Category: Archive

Need to achieve 75 per cent more savings: “We must achieve 75
per cent more savings in half the time,” said the authors of the
report, which was eventually released to the public in mid-November, in
justifying their draconian recommendations.

UK looks likely to fall short of target: Like other developed nations, the United Kingdom appeared likely to fall short of its self-imposed emission reduction target.

One of a number of technical solutions: This proposal to use
heavy fines to cut speeding was one of a number of technical solutions
for dealing with global warming being discussed by politicians and
environmental experts at the World Climate Summit in Montreal.

Rising tendency in CO2 emissions: “To our great concern, we are
now seeing a rising tendency in CO2 emissions after years of
stagnation,” warned Richard Kinley, director of the United Nations
Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn.

Reference: Digest of latest news reported on website of Climate
Change Secretariat of United Nations Framework on Climate Change
Control (UNFCCC). 28 November. Address: PO Box 260 124, D-53153 Bonn.
Germany. Phone: (49-228) 815-1005, Fax: (49-228) 815-1999. Email: press@unfccc.int
http://www.unfccc.int

Erisk Net, 5/12/2005

Logging would just move over the mountain: Bill Hare, of
Greenpeace, explained the reason for the objection. He said: “The key
loophole from the climate point of view was that people would say,
‘look, we won’t log this area of forest and we will gain the credits
from this avoided deforestation’; then you could not be sure that …
logging did not just move across the mountain range to another forest
and occur in an uncontrolled area.”

PNG proposal based on country’s total performance: The Papua New
Guinea proposal was that rather than earning emission credits from
individual projects, the system could be based on the performance of
entire countries in reducing the loss of their native forests.

Much-needed financial incentives: Kevin Conrad, director of the
Coalition for Rainforest Nations, said this approach would provide
much-needed financial incentives to slow the rate of tropical
deforestation.

Original decision a big mistake: John Niles of the Climate
Community and Biodiversity alliance, said many countries were starting
to realise that the decision to exclude forest conservation from Kyoto
funding was a big mistake. He believed the Papua New Guinea proposal
could put this right.

Greenpeace sees merit in new proposal: Greenpeace’s Hare
accepted that basing the carbon credit system on national deforestation
caps rather than individual projects would remove many of his original
concerns – although there was still the potential for the emissions to
“leak” across borders.

Nothing can be done until after 2012: The proposal being debated
in Montreal was only to start a negotiating process to look at these
incentives, to reward the services to the climate played by forests.
This was because it was too late to change the system covering the
first period of Kyoto targets between 2008 and 2012.

Serious anomaly in present situation: But it might eventually
end what many saw as a serious anomaly, and help rectify the bizarre
economics which placed a higher value on a scorched wasteland than a
richly diverse forest.

Reference: Digest of latest news reported on website of Climate
Change Secretariat of United Nations Framework on Climate Change
Control (UNFCCC). 28 November. Address: PO Box 260 124, D-53153 Bonn.
Germany. Phone: : (49-228) 815-1005, Fax: (49-228) 815-1999. Email: press@unfccc.int
http://www.unfccc.int

Erisk Net, 2/12/2005

$436m in natural resources reform: The money came on top of the
$436m already provided by state and federal Governments to roll out
natural resources reform and establish the Catchment Management
Authorities (CMAs), and NSW had appealed to the Federal Government to
match the socio-economic package.

Up to $80,000 for landholders: Landholders could be eligible for
up to $80,000 (or half the cost) to develop new farming practices that
would benefit the environment and provide additional income. The
government could also buy properties made financially non-viable
because land clearing could not take place.

$12m in exit assistance: It had $12m set aside in the exit assistance component of the new package. Properties would be bought at pre-Native Vegetation Act 2003
prices and then sold under strict environmental management conditions
with the revenue generated from re-sale added to a revolving funding
pool. Under this part of the package farmers would be eligible for
funding to cover the cost of moving and advisory services.

Incentives to carry out environmental offsets: A further $10m
was earmarked for farmers who may be able to clear if they provided
conservation offsets, but could not afford to do the work. Under the
regulations, farmers would receive approval to clear if they agreed to
carry out environmental “offsets”, such as planting native vegetation
on another area.

Statewide offset pool: But if there was no opportunity for
on-farm offsets, or offsets on an adjoining property, and the CMA was
satisfied this would cause hardship (because farmers would not be able
to clear), they may apply for funding from a statewide offset pool.

The Land, 1/12/2005, p. 5

Inclining tariff supported: In one of its key conclusions in the
executive summary of its final report into water and wastewater pricing
in Western Australia, the ERA said these wastewater prices should be
determined as an inclining tariff.

Part retention of charging according to capacity to pay: Such an approach would increase transparency while partly retaining the principle of charging according to capacity to pay.

How usage charges should be structured: The ERA also said that
prices for water services should be structured so that usage charges
were set at levels to reflect the estimated cost of developing new
water resources to meet water demand.

Reference: Final report of first inquiry by Economic Regulation
Authority (ERA) of Western Australia into water and wastewater pricing
in Western Australia. 30 November. Address: Level 6, Governor Stirling
Tower, 197 St Georges Terrace. Perth. WA. 6000. GPO Box 8469, Perth
Business Centre. WA. 6849. Phone: (08) 9213 1900. Fax: (08) 9213 1999.
http://www.era.wa.gov.au

Erisk Net, 4/12/2005, p

Eroding shells threaten species: CSIRO researcher Anthony
Richardson said on 29 November that marine food chains were under siege
because molluscs in the bottom ranks were disappearing as their shells
eroded away.

Limey shells can’t handle the acid: “Carbon dioxide [from the
atmosphere] is being absorbed by the water, which makes it more acidic
… and there’s a lot of organisms in the ocean which have calcareous
shells – made of calcium carbonate.”

The Daily Telegraph, 30/11/2005, p. 19

Source: Erisk – www.erisk.net