Archived News for Green Sector Professionals - May, 2012

The Federal Government has moved to allay growing fears of the cost of the introduction of its carbon tax initiative, with Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet saying the effects on families will be modest.

The National Water Commission’s CEO James Cameron, (no, not THAT James Cameron), has called for the improvement and systematic monitoring of water plans to ensure that methods used are effective in meeting their environmental objectives.

Losing even just a few plant species in diverse ecosystems could in the long term reduce biomass production and impair ecosystem sustainability say the authors of a new study published in the international journal, Science.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Select Council on Climate Change has reached a bipartisan agreement for a national approach to reforming climate change policies and programs.

The CSIRO has warned of drastic changes to volume of Antarctic Bottom Water, the cold dense water that drives global ocean currents, after releasing recent findings.

Australia may need to consider selling off some of its National Parks if it is to be able to afford to conserve its most important landscapes and species for future generations, according to Professor Hugh Possingham, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED) at The University of Queensland.

“Basically, Australia is facing some very tough decisions," Professor Possingham said.

"For all our present nationwide investment in conservation, we are still losing both species and ecosystem integrity.

"We clearly need better ways to decide what we can afford to save, because the current system plainly isn't working as well as we'd hoped.

“The evidence indicates that Australian native species are still disappearing at a rate 100 to 1000 times faster than normal.

"Over the past 200 years, 22 mammal species have become extinct, over 100 are now on the threatened and endangered species list, and 6 more bird taxa were recently declared extinct.

"Fourteen species of frogs are on their last legs.”

With limited funds, both government and private, for conservation the nation may have to look at a new system for allocating those funds where both the need and the prospects of success are greatest, Professor Possingham said.

This implied that public funds may have to be withdrawn from some areas and reinvested in others.

“You could liken it to triage in a World War II military hospital: tough decisions may need to be taken about which patients have the best chance of survival and the resources allocated accordingly.

"Otherwise you spread your effort too thinly and achieve too little.

“This is not a popular point of view – but it is grounded in reality.

“While 12 per cent of the continent is enclosed in National Parks, few have sufficient resources to manage their biota intensively.

In the absence of major new sources of funds, we need to consider where the prospects of success are greatest and, indeed, what success in conservation actually consists of.”

In the past, Australian conservation tended to be driven by a wish to restore parts of the continent to a pre-European state – but this had proved impractical.

“It can't be done in a dynamic world, where human influences and changing climates are constantly altering the rules for survival,” Professor Possingham said.

Across the whole of Australia, current conservation investment was probably about a tenth of what would be needed to protect most species and ecosystems and reduce rates of extinction, he estimated.

“As funding at this level is unlikely to become available in the short run, we should look at putting resources into those National Parks and species where we have the best chance of achieving something - and that may mean selling off smaller parks that are not viable,” he said.

However, selling national parks need not mean their loss in a conservation sense – many well-off Australians now had a strong desire to look after native bushland and its species on a private basis, while many farmers were revegetating cleared land with native trees, leading to recovery in native species.

“Also there are enough covenants and restrictions in force now to ensure conservation of the landscape even when it is managed privately,” he said.

“If we have to refocus public investment on the National Parks where we can achieve the best conservation results, then maybe we should also find ways to encourage more Australians to take care of their own landscapes and endangered species privately.”

For effective decisions to be taken about which aspects of Australian biodiversity we can afford to manage well, there are two requirements, he said: better quantification of the actual costs of conservation – and better mathematical models for predicting the probable outcomes of various conservation actions.

Both were now becoming available.

“This thinking is exactly the way business operates – where can we invest to get the best return on our investment.

"The logic is equally compelling when applied to conservation.

“In short we have a basis for taking much better decisions about our environment which can ensure quintessential landscapes and key species are better protected.

"But those decisions will not happen without some losses and public controversy.

"It's a case of deciding which battles we can win with the resources available – and fighting those.”

CEED is an Australian Research Council funded Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions and is part of the Commonwealth's National Environmental Research Program (NERP). CEED's research tackles key gaps in environmental decision-making, monitoring and adaptive management.

The Federal Government has announced 317 projects to be funded under the first round of its Biodiversity Fund, a key component of the Government’s strategy aimed at enhancing a biodiverse carbon storage environment and clean energy methods.

The Queensland Government has confirmed it will not look to challenge the Federal Government’s carbon tax in the High Court.

The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has received a renewed report on the environmental impact of dredging at the proposed Browse Liquefied Natural Gas processing precinct.

Low Carbon Australia has certified Western Water’s Class A Recycled Water Plant in Melton, north-west of Melbourne as carbon neutral.

Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation, Mark Dreyfus, announced the 2012 Australian Clean Technologies Competition open for nominations.

"This year's Australian Clean Technologies Competition is a unique opportunity for Australian clean technology firms to develop their capabilities and gain market exposure for their innovations."

Through the Competition, entrants will link with business mentors, access training opportunities and showcase their capabilities to potential customers, investors and the media.

Competition finalists are given access to the Cleantech Business Accelerator Program through which they are provided with mentoring on commercialisation pathways, business modelling, funding solutions and successful techniques for pitch delivery.

2011 Competition winner, SMAC Technologies, with its innovative air-conditioning technology that reduces energy consumption, represented Australia at the International Global Ideas Competition in the USA.

For further information on how you can participate in the Australian Clean Technologies Competition visit www.cleantechopen.com.au

The Federal Government has released a revised National Carbon Offset Scheme (NCOS), aiming to assist Australian businesses to offset their products with pollution reduction initiatives under the Federal Government’s Carbon Farming Initiatives (CFI).

The Acting Chair of the National Water Commission (NWC), Stuart Bunn, has released a position statement detailing the need for Australia to draw on its experience and knowledge to protect and sustain the unique water resources in the country’s north.

The Republic of Korea, the world's 15th largest economy and one of Australia's top trading partners, passed legislation for a national emissions trading scheme (ETS).

Carbon emissions within the City of Adelaide have reduced by 7.7 per cent in the four years ending in 2010, a recent study has found.

The New South Wales Senate’s General Purpose Standing Committee No. 5 has published a report into the environmental, economic and social impacts of coal seam gas (CSG) mining in NSW, delivering 35 recommendations for Government action.

Acting Chair of the National Water Commission Stuart Bunn has released a position statement calling for Australia to draw on its experience and knowledge to protect and sustain the unique water resources in the north.