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  • The 2015 international agreement Policy

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    The 2015 international agreement

    UN negotiations are under way to develop a new international climate change agreement that will cover all countries.

     

    United Nations flag © Comstock

    The new agreement will be adopted at the Paris climate conference in December 2015 and implemented from 2020. It will take the form of a protocol, another legal instrument or ‘an agreed outcome with legal force’, and will be applicable to all Parties. It is being negotiated through a process known as the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP).

    EU vision for the new agreement

    The European Commission has set out the EU’s vision for a new agreement that will, through collective commitments based on scientific evidence, put the world on track to reduce global emissions by at least 60% below 2010 levels by 2050.

    The EU wants Paris to deliver a robust international agreement that fulfils the following key criteria. It must:

    • create a common legal framework that applies to all countries
    • include clear, fair and ambitious targets for all countries based on evolving global economic and national circumstances
    • regularly review and strengthen countries’ targets in light of the below 2 degrees goal
    • hold all countries accountable – to each other and to the public – for meeting their targets

    The EU’s contribution to the new agreement will be a binding, economy-wide, domestic greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of at least 40% by 2030.

    2015 milestones

    The climate conferences in Warsaw (2013) and Lima (2014) agreed that all countries are to put forward their proposed emissions reduction targets for the 2015 agreement as “intended nationally determined contributions” well in advance of the Paris conference.

    The contributions will be prepared at national level by each Party, as the EU has done, and submitted to the UNFCCC.

    The UNFCCC secretariat will publish these contributions and prepare, by 1 November 2015, a synthesis report to assess whether they put us on track to keep global warming below 2°C.

    A negotiating text for the 2015 agreement was agreed in Geneva in February 2015. Before the Paris conference, negotiations will continue at inter-sessional UN meetings in June, September and October in Bonn.

  • Last year I said that 2015 would a year of ideas from Labor. Bill Shorten

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    Join me today

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    Bill Shorten Unsubscribe

    11:45 AM (1 hour ago)

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    The latest politics update from the Australian Labor Party | Unsubscribe
    .
    Neville,
    Last year I said that 2015 would a year of ideas from Labor.

    And that’s exactly what it has been. We have announced a plan to see 50% renewable energy in Australia by 2030, marriage equality within 100 days of being elected and multinationals pay their fair share of tax.

    But I also want to hear your ideas for Australia’s future — where you want to see Australia in the next 5, 10 and 30 years.

    That’s why I will be listening to people in Arncliffe today and you’re invited to tune in to watch live online — click here to watch at 2:30pm AEDT.

    If you’re too far away to make it, you can watch a live webcast of the event at 2.30pm AEDT by clicking here. Make sure you tune in.

    I hope you can tune in,

    Bill

    PS Today I’ve announced Labor’s plan to empower young people by lowering the voting age to 16. Read more about this here!

  • 1 of 49

     

    A QUESTION REGARDING TWITTER

    Inbox x
    Andrew Glikson 1:48 PM (21 hours ago)
    Hi Neville Although I have entered Twitter, I will appreciate your advice reg…

    3 older messages

    Andrew Glikson 10:46 AM (23 minutes ago)
    Hi Neville This is most helpful. Would you be able to re-tweet the book broch…

    Neville Gillmore <nevilleg729@gmail.com>

    11:05 AM (4 minutes ago)

    This is how your items would appear on the Generator where I can tweet them
    I can add any comments before tweeting. Some graphics may be missing,

    On Sat, Oct 31, 2015 at 10:46 AM, Andrew Glikson <Geospec@iinet.net.au> wrote:
    Hi Neville This is most helpful. Would you be able to re-tweet the book brochure and the Endorsements, appended below, to your distribution, following the statement:  Had humanity understood the full consequences of atmospheric CO2 above 400 ppm and 4 degrees Celsius it would have ceased carbon emissions today (if this statement is too long, let me know and I will shorten it). Before you Twit this material on your distribution list please send me a draft so that I can see what the Twit looks like? Many thanks Andrew31-10-2015  Endorsements:Andrew Glikson and Colin Groves’ new book “Climate, Fire, and Human Evolution” traces the fascinating and complex history of the Earth over the past 4 billion years. It explores the fundamental context of the Earth’s climate system, the cycles of carbon, oxygen and nitrogen, and the crucial role of fire, to provide the critical baseline for our understanding of how a single species, Homo sapiens, has changed the atmosphere, oceans and biosphere. The fate of our species, and all the others with which the share this planet, is now in peril from the unintended consequences of our development, and especially our use of energy. I commend this scholarly yet readable work as a vital reference for understanding our past and present, and hopefully, for saving our future.
    Professor Lesley Hughes, Macquarie University
    This is a most innovative and challenging book. One of its most interesting features is the explicit use of the stratigraphic record  – the timeline of Earth History – to trace (or infer) the evolution of life on the planet (and not just human evolution). The co-evolution of life and the geosphere is fascinating. It certainly gave rise to the inter-discipline of biogeochemistry (the great element cycles of the planet), which in turn has become a key component of Earth System science. Importantly, this book uses the frame of Earth System science throughout, and shows the close nexus between the long-term geological record and Earth System science in its broadest sense.”
    Professor Will Steffen, Australian National University
    This masterful and overarching book could only have been written by geoscientists that had delved into both the earliest evidence preserved on Earth and into the youngest perturbations of our human-overwhelmed biosphere. Beginning with the earliest Earth systems, the crucial presence of liquid water and the dawn of simple life, the book traces the explosions of Phanerozoic life, interrupted only by several mass extinctions. And so, genetic evolution leads to the cultural evolution of humanity involving the iconic mastery of fire, the agricultural revolution and the explosion of human populations. The accelerating effects of human activities on the ecology and therefore on human health have become the focus of our modern world: the Anthropocene. Finally, this book tackles the perennial question, “Are we alone in this Universe” that involves the evolution of intelligence in the context of randomness or chaos. Congratulations to both authors.”
    Professor Victor Gostin, University of Adelaide’
    With the continuing accumulation of CO2 in the upper atmosphere now exceeding the 400 ppm worrisome barrier with no sign of a diminishing trend, Andrew Glikson’s extended edition provides a timely and perhaps final alarm. It includes an anthropological dimension by Colin Groves that better contextualizes his message of grave concern and places it ever more firmly where it belongs: on the shoulders of those people who are complicit in promoting, directly and indirectly, the demise of life on Earth.”
    Professor emeritus Colin L. Soskolne, University of Alberta

    This book is about the Earth, how its systems work, how it has evolved and where it may be heading.”The writing is clear and the sources of information are well documented, making this an excellent resource book for anyone who seeks a clear picture of the evolution of life on Planet Earth, and the forces that control our climate now, and have controlled our climate in the past. The book closes with consideration of the future and some philosophical words about human nature, the present situation, how it developed and how we have responded.”
    Professor Hugh Davies, University of Papua New Guinea

    to Andrew
  • 1 of 49

     

    A QUESTION REGARDING TWITTER

    Inbox x
    Andrew Glikson
    Hi Neville Although I have entered Twitter, I will appreciate your advice reg…
    1:48 PM (21 hours ago)
    Neville Gillmore
    Twitter will offer you people to follow based on how you describe yourself. S…
    5:31 PM (17 hours ago)

    Andrew Glikson

    10:46 AM (7 minutes ago)

    Hi Neville This is most helpful. Would you be able to re-tweet the book brochure and the Endorsements, appended below, to your distribution, following the statement:  Had humanity understood the full consequences of atmospheric CO2 above 400 ppm and 4 degrees Celsius it would have ceased carbon emissions today (if this statement is too long, let me know and I will shorten it). Before you Twit this material on your distribution list please send me a draft so that I can see what the Twit looks like? Many thanks Andrew31-10-2015  Endorsements:Andrew Glikson and Colin Groves’ new book “Climate, Fire, and Human Evolution” traces the fascinating and complex history of the Earth over the past 4 billion years. It explores the fundamental context of the Earth’s climate system, the cycles of carbon, oxygen and nitrogen, and the crucial role of fire, to provide the critical baseline for our understanding of how a single species, Homo sapiens, has changed the atmosphere, oceans and biosphere. The fate of our species, and all the others with which the share this planet, is now in peril from the unintended consequences of our development, and especially our use of energy. I commend this scholarly yet readable work as a vital reference for understanding our past and present, and hopefully, for saving our future.
    Professor Lesley Hughes, Macquarie University
    This is a most innovative and challenging book. One of its most interesting features is the explicit use of the stratigraphic record  – the timeline of Earth History – to trace (or infer) the evolution of life on the planet (and not just human evolution). The co-evolution of life and the geosphere is fascinating. It certainly gave rise to the inter-discipline of biogeochemistry (the great element cycles of the planet), which in turn has become a key component of Earth System science. Importantly, this book uses the frame of Earth System science throughout, and shows the close nexus between the long-term geological record and Earth System science in its broadest sense.”
    Professor Will Steffen, Australian National University
    This masterful and overarching book could only have been written by geoscientists that had delved into both the earliest evidence preserved on Earth and into the youngest perturbations of our human-overwhelmed biosphere. Beginning with the earliest Earth systems, the crucial presence of liquid water and the dawn of simple life, the book traces the explosions of Phanerozoic life, interrupted only by several mass extinctions. And so, genetic evolution leads to the cultural evolution of humanity involving the iconic mastery of fire, the agricultural revolution and the explosion of human populations. The accelerating effects of human activities on the ecology and therefore on human health have become the focus of our modern world: the Anthropocene. Finally, this book tackles the perennial question, “Are we alone in this Universe” that involves the evolution of intelligence in the context of randomness or chaos. Congratulations to both authors.”
    Professor Victor Gostin, University of Adelaide’
    With the continuing accumulation of CO2 in the upper atmosphere now exceeding the 400 ppm worrisome barrier with no sign of a diminishing trend, Andrew Glikson’s extended edition provides a timely and perhaps final alarm. It includes an anthropological dimension by Colin Groves that better contextualizes his message of grave concern and places it ever more firmly where it belongs: on the shoulders of those people who are complicit in promoting, directly and indirectly, the demise of life on Earth.”
    Professor emeritus Colin L. Soskolne, University of Alberta

    This book is about the Earth, how its systems work, how it has evolved and where it may be heading.”The writing is clear and the sources of information are well documented, making this an excellent resource book for anyone who seeks a clear picture of the evolution of life on Planet Earth, and the forces that control our climate now, and have controlled our climate in the past. The book closes with consideration of the future and some philosophical words about human nature, the present situation, how it developed and how we have responded.”
    Professor Hugh Davies, University of Papua New Guinea

      Attachments areaPreview attachment CLIMATE FIRE AND HUMAN EVOLUTION_FLYER.pdf

    to me
  • Are you in? Dan, Solar Citizens

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    Are you in?

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    Dan, Solar Citizens

    10:14 AM (4 minutes ago)

    to me

    Dear Neville —

    Imagine a future where everyone can take control of their own power by generating and storing clean, cheap energy from the sun; where our highways are dotted with electric car charging stations, and our businesses and communities run off Australia’s plentiful clean energy resources.

    Sounds pretty good, right? Worth marching for? You bet! Join Solar Citizens at a People’s Climate March near you on the weekend of 27-29 November to demand the clean, bright future we all want to see. Click here to RSVP today.

    Right now we have the opportunity to harness Australia’s bountiful solar resources to power our country, create jobs, generate investment and ensure a safe, clean future for our children and grandchildren. But to make this happen, we need our government to take decisive and innovative policies to the Paris United Nations Climate Summit in December.

    That’s why, on the eve of the talks, thousands of Australians in every capital city will join millions of people in hundreds of major cities around the world to walk for a safe climate. We know that everyday Australians are way out in front of the Federal Government on solar and clean energy. By joining together, we can show Prime Minister Turnbull and his government that they need step up.

    Will you join Solar Citizens at a People’s Climate March near you?

    Solar owners and supporters like you are already taking steps to transition our energy system to what it needs to be. At the People’s Climate March we’ll join with health professionals, unions, farmers, faith groups, environmental organisations and many more to show our government just how strong, creative and diverse our movement for a renewable, sun-powered future is. Come along and make sure solar owners and supporters shine bright as part of this global moment.

    Our world leaders have just one job to do in Paris: strike a global agreement to transition away from the dirty power sources of the past, and towards a clean, safe and sunny future. Together, with millions of people from around the globe, we’ll march to show them our future is too precious to risk.

    From now on, we’re all in. Click here to RSVP today.

    Dan,

    Director of Campaigns and Organising, Solar Citizens

    Dan Scaysbrook

    P.S. Our volunteers will be there marching together – we’ll be in touch closer to the date to let you know how to connect with Solar Citizens in your area. RSVP today to make sure you receive this important information.

    http://www.solarcitizens.org.au/

    -=-=-

    Solar Citizens is an independent community-based organisation bringing together millions of solar owners and supporters to protect and grow solar in Australia. You can keep up with Solar Citizens on Twitter or like us on Facebook.

  • The John James Newsletter 88

    1 of 53

    The John James Newsletter 88

    Inbox
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    John James

    7:11 AM (1 hour ago)

    to John
    The John James Newsletter 88
    31 October 2015
    Why play with words dividing terrorists into moderate and not moderate. What’s the difference?
    Vladimir Putin
    Tampons, sterile cotton, sanitary pads contaminated with glyphosate
    Monsanto’s Roundup is sprayed over GMO cotton crops. Traces remain in the cotton. GMO seeds have caused use of glyphosate to increase immensely since the 1990s
    Long exposure to tiny amounts of Monsanto’s Roundup may damage liver, kidneys
    Wide-scale alterations in liver and kidney gene expression occur with the consumption of small quantities of Roundup, even at admissible levels, with significant health implications.
    The Buffer Has Gone
    Thick sea ice used to extend meters below the sea surface in the Arctic, where it could consume massive amounts of ocean heat through melting ice into water. Thick sea ice acted as a buffer. Over the years, Arctic sea ice thickness has declined dramatically. This means that the buffer that used to consume massive amounts of ocean heat carried by sea currents into the Arctic Ocean, has now largely gone.
    Methane concentrations with highest methane levels over Greenland on October 16, 2015.
     
    ..
    Inca Sanctuary Found in Peru
    The ritual sacrifice of children or Capacocha may have been performed on this mountain.
    Forecast for Persian Gulf: a heat too hot for human body
    The heat index – which combines heat and humidity – may hit 74 to 77 degrees
    It is well known that all bacteria die at 63 degrees, so…
    The Iranian general who plotted the Syrian assault in Moscow
    General Soleimani’ put the map of Syria on the table. The Russians were very alarmed, and felt matters were in steep decline and that there were real dangers to the regime. Soleimani played a role in assuring them that all was not lost.
    Evidence Mounts that US Military Knew They Were Bombing Active Hospital
    New questions about potential war crimes in US bombing of hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan
    World set to use more energy for cooling than heating
    I have been waiting a long time for this penny to drop! Wake up to the inevitable!
    Rising demand for air conditioning and refrigeration threatens to make planet hotter and undermine pledges to rein in emissions. Demand is growing and will surge 30-fold by 2100. Already, the US uses as much electricity to keep buildings cool as the whole of Africa uses on everything. China and India are fast catching up. By mid-century people will use more energy for cooling than heating. Emission targets agreed in Paris risk being blown away as governments struggle with the climate-change irony: KEEPING US COOL WILL MAKE THE PLANET HOTTER.
    We should demand that all new cooling plants are solar driven. Why not? Its hottest when the sun is out.
    EU orders Starbucks, Fiat to pay up
    Tens of millions of euros in unpaid taxes obtained through illegal tax deals: an unprecedented decision that risks blowing open thousands of corporate tax structures across Europe.
    Could Beer Save The Honeybees?
    Potassium salts of hops beta acids (HBAs) — a biochemical (or naturally-occurring) pesticide that’s derived from hops — around honeycombs. Research has shown that HBAs have potential for repelling varroa mites.
    Iceland did what the US didn’t: 26 top bankers sent to prison for role in financial crisis
    “We were wise enough not to follow the tradition of the Western financial world in the last 30 years. We introduced currency controls, we let the banks fail, we provided support for the people and didn’t introduce austerity measures like you’re seeing in Europe.”
    Over 30,000 starving to death in South Sudan 
    Some 3.9 million people are in crisis — a third of the country’s population — an 80% rise compared to last year.
    ‘Fees Must Fall’: Student Uprising for Justice Sweeps South Africa
    Continuing a week of mass demonstrations at 18 campuses across the country demanding the exorbitant fees… be lowered to open the gates of higher learning for all.
    Beijing ‘not frightened to fight a war’ after US move 
    State-run media in belligerent mood after USS Lassen challenges Beijing’s territorial claims in the Spratlys
    Carnegie delivers first bottle of wave-powered desalinated water
    Perth Wave Energy Project – the world’s first grid-connected wave energy plant – is fully operational.
    Over 9,000 hate preachers arrested in Pakistan
    “All of them were involved in fuelling sectarianism in the name of religion.”
    Almost 50,000 Refugees Land in Greece in 5 Days
    In spite of the coming winter that usually dampens refugees’ incentives to cross the sea in previous years.
    Pakistan Develops Low-Yield Smart Nuclear Weapons
    The world’s smallest nuclear weapons are about the size of a tennis ball
    Battery Storage for Renewable Energy and Electric Cars 
    Australia is expected to be one of the largest markets for battery storage due to the high cost of electricity, the large number of households with solar panels and Australia’s excellent solar resources.
    Global extinction six years closer?
    Historical floating ice appears to have been lost in the Arctic (= 5+ year old). It was predicted to melt by 2022. The ice melt is 6 years earlier than predicted. Previous estimates of when the average global temperature would reach 6°C was 2034, by which time massive global extinction would be proceeding. The new corrected time for this event is 2028 which is 13 years in the future. During the major Permian Extinction event, caused by a massive methane build-up, the mean temperature increased by 5°C over 13 years. As the present mean global temperature is already 1°C hotter, we will be looking at at least a 6°C increase by 2028. The predicted 6°C average global temperature that occurred during the Permian extinction event was caused by a massive buildup of methane in the atmosphere. We are clearly in for a very rough ride in the next decade as the terminal global extinction event approaches.
    Climate change can happen in a geological instant
    Following a doubling in carbon dioxide levels, the surface of the ocean turned acidic over a period of weeks or months and global temperatures rose by 5 degrees centigrade – all in 13 years.
    Result questioned last January
    Russia Asserts its Superiority in Conventional warfare
    We know, since the incident of the USS Donald Cook in the Black Sea in April 2014, that Russia can jam all US communication systems. Completely. The entire NATO nervous system is presently jammed.
    Russia’s Winning the Electronic War
    In Ukraine and Syria, Russian forces are using high-tech equipment to jam drones and block battlefield communications. This includes Israel.
    Russia Destroys The Greater Israel Dream
    Israel is left with no transforming choices. It cannot go to war with Russia and win back domination over Levant skies and waters and America is not prepared to go to war with Russia on behalf of Israel.
    Israeli Colonel Leading ISIL Terrorists Captured in Iraq
    So, what’s their game now?
    Your early 20s really ARE your happiest years
    Misery plagues middle-age with money and job worries – but the good news is life gets better after 65.
    Mount Everest Is Shrinking
    Glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau — the world’s third-largest ice reservoir — “virtually being decapitated”.
    Watch Out Tony Blair, The Legal Noose is Tightening
    Sir Jeremy was Principal Private Secretary to Tony Blair from June 1999 to July 2003 and a party to every step of the plotting between Bush and Blair to attack, during their April 2002, three-day meeting in Texas
    October to be the hottest on record
    The above map shows how average October maximum daily temperatures have differed from the long-term average across Australia. Source: Bureau of Meteorology.