One Metre of Sea Level Rise will Flood 12% of Vietnam
The impacts of climate change would severely affect the biodiversity of mangrove forests across Vietnam. Dr Hoang Nghia Son, director of the Institute of Tropical Biology said that biodiversity was a crucial base for the existence and development of countries around the world.
News from Bernama (24 May 2010):
HO CHI MINH CITY — The impacts of climate change would severely affect the biodiversity of mangrove forests across the country, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported experts as saying.
Addressing a forum on the impacts of climate change and biodiversity held on May 22, Dr Hoang Nghia Son, director of the Institute of Tropical Biology said that biodiversity was a crucial base for the existence and development of countries around the world but it had been severely affected by climate change.
“Sea levels are expected to rise 1m by the end of this century which will flood up to 12 percent of Vietnam ,” VNA quoted him as saying.
“Coastal wetlands will be heavily affected, especially in Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta provinces of Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau, home to many important wetland areas.
“Eight national parks and 11 nature reserves will be flooded, killing many species of flora and fauna,” Son warned.
Dr Le Anh Tuan of Can Tho University’s Natural Resources and Environment Department said rising temperatures and sea levels as well as irregular rainfall and a large number of storms and whirlwinds damaged the biodiversity of wetland areas.
“An increase in temperature will cause hundreds of trees to die and increase the threat of forest fires and slow the growth of flora. Fluctuating rainfall will change the biological cycles of flora and fauna and alternate natural flows as well.
“In addition, rising sea levels will mess with the ecosystem and threaten flora through salination, erosion and high tides. “Storms and whirlwinds will devastate coastal zones, destroying forests, degrading water quality and killing species of flora and fauna,” Tuan emphasised.
Tram Chim National Park, an endemic park of cajeput trees and birds in the Cuu Long Delta, has recently experienced the impacts of climate change. Nguyen Van Hung, Director of the park, said they were having to fight the spread of harmful species including apple snails and mimosa pigra, along with changes in temperature and rainfall.
“We have seen a decrease in crane numbers due to a lack of tubers called nang, which the crane feed upon, which were destroyed by floods last year. This year, we are faced with severe drought and the risk of forest fires this summer,” he said.
Dr Le Van Hue from Vietnam National University in Hanoi and Norwegian NGO Tropenbos International in Vietnam said evidence of climate change had become apparent.
“Climate change has discernibly affected plant and animal populations in recent decades,” she said. Experts believe that work to protect biodiversity must be undertaken by the whole society.
Tuan recommended that the National Assembly form new laws on climate change to encourage contributions from decision makers, local authorities, scientists and environmentalists at a grassroots level.
“Every province should have a committee for provincial climate change adaptation to co-ordinate the actions of NGOs, scientists and local authorities and to create a network for information exchange,” he said.
Dr Vu Ngoc Long, the Institute of Tropical Biology ‘s deputy director and director of the Ho Chi Minh City-based Centre of Biodiversity and Development (CBD) said the call and efforts by scientists through the co-ordination of CBD has drawn the attention of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
He believed the invitation to become a member of the organising board of the Asean exhibition on Biology to be held in August on the sidelines of the 21st Meeting of Asean Senior Officials on the Environment was a chance for co-operation.
The ministry’s National General Department of Environment will take charge of organising the exhibition.
To Boost CleanTech, Tony Blair Joins Khosla Ventures
A Silicon Valley venture capital firm Khosla Ventures, specializing in environmentally-friendly technologies, announced this week that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has joined its ranks, to help its broad portfolio of clean technology companies maximize their effectiveness in achieving their environmental goals.
Britain’s Tony Blair teams with green investment group
Report in The Age (25 May 2010):
A Silicon Valley venture capital firm specializing in environmentally-friendly technologies announced this week that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has joined its ranks.
Khosla Ventures said Blair “will leverage his advocacy for environmental issues and his global relationships to help Khosla’s broad portfolio of clean technology companies maximize their effectiveness in achieving their environmental goals.”
Established in 2004 by Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla, the venture firm claims an extensive portfolio that includes solar, wind, and nuclear energy along with high-efficiency engines.
Khosla also backs startups in technology sectors such as mobile and Internet.
“Solving the climate crisis is more than just a political agenda item – it’s an urgent priority that requires innovation, creativity, and ambition,” Blair said in a release.
“I share a clear vision with Vinod, one of the earliest leaders in cleantech investment, that entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and beyond will have a tremendous impact on our environmental future.”
Blair will provide strategic advice regarding investments in environmentally friendly or helpful technologies, according to Khosla.
Blair has been a champion of the environment and leads a Breaking the Climate Deadlock initiative aimed at getting countries worldwide to work together to combat climate change.
“I have always admired Mr. Blair’s early and consistent commitment to addressing climate change,” Khosla said.
“His goals align so well with our own mission to support disruptive startups in the cleantech space and to find technology solutions that can achieve unsubsidized market competitiveness for green technologies.”
Blair on Monday was taking part in a Khosla Ventures summit which was to feature a presentation by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
The Rudd government’s emissions trading scheme may have been deferred and international negotiations on climate change treaties may have stalled, but the global transition to a low-carbon economy is actually accelerating.
The shift is being driven as much by the need for energy security and the chance to win a share of the growing market for clean technology as by the desire to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
In this special report, a panel of experts convened by The Australian’s the deal magazine discusses how companies here compare with their international peers and what governments should be doing to provide the right signals and incentives to allow our leading businesses to compete effectively at home and abroad.
Giles Parkinson in The Australianbusiness magazine the deal (20 May 2010):
TheRudd government’s emissions trading scheme may have been deferred and international negotiations on climate change treaties may have stalled, but the global transition to a low-carbon economy is actually accelerating.
The shift is being driven as much by the need for energy security and the chance to win a share of the growing market for clean technology as by the desire to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
In this special report, a panel of experts convened by The Australian‘s the deal magazine discusses how companies here compare with their international peers and what governments should be doing to provide the right signals and incentives to allow our leading businesses to compete effectively at home and abroad.
With the ETS on hold till 2012, where else should the government focus – on energy efficiency, building codes and fuel regulations? Or should there be a grander vision for a clean energy network? And how do you create a sustainable economy in a world with limited resources? Perhaps it’s time to change the measuring stick.
Economic growth, our primary reference point for success or failure, is measured in terms of production and consumption. But even leading bankers think GDP and GNP data are missing a key part of the equation. They want new metrics to help ensure environmental, social and economic losses do not outweigh simple economic gains. Carbon might not be the only external value or commodity we need to factor in.
Present:
Giles Parkinson, News Ltd
Lyndall Crisp, the deal
Oliver Yates, Macquarie
Martijn Wilder, Baker and McKenzie.
Jonathon Jutsen, Energetics.
Brendan Bateman, Clayton Utz
Paul Simshauser, AGL.
David Caspari, HP
GILES PARKINSON: Thank you very much for joining us today. It’s a fairly loose format. We’re going to get everyone to introduce themselves, and then we’ll set the thing rolling with a general question and then follow it up from there. Can we maybe start with David?
DAVID CASPARI: I run HP Enterprises Services business, which is responsible for delivering all of HP’s IT services in Australia and New Zealand, about 10,000 people, one half billion dollar business.
OLIVER YATES: I’m Oliver Yates, I’m from Macquarie. I look after the renewable energy and climate change business at Macquarie. One of my key passions is obviously trying to get forest conservation into a workable commercial form and we have a joint venture with a large NGO to actually achieve that objective and that seems to be moving along well, regardless of the carbon markets.
MARTIJN WILDER: Martijn Wilder, I’m a partner of Baker and McKenzie running their global climate change practice. I’ve been working in the area since about 1997.
JONATHON JUTSEN: Jonathon Jutsen, I’m the founder and the director of Energetics. Been in the field for about thirty years, must be some sort of dinosaur in the field. Still doggedly pursuing energy efficiency and carbon mitigation for commercial and larger businesses.
BRENDAN BATEMAN: Brenton Bateman, partner of Clayton Utz, head up the climate change sustainability group of the firm. The basis is environmental planning. Just listening to Giles, acting for Macquarie generation Land and Environment Court is always interesting when you’re getting a judgment from Pain.
PAUL SIMSHAUSER: Paul Simshauser. I’m the chief economist at AGL and Professor of Finance at Griffith University’s business school. A big part of my job is carbon, carbon policy and renewable policy and so on.
GILES PARKINSON: Terrific. We’re going to start off with a big question. People talk about the major drivers that we’re all inevitably heading towards an economic and energy transformation. What do people think will be the main drivers of that? Will it be climate change? Will it be energy security or will it be a commercial race to seize the green tech/clean tech market? Perhaps we can start with you Oliver?
OLIVER YATES: I think it’s going to be a combination of all of them. The question of sustainability is cutting in and sustainability includes the question of carbon. I think people are recognising that we have a limited global energy resource unless we can make it from renewable sources, so that’s where the oil kind of debate comes in or energy security debate comes in.
People that are recognising that within a world of limited resources, we need to find a new way to power our economy and there will be a carbon price sooner or later, and that if you want to be part of what could potentially be the biggest industry transformation since the steam engine, then you want to position your economies appropriately now so that you can get ahead of the curve. So that’s what I think is happening. I think people see this, China certainly sees it.
China’s industry is moving rapidly towards developing massive production capabilities of green technology equipment and renewable energy equipment and there will be a sudden change in those who are positioning their economy appropriately will actually benefit from this change.
BRENDAN BATEMAN: I think Giles, just butting in there, it’s different for different countries. There are different drivers for different countries and interesting to see that America is moving away from badging its legislation related to climate change, more of energy security. Whereas for Australia that driver is omnipresent. It’s very much we’ve got plentiful resources of cheap coal and other forms of resources that we can use to power our economy, whereas in America it’s not necessarily the case.
For Australia it’s a different directive that’s been pushing us in this direction. I think it has to be climate change. I think we are one of the countries most susceptible to the adverse impacts of climate change and very quickly, and it impacts on a lot of our industries such as tourism.
DAVID CASPARI: If I can just add on that, I think no doubt we’re blessed in Australia with an abundance of natural resource which is driving our economy now, but at the same time we have to take a step back and ask some questions about what the next generation of our economy is post this resource oriented environment.
So clearly climate change is going to be key but there’s a broader question about whether we can seize the opportunity to be a real innovator in this market and perhaps in a way that we might have missed in a couple of other real innovation opportunities over the last couple of decades. You look at solar power and various other things where we innovated but missed the opportunity.
GILES PARKINSON: Yes. I just want to redirect it back on to the international scene and what those drivers are. Do you think Martijn that it is a matter of climate change that is driving international movement now, or do you think it is this race to grab the green tech economy of the 21st century?
MARTIJN WILDER: I agree with Oliver. I though it’s a combination of all of those and I think Brenton is right, you know, different drivers. I think it was Senator Graham, one of the US Republican Senators who said earlier this year that he was worried that with a cap on trades, US business would suffer under the cost of that, but he’s now saying without a price on carbon, he’s worried the US will fall way behind China in terms of its race for the green economy.
I think the other factors you’ve also got to put into the mix are the science. I think the science is fundamental. I think when we look throughout history, science has always driven regulatory changes. It’s also driven a lot of risk policies of corporates. When you look for example at the material the CSIRO put out the week before last about how the science is getting worse and how climate change definitely is occurring, it’s occurring because of human activity. The science will continue to drive policy in a way which companies assess risk.
Also I think population growth will have a significant impact. There’s a limited amount of resources and if you combine what the CSIRO said last week about in areas like Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, decreasing rainfall, becoming drier, increasing population, you’ve got to basically find a way to manage that and I think that population and environmental degradation, together with all the other factors, will play a significant role.
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