusal to nominate representatives to the climate change committee, relegates it to a sideshow comedy act. Kloppers should perhaps drop by Abbott’s office to have a quiet chat.

The Greens, of course, will want a broader scheme that affects more business sectors, on the perfectly reasonable assumption that they need to start making their transition to ensure they remain internationally competitive, and can therefore protect jobs.

But if Kloppers is right about the pact of international action – be it at a political or a corporate level – then the imperative for a broader-based scheme in Australia will follow on soon enough. It’s just a matter of getting the pathway in place.

Source:  www.climatespectator.com.au

By James Paton for Bloomberg (15 September 2010):

TRUenergy Pty. and AGL Energy Ltd. called for an Australian emissions trading system to spur investment to replace coal-fired power plants and said they look forward to working with new Climate Change Minister Greg Combet.

Continued doubts about whether the government will impose a price on carbon emissions would threaten spending, including as much as A$3 billion ($2.8 billion) Melbourne-based TRUenergy is ready to invest in gas-fired generation, Richard McIndoe, managing director of the CLP Holdings Ltd. unit, said today.

“We all would like a price on carbon,” McIndoe said in an interview in Sydney. “The issue is not about an ETS. The issue is one of transitional assistance. If it’s not done in this government and if this uncertainty continues, not for two to three years, but four to five years, and nobody is building, then you will have power shortages and insufficient capacity.”

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has tasked Combet, a former union leader, with leading an effort to impose a price on carbon to curb emissions in Australia, the world’s largest exporter of coal. Combet, 52, who was sworn in yesterday in Canberra, previously assisted Penny Wong in the climate change portfolio.

“He understands each part of the equation,” McIndoe said. “He understands the investors. He understands the importance of maintaining job security and not closing vast tracks of Hunter Valley and Latrobe Valley power stations. He also understands that an emissions trading scheme, longer term, is the most efficient way to provide a lower carbon economy.”

Coal-Fired Power

TRUenergy has a A$5 billion portfolio of generation and retail assets and operates the Yallourn coal-fired station in the Latrobe Valley east of Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, its website shows. Yallourn supplies 22 percent of Victoria state’s electricity needs.

Michael Fraser, chief executive officer of Sydney-based AGL Energy, said the company had discussed government amendments to the nation’s renewable energy target with Combet. AGL has said it accelerated plans for the A$1 billion Macarthur wind farm in the state of Victoria after the Australian Senate approved revisions to laws aimed at encouraging renewable energy.

“He got his head around complicated issues quickly,” Fraser said in an interview in Sydney yesterday. “It’s a difficult portfolio that’s going to require a lot of negotiation skills, and I think he has a demonstrated track record.”

While a price on carbon in Australia is inevitable, “it’s going to be very difficult” to achieve in the next two or three years, Fraser said.

Risk to Investment

“I don’t think anyone can predict how this is going to unfold, but if there isn’t legislative change, you won’t get large-scale investments like replacing coal-fired power stations with gas to make a real difference,” he said.

AGL rose 1.8 percent to A$15.82 at the market’s 4:10 p.m. close in Sydney. The stock has climbed 13 percent this year, compared with a 4.3 percent drop in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index.

Australian lawmakers should consider an emissions-trading system that applies only to electricity generation and excludes transport and agriculture, Fraser said at a conference today.

“When you look at Canberra and you look at the political difficulties, and you look at the interests of stakeholders around the country, one of the things I would reflect on is that perhaps we have been too ambitious in trying to introduce an all-encompassing CPRS or emissions-trading scheme,” he said.

TRUenergy’s McIndoe said the government’s prior carbon pollution reduction plan introduced while kevin Rudd was prime minister would have “impaired the company’s business by several hundred million dollars” and addressed the power industry last. McIndoe said in the interview he supports the AGL chief’s idea.

“I think Michael Fraser is right,” he said

Source: www.bloomberg.com

Down to Earth & Back to the Future for Sustainable Buildings

Some of the oldest buildings on the planet are made of earth. It is estimated that one half of the world’s population – approximately three billion people on six continents – lives or works in buildings constructed of earth. With the future of the planet at stake, with carbon reduction and options for sustainable living at the forefront of consciousness across the world, the Earth Building Association of Australia (EBAA) meets this week to engage in both the philosophy and the practice of the safest and most sustainable option for building and community living.

Report from Ken Hickson:

Last year I was privileged to attend and speak at the EBAA conference in Victoria. They are such a wonderful bunch of creative and committed designers and builders. 

Having lived in a rammed earth home, which my wife and I commissioned and oversaw the construction, I am convinced it is building system worthy of much greater recognition today than ever before.

We provide in this issue the full programme for the EBAA event this year (this Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and urge all to attend and, if that’s not possible, visit the website and make contact with Australia’s leading earth builders.

We also found this interesting piece of information on earth building from an international website/on line publication.

Report from in Design Boom:

Some of the oldest buildings on the planet are made of earth. Currently it is estimated that one
half of the world’s population – approximately three billion people on six continents – lives or works
in buildings constructed of earth.

Earth is a 100% eco-friendly building material. It is neither manufactured nor transported.
A wall made from raw earth serves as a natural air conditioner, being warm in winter and cool in summer.  When the building is demolished, the earth returns to the soil and can be recycled indefinitely.

Largely shunned since the arrival of its close cousin ‘concrete’ in the 1950s, earth is now back in
fashion as its ecological and aesthetic benefits attract the attention of an increasing numbers of
contemporary architects and eco-builders. Industrial sectors devoted to earthen building are
currently emerging as this sustainable material wins over.

The misconceptions associated with earth architecture is that many assume it’s only used for housing in poor rural areas – but there are examples of airports, embassies, hospitals, museums, and factories that are made of earth. Current research efforts are focused on increasing its resistance and processing speed in order to make it a modern and competitive material.

Source: www.designboom.com

Here’s the programme for the Earth Building Association of Australia annual conference 2010 on 17th – 19th September at the Eltham Community and Reception Centre, 801 Main Rd, Eltham, Victoria.

Topics under discussion include Thermal Mass verses Insulation, Affordable Earth Housing, and Earth Buildings for Bushfires

DAY 1: Friday 17th September

8.30am Registration

9.30am Welcome by EBAA Patron: Professor Allan Rodger, Professor Emeritus,

The University of Melbourne

10.00am Conference Opening: Geoffrey London, Victorian Government Architect

10.30am Introduction: Peter Hickson, President EBAA

11.00am Morning Tea (provided for all delegates & speakers)

11.30am Keynote Address: Terry Williamson, Assoc Prof University of Adelaide, School of Architecture

Landscape Architecture and Urban Design More Politics than Science: The Dirt on Star Ratings

12.30pm Lunch (provided for all delegates & speakers)

1.30pm Linda Dvorak, Master of Engineering, Sustainable Energy, RMIT Housing in bushfire prone

areas: Assessment of exterior walls reveals optimal choice

2.30pm Garry Baverstock, AM. B.Arch, MSc, LFRAIA, MISES, MANZSES; Adjunct Professor, Murdoch

University, Role of the Built Environment in Addressing Climate Change

3.00pm Afternoon Tea (provided for all delegates & speakers)

3.30pm James Fricker, B.MechEng, CPEng, F.AIRAH, M.EngAust Independent Consulting Thermal

Engineer: Basics of the thermal comfort performance of buildings

4.00pm Forum: Question and Answer session with Expert Panel and Moderator

5.00pm Networking

6.30pm Dinner, Eltham Community Hall (provided for all delegates & speakers)

DAY 2: Saturday 18th September

8.30am Registration

9.30am John Moffin, CEO, Jack Thompson Foundation Housing homelands communities into the future

10.30am Morning Tea (provided for all delegates & speakers)

11.00am Anthony Pease, Some Structural and Technical Aspects of Earth Building

12.00noon Lunch (provided for all delegates & speakers)

1.00pm Veronica Soebarto, Associate Professor University of Adelaide, School of Architecture

Landscape Architecture and Urban Design: Challenges of Earth Buildings

2.00pm Angel Benson & Anthony Pease: Passive Solar Design, Bushfires and Earth Building

2.30pm Afternoon Tea (provided for all delegates & speakers)

3.00pm Dean Farago Earth Render Specialist Traditional surface treatments, and options today

3.30pm Daryl Taylor IntegralEvolution Green Cross, adobe & other green realities

4.30pm Rob Hadden Builder: Anyone can build a comfortable, sustainable home

5.30pm Networking

6.30pm EBAA Conference Dinner at Eltham’s famous and beautiful Montsalvat, with special Guest

Speaker Richard Glover of ABC Radio

Please book your place for what will be a very special and entertaining evening ($45/head).

Montsalvat is licensed with drinks payable on consumption

DAY 3: Sunday 19th September

8.30am Bush breakfast, 96 Mine Road Nutfield hosted by Rob Freeland, AMCER (provided for all

delegates & speakers)

9.30am Workshops & Trade Displays

- AMCER : Pressed Earth brick production and testing, & new model compact plants

- James Henderson, Henderson Clayworks: Raw earth rendering and finishes – a voyage of

discovery in clay and straw

12.00noon Lunch at 96 Mine Road, Nutfield (provided for all delegates & speakers)

Packed with excellent speakers and information on:

• Thermal Mass versus Insulation
• Bush fire bunkers and fire resistant house designs using earth
• Carbon Pollution and the Role of the Built Environment in Addressing Climate Change
• Affordable housing using Earth Building Techniques
• Appropriate Climate Responsive Design with Earth
• Earth Workshops

The Earth Building Association of Australia (EBAA) is an organisation formed to promote the use of unfired Earth as a building medium throughout Australia. 

Source:  www.ebaa.asn.au

Women Lead Men in Accepting Scientific Consensus on Climate

Women tend to believe the scientific consensus on global warming more than men, according to a study by a Michigan State University researcher, sociologist Aaron M. McCright, published in the September issue of the journal Population and Environment. “Men still claim they have a better understanding of global warming than women, even though women’s beliefs align much more closely with the scientific consensus.”

Report from Eureka and eScience (14 September 2010):

Women more likely than men to accept global warming

A study by Aaron M. McCright, sociologist at Michigan State University, suggests women are more likely than men to accept the scientific consensus of climate change.

Women tend to believe the scientific consensus on global warming more than men, according to a study by a Michigan State University researcher.

The findings, published in the September issue of the journal Population and Environment, challenge common perceptions that men are more scientifically literate, said sociologist Aaron M. McCright.

“Men still claim they have a better understanding of global warming than women, even though women’s beliefs align much more closely with the scientific consensus,” said McCright, an associate professor with appointments in MSU’s Department of Sociology, Lyman Briggs College and Environmental Science and Policy Program.

The study is one of the first to focus in-depth on how the genders think about climate change. The findings also reinforce past research that suggests women lack confidence in their science comprehension.

“Here is yet another study finding that women underestimate their scientific knowledge – a troubling pattern that inhibits many young women from pursuing scientific careers,” McCright said.

Understanding how the genders think about the environment is important on several fronts, said McCright, who calls climate change “the most expansive environmental problem facing humanity.”

“Does this mean women are more likely to buy energy-efficient appliances and hybrid vehicles than men?” he said. “Do they vote for different political candidates? Do they talk to their children differently about global warming?”

McCright analyzed eight years of data from Gallup’s annual environment poll that asked fairly basic questions about climate change knowledge and concern. He said the gender divide on concern about climate change was not explained by the roles that men and women perform such as whether they were homemakers, parents or employed full time.

Instead, he said the gender divide likely is explained by “gender socialization.” According to this theory, boys in the United States learn that masculinity emphasizes detachment, control and mastery. A feminine identity, on the other hand, stresses attachment, empathy and care – traits that may make it easier to feel concern about the potential dire consequences of global warming, McCright said.

“Women and men think about climate change differently,” he said. “And when scientists or policymakers are communicating about climate change with the general public, they should consider this rather than treating the public as one big monolithic audience.”

Source: www.esciencenews.com

Spanish Wind Turbine Maker Triples Its Investment in China

Spain’s Gamesa, one of the world’s top wind turbine manufacturers, says it will triple its total investment in China by 2012 to meet rising demand for clean energy there. China wants renewable energy like wind to meet 15% of its energy needs by 2020, double its share in 2005, as it seeks to rein in emissions that have made its cities among the smoggiest on Earth.

Report in Sydney Morning Herald (15 September 2010):

Spain’s Gamesa, one of the world’s top wind turbine manufacturers, says it will triple its total investment in China by 2012 to meet rising demand for clean energy there.

The company has so far invested a total of 42 million euros ($A57.84 million) on facilities in China and it plans to invest over 90 million euros ($A123.95 million) between 2010-2012, bringing its total investment in the country to over 130 million euros ($A179.04 million), it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Gamesa forecasts China will account for over 30 per cent of total sales, compared to 15 per cent last year.

“One of Gamesa’s goals is to cement its position as one of the top five players in the Chinese wind energy industry,” Gamesa chairman Jorge Calvet said in the statement.

China wants renewable energy like wind to meet 15 per cent of its energy needs by 2020, double its share in 2005, as it seeks to rein in emissions that have made its cities among the smoggiest on Earth.

The country, the world’s most populous, nearly doubled its wind energy capacity last year with the rollout of 13.7 Gigawatts of wind assets, making it the largest wind power market in the world, according to Gamesa.

The company said it had broken ground on its sixth manufacturing centre in China, a factory in the province of Inner Mongolia, one of the country’s leading hubs for wind power development.

It has another factory under development in Jilin province in northwest China and four manufacturing centres in the province of Tianjin, which is home to the company’s largest manufacturing base outside of Spain.

When the factories in Jilin and Inner Mongolia come online, Gamesa will have a production capacity in China of 1,500 megawatts per year.

Gamesa also said it had recently agreed to supply two of China’s largest power companies, Guangdong Nuclear Wind and Datang Renewable Power, with 1.3 Gigawatts of turbines through 2013.

The company did not disclose how much the contracts with the two Chinese firms were worth but French investment bank Societe Generale put the figures at 1.3 billion euros ($A1.79 billion) .

Gamesa has 30 manufacturing facilities in Europe, the United States, China and India and an international workforce of more than 6,300 people.

Shares in Gamesa closed up 9.6 per cent at 5.70 euros, its biggest one-day gain in over a year, on a day which saw the benchmark Ibex-35 index of most traded shares close up 0.38 per cent at 10,806.60 points.

Source: www.smh.com.au

“To Sleep, Perchance to Dream” as Mattress Goes Green

In an Australian first, Sleepys, the mattress experts, will release the first carbon neutral certified mattress next month. The company partnered with Brisbane-based environmental management company EC3, who manage the EarthCheck program globally, to certify the mattress manufacturing business, while New Zealand’s carboNZero went through the lifecycle analysis of the products.

Australia’s First Carbon Neutral Certified Mattress

Finally, there’s a mattress that would satisfy even the Princess and the Pea! Not just because it’s deliciously comfy, but because it’s totally green!

In an Australian first, Sleepys, the mattress experts, will release the first carbon neutral certified Mattress.

Due in stores from this October, the Sleepmaker FORREST™ Range of four mattresses – Botanic, Mist, Solaire and Rustic – are likely to gain widespread interest, due to the way they’re made.

Beds are an item found in every household every hotel and every hospital, regardless of country.

As such, it makes sense that when deciding to live in a more sustainable manner, the item where we spend a good portion of our lives should be taken into account as well.

“The term ‘carbon neutral’ is commonly used by companies to mean that they have offset emissions associated with their products and services,” explained Sleepy’s Managing Director, Daryl Sahli.

“Sleepy’s believe there is a strong need to change the way that goods are produced to minimise their environmental impacts.”

Only when the product’s impact is managed and reduced to the fullest extent, should any remaining emissions be offset.

That’s why Sleepmaker, the manufacturer joined with Sleepy’s to undertake a total overhaul of materials and processes, requested robust third party verification and credible certification.”

The carbon neutral certification of the product, which includes verification of the lifecycle emissions of the mattress, will be achieved through the carboNZeroCertTM programme.

The carboNZero programme has grown out of over a decade of research in greenhouse gases (GHG) and carbon monitoring at Landcare Research.

 It is the first GHG certification scheme in the world to achieve international accreditation from the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand.

This means the carboNZero certification mark is recognised in 50 world economies.

Delivering a high standard of quality bedding and being market leaders in the industry was one of the criteria Sleepy’s were unwilling to compromise on.

Sleepy’s partnered with Brisbane-based environmental management company EC3 who manage the EarthCheck program globally to certify the actual business while carboNZeroCertTM go through the lifecycle analysis of the products.

Sleepy’s believed there must be a way to maintain that sense of deep-cushioned comfort, without sacrificing Mother Nature.

Key points of Sleepmaker FORREST™ difference include the mattress cover, which is made from recycled plastic bottles, which are woven into a fabric called ‘Repreve’.

The foam is made from ‘BiOH’ Soy; a soy-blend material that replaces much of the petroleum used in ordinary foams. ‘

Climate–X’ Talalay Latex a unique phase changing material that absorbs heat energy from the body. It’s breathable and is anti microbial (meaning it repels dust mites), making it perfect for bedding.

The steel springs and timber used come from recycled sources and renewable plantations.

In addition to these features, the Sleepmaker FORREST™ Range includes a new five zone pocket spring system to cradle the hips, align the spine and reduce partner disturbance.

“The Sleepmaker FORREST™ Range is an extremely attractive piece of furniture, with a latte and cream retro style print cover and fashionable dark timber base,” continued Sahli.

“It offers supreme sleep comfort, in addition to the environmentally friendly properties.”

About Sleepy’s

Sleepy’s Strive to be the most respected mattress retailer in Australia, recently voted number one for customer service by Australia’s Choice magazine. The Sleepys difference is their promise to deliver a healthy night’s sleep for all Australians, through expert mattress advice. They are known as being the first to market with a variety of Sleep technologies including advanced Spring Systems, Gel, and Memory foam and they have the only truly endorsed Chiropractic bed collection by the Chiropractors Association of Australia CAA. Sleepy’s is also the only national retailer to offer a 60 night comfort guarantee exchange program and free old bed removal. They are now the first Australian mattress retailer to form a relationship with a Global Eco certification organisation, EC3 and undergo the CarbonZero program for product certification with their new Sleepmaker Forrest Range.  Sleepys is a franchise network of approximately 35 stores nationally and growing, all locally owned with Australian made products.     

About EC3 Global/ Earthcheck

EC3 Global is the world’s largest certifier of sustainable travel and tourism operators. With more than 1000 clients in over 60 countries, the company’s EarthCheck Program responds directly to the major environmental problems facing the planet, including climate change, waste reduction and non-renewable resource management. It provides benchmarking, certification and performance improvement systems that result in average savings of 30 per cent for energy and waste stream, and 20 per cent savings for water consumption. 

About the carboNZero programme

The carboNZero programme has grown out of over a decade of research in greenhouse gases (GHG) and carbon monitoring at Landcare Research. It is the first GHG certification scheme in the world to achieve international accreditation from the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) and the first accredited ISO 14065 GHG verifier outside of the USA. This means the carboNZero certification mark is recognised in 50 world economies.

In order to achieve carboNZero product certification Sleepmaker will:

1 – Measure the single product life cycle emissions so they can understand what their impact is on the global climate. The measurement requirements meet and exceed the requirements of the international standards and are compliant with PAS 2050 and carboNZero programme product specification.

2 – Manage and reduce their GHG emissions at source through top management commitment, setting targets and reporting on emissions reduction performance.

3 – Mitigate (offset) their remaining unavoidable emission by purchasing/cancelling verified NCOS compliant carbon credits.

4 – Have these steps independently verified by an external auditor.

Upon successful completion of these steps Sleepmaker can make a credible and robust carbon neutral certification claim using the internationally recognised carboNZero certification mark.

Source: www.sleepys.com.au, www.carbonzero.co.nz & www.earthcheck.org

Turning Green in Brisbane: Emissions, Infrastructure, Films,Food & Environment

October is a big month in Brisbane for events with a strong green and sustainable emphasis, covering: a launch of the stationary energy plan by Beyond Zero Emissions; the Australian Green Infrastructure Council conference; Unlimited Design Asia Pacific featuring Jeb Brugmann and Green films; the Environment Institute of Australia and NZ event with the notable UK strategist Peter Young; and the Global Change Institute event with Guy Pearse speaking on ‘Queensland – The Smart Dumb State’?

Major green and sustainable events in Brisbane in October:

Unlimited: Designing for the Asia Pacific 4–10 October, Brisbane, Australia

Our program of talks, exhibitions, workshops and satellite events offer a fresh perspective on design under the 2010 theme of Opportunity. Most events are free and address complex future challenges – from urbanisation, transport and food production to health and education.

State Library of Queensland, South Bank, Brisbane

Nutrition Systems for 9 Billion People

Join one the world’s most articulate and experienced design thinkers and innovation experts for this free talk exploring one of the biggest global issues confronting humanity: food.

Jeb Brugmann presents a compelling and at times confronting future scenario – where the search for protein defines our urban future – requiring local solutions that can be scaled to global proportions. Will the drive for protein overtake our love for food? How can we possibly feed 9 billion people?

In 1990, Jeb founded ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability. He served as ICLEI Secretary General from 1991-2000. Jeb is the author of Welcome to the Urban Revolution: How Cities Are Changing the World, and Managing Partner of The Next Practice, which he founded in 2004 with business guru Professor C.K. Prahalad. Jeb is best known for leading roles in urban sustainability planning, ‘base of the pyramid’ business development, co-creation process management, and urban greenhouse gas mitigation planning.

Green Screen films at GOMA:

•           October 4 – 10, 2010

•           Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Queensland Art Gallery

•           Stanley Place, South Bank, Brisbane

The Australian Cinémathèque presents Green Screen, a program of recent and new-release eco-documentaries with a focus on environmental and urban design issues in the Asia-Pacific region. Headlining the program is The Burning Season, which charts the ambitions of social entrepreneur Dorjee Sun, the charismatic 29-year-old Australian who believes Indonesia’s rainforests and the dwindling orangutan population can be saved by a carbon emissions trading scheme which would provide environmental and economic relief to Indonesia..

Monday 4 October

12pm/ Simon Chambers Cowboys in India 2009 (79 mins) / Cinema B

Tuesday 5 October

12pm / Cathy Henkel The Burning Season 2008 (90 mins) / Cinema B

Wednesday 6 October

12pm / Yung Chang Up the Yangtze 2007 (93mins) / Cinema B

6.30pm / Rupert Murray The End of the Line 2009 (85 mins) / Cinema B

Thursday 7 October

12pm / Rupert Murray The End of the Line 2009 (85 mins) / Cinema B

Friday 8 October

12pm / Yung Chang Up the Yangtze 2007 (93 mins) / Cinema B

Saturday 9 October

11am / Cathy Henkel The Burning Season 2008 (90 mins) / Cinema B

Sunday 10 October

1pm / Nanna Frank Moller Cities on Speed: Shanghai Space 2009 (60 mins) + Jennifer Redfeam, Tim Metzger Sun Come Up 2010 (38 mins) / Cinema B

3pm / Camilla Nielsson, Frederik Jacobi Cities of Speed: Mumbai Disconnected2009 (58 mins) / Cinema B

Presented by Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA)

Source: www.unlimitedap.com

Queensland’s Continuing Addiction to Carbon

18 October 2010, Brisbane Hilton

Be part of a conversation with leading economists, industry leaders and international experts on the risks and rewards for Queensland’s economy from climate change and climate policy. Hear what our leading economists see on the horizon, how key companies and industry sectors are positioning themselves to exploit the opportunities presented by this new business environment, and the implications of international trends for Australia and Queensland.

Engage with the experts in constructing industry‐sector road maps for the next

decade as a structured response to the challenges ahead.

Future 3: An international perspective on the key challenges Peter Young, Chair Aldersgate Group (high‐level UK Policy and Advisory Think Tank)

Organised by Environment Institute of Australia and NZ

Source: www.eianz.org

Australian Green Infrastructure Council National Conference

AGIC’s second annual National Conference for Infrastructure Sustainability, Delivering and operating Australia’s infrastructure sustainably, will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in conjunction with the WCEAM Congress (25-27 October 2010).

Trade booths available

AGIC members are invited to consider taking an exhibition booth (3m x 2m) at a cost of $3,300 (inc GST) at the WCEAM World Congress on Engineering Asset Management being held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on 25-27 October 2010.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Simply visit the website www.wceam.com and click on the Expressions of Interest tab to nominate for exhibitor / sponsorship information.

Source: www.agic.net.au

Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan Brisbane Launch 27 October 2010.

Brisbane Convention Centre, Merivale St, South Bank, QLD

You are invited to attend the Brisbane launch of the Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan. This cutting-edge plan, the culmination of over 12 months and thousands of hours of pro bono work by engineers, scientists and postgraduate students, is a collaboration between the climate solutions think tank Beyond Zero Emissions,  and the University of Melbourne Energy Institute.

This plan is unique in Australia. It is a detailed and costed blueprint for transitioning our stationary energy sector to 100% renewable energy in ten  years. The technologies utilised in this plan are commercially available now.

This free public event will cover the details of the plan as well as the  state of renewable energy in Australia more broadly. A panel discussion with technical experts will follow the presentations.

Source: www.beyondzeroemissions.org

Guy Pearse – ‘Queensland – The Smart Dumb State’? Queensland’s Continuing Addiction to Carbon on Thursday 28th October 5:30pm – 6:30pm at UQ Centre, Union Road, ST LUCIA QLD 4072

In his GCI Insight Seminar Series presentation, GCI Research Fellow Guy Pearse takes us behind the ‘Climatesmart’ branding and asks how much longer Queensland expects to tackle climate change by increasing spin rather than cutting emissions.

Last year the Queensland government released a glossy 424 page strategy called ‘ClimateQ: Towards a Greener Queensland’. There were lots of new ‘Climatesmart’ initiatives, but no timetable for cutting the state’s greenhouse gas emissions from their current level—the highest in the country. Instead, the government acknowledged that current policy would leave Queensland’s emissions 36% higher in 2050.

Though the emissions generated by the state’s coal exports are Queensland’s biggest single contribution to climate change by far, they were not mentioned in the strategy once. Meanwhile, the government is spending billions of dollars on infrastructure to help Queensland double coal exports over the next decade or so. The legacy of that is a state generating more than 50% more greenhouse pollution at home and abroad than Australia’s current national total. Seemingly en-route to becoming the ‘greenhouse ghetto of the South Pacific’, Queensland looks determined to fuel climate change as much as it feels it.

This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided after the even.

Source: www.gci.uq.edu.au

Lucky last – Turnbull’s last stand

Politics might move slowly and people are inclined to change their spots and allegiances when its suits. But now there’s Malcolm Turnbull agreeing to serve – as Communications spokesman – with the man as leader who pushed him aside a matter of months ago, all over the Carbon Polluton Reduction Scheme.

But while politics might take its time to get its act together – even to form a Government but also to fix and adopt a climate change policy – now we’re seeing some very senior business leaders saying they to think it’s time to fix a price on carbon.

Where does this put Malcolm Turnbull? Considering he’s the man who as John Howard’s Environment Minister in 2007, actually set in motion the policies and procedures for an emissions trading scheme. He actually sticking to his guns and still says “market-based mechanisms are the most efficient ways of cutting emissions”. Read more

Tom Arup environment correspondent for Sydney Morning Herald (16 September 2010):

FRESH from his return to shadow cabinet, Malcolm Turnbull has restated his doubts about the Coalition’s climate-change policy and his support for an emissions trading scheme.

Speaking on radio yesterday, Mr Turnbull said the Coalition’s $10 billion direct action climate change policy was ”not ideal” and ”there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge in terms of this debate”.

But he said the Coalition policy was in ”stark contrast” to Labor, which he said had no climate change plan of substance.

”Everybody knows I’d prefer a market-based mechanism,” he said. ”I’m not going to flag now what I’ll be saying in shadow cabinet, but my views on climate change, the need for a carbon price, the fact that market-based mechanisms are the most efficient ways of cutting emissions – my views are the same today as they were when I was part of John Howard’s cabinet and those views were held by the Howard government.”

The Coalition’s current policy rejects a price on carbon. Instead it will create a fund to pay farmers to store carbon in soil, finance measures to reduce emissions from power plants, and plant more trees.

The government has shelved plans for an emissions trading scheme, promising to review the decision in 2012.

The Climate Change Minister, Greg Combet, said yesterday: ”Mr Turnbull has a longstanding history of respect for climate science.

”The government would welcome the Coalition’s participation on the climate change committee that will be considering the way in which to take action on climate change, and I call upon Tony Abbott to play a constructive role in the national interest.”

Mr Combet and the Greens deputy leader, Christine Milne, will meet to discuss the make-up of the cross-party climate change committee, which was agreed between Labor and the Greens as part of a deal that helped Labor form its minority government.

Mr Abbott has so far ruled out allowing members of the Coalition to sit on the committee, which will be established by the end of the month.

Yesterday the independent MP Tony Windsor, who nominated climate change as one of his main reasons for backing Labor to form minority government last week, said he would also be interested in sitting on the climate change committee, but he would not ”die in a ditch over it”.

Source: www.smh.com.au

Making Sustainability Sexy!

No excuses this week. We’re late out because we’ve been on the road again but we have tried to give our readers something more than the Australian political scene. Finally resolved, but for how long?  Maybe it will depend on how quickly the “New Coalition of Labour, Greens & Independents” deal with climate change policy and puts a price on pollution. The call is coming from everywhere – union, business leaders and the community – for action. Also no excuse for profiling a Singaporean on the go. Howard Shaw is all for the environment but has a few novel approaches, including a G1 to rival the F1. Energy Matters has a review of solar take up in Europe & China, while HSBC has a comprehensive survey on the spectacular rise of electric vehicles. Malaysia has put a stop to a coal fired power station on environmental grounds and cargo ships are taking a faster route through  the melting Arctic ice. Singaporean Grace Chua says you cannot separate climate from the economy, while Australian David Potts reports that we’re missing out on major investments in clean tech. The Green Asia Group Carolyn Kenwrick reports on efforts to save the Bali Starling from extinction and Green magazine editor Tamsin O’Neill is doing her best to make sustainability sexy. So say all of us! – Ken Hickson