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  • Palm oil plantations could be classified as forests

    Palm oil plantations could be classified as forests

    Ecologist

    8th February, 2010

    European Commission guidance would allow biofuels to be labelled as sustainable even if forests have been destroyed to make way for the palm oil plantations

    EU plans to allow palm oil plantations to be classified as ‘forests’ have been strongly criticised by environmental campaigners.

    According to a leaked document from the European Commission, reclassifying palm plantations as forested land could be justified and allow it to meet sustainability criteria.

    ‘Continuously forested areas are defined as areas where trees have reached, or can reach, at least heights of 5 meters, making up a crown cover of more than 30 per cent. They would normally include forest, forest plantations and other tree plantations such as palm oil. Short rotation coppice may qualify if it fulfils the height and canopy cover criteria.

    ‘This means,’ continues the leaked document, ‘for example, that a change from forest to oil palm plantation would not per se constitute a breach of the criterion. A change form short rotation coppice to annual agricultural crops could constitute a breach of the criterion.’

    Sustainable biofuels

    Friends of the Earth said the plans, if accepted, would allow rainforest to be destroyed to make way for palm plantations and the resulting biofuel to still be classified as sustainable.

    ‘If the incoming Commission is serious about tackling climate change and halting biodiversity loss it needs to clean up the biofuels legacy and urgently ensure that forests are not sacrificed to fuel cars,’ said Friends of the Earth agrofuels campaign coordinator Adrian Bebb.

    The EU is due to publish a report on greenhouse gas emissions from biofuel production in March 2010.

    A Nuffield Council consultation on next generation biofuels and whether they can be environmentally sustainable is currently under way. The deadline for public views is 15th March 2010.

    Useful link
    EU document on sustainability criteria for biofuels
    Nuffield Council consultation on biofuels

  • New party wants population debate

     

     

    He said ”the extreme and radical rate of population growth” meant more high-rise apartment blocks, overcrowded transport networks and loss of parklands were inevitable, and it was time for a national debate about whether this was what people wanted.

     

    Mr Bourke said he and a small group of like-minded people expect to reveal the name and plans for the party within three weeks and where they want to run candidates.

     

    He refused to say who else was involved organising the party or to detail its policies beyond cutting most levels of immigration, apart from the numbers of refugees, to ensure Australia’s population would remain at about 23 million over the long term.

     

    The entrepreneur Dick Smith has backed the plans to form the party as ”a good idea” because it might finally force the government and the opposition to publicly discuss an issue they refused to touch.

     

    ”I reckon Kevin Rudd’s realised nine out of 10 people don’t want a big Australia,” he said.

     

    Concern about population projections had increased along with concern about the impact of global warming. ”There was the hypocrisy of the PM going to Copenhagen saying he wants to reduce global warning and double the population. You just can’t do it,” he said .

     

    Last week Mr Smith launched the second edition of Overloading Australia, a book by Mark O’Connor and William Lines, which argues that Australia has the highest rate of population growth of any comparable country and that it should peg its population at present levels.

     

    Joining him at the launch were other like-minded thinkers including the former NSW premier Bob Carr, singer John Williamson and Clean Up Australia founder Ian Kiernan.

     

    He said the fear of being branded racist had scared environmental groups from discussing the issue of population increase despite its huge impact on the natural environment.

     

    Mr Smith said all governments encouraged high levels of growth because that was what big business wanted, especially property developers, who depended on an ever-increasing demand for accommodation to maximise their profits.

     

  • English test for migration revamp to favour doctors, nurses and teachers

     

    Only half the migrants entering Australia with skills on the MODL actually end up employed in their field and one-third end up unemployed or in a low-skill job, Senator Evans said.

    It will be replaced by a new Skilled Occupations List of high-value professions and trades drawn up by Skills Australia.

    More than 20,000 foreigners who applied to migrate to Australia before September 2007 under outdated rules that allowed lower English skills will have their applications withdrawn and their $1500-$2000 applications fees refunded under the changes.

    Related Coverage

    This is because the system that allocates potential migrants points based on their qualifications and skills will be restructured.

    “The current points test puts an overseas student with a short-term vocational qualification gained in Australia ahead of a Harvard-educated environmental scientist,” Senator Evans said. The new system is likely to give potential migrants more points if they are qualified in certain high-value professions and trades, went to a prestigious university, have more experience and display excellence in English.

    The Immigration Minister will get the power to set a maximum number of visas that may be granted in any one occupation and the states will be able to prioritise skilled migrants.

    Senator Evans said the changes would shift our immigration system from a supply driven model to a demand driven system in which migrants sponsored by an employer would get priority.

    While Australia’s hospitals need nurses and doctors there are 12,000 foreign cooks waiting to come to Australia under the existing system, he said.

    Under the existing system 40,000 unsponsored visas were issued to accountants over the past five years yet a shortage of accountants persists because most did not get work in the profession.

    “Australia’s skilled migration program has been delivering self-nominated migrants from a narrow range of occupations with poor to moderate English language skills who struggle to find employment in their nominated occupation” Senator Evans will tell an Australian National University demography institute today.

    About 170,000 people applied to migrate to Australia last year.

    Tell us what you think of these changes below

    24 comments on this story

  • Public sector emissions grew by 6.25% in 2008

     

    Gordon Brown and the entire cabinet, the Tory shadow cabinet and the Liberal Democrat party have all committed to the 10:10 climate change campaign, which requires a 10% cut in carbon cuts by the end of 2010, compared to 2009.

    The Department of Energy and Climate Change said: “The increase was predominantly due to increased natural gas consumption, most likely related to the colder than average October to December period [in 2008]. The public sector includes hospitals, schools and other buildings as well as central government departments.”

    The Met Office confirmed that overall those three months were below average temperatures, with spells of early snow in October. In October the mean temperature was 8.7C, 0.6C below the long-term average; November was 6.2C, 0.3C above; December was 3.1C, a considerable 1.1C below the average.

    Last October, a move to force the government to join the 10:10 climate campaign and cut its own emissions by 10% in 2010 was defeated in the Commons. At the time, ministers argued that signing up the government estate to the 10:10 campaign would “make no sense”. Greg Clark, the Tory shadow energy minister, said: “It is disappointing the government felt it had to vote down an eminently sensible bill.”

    An official government report last December showed it had taken 10 years for central government departments to cut their carbon footprints by 10%. “Central government has plans for a 17.8% cut by 2010/11, whilst the public sector as a whole has reduced its emissions by around a third from 1990 to 2007,” said the Decc spokesperson. “But we continue to look at how we can go further, faster in cutting emissions. .”

    The overall fall of nearly 2% for 2008 UK greenhouse gases means the government is on track to meet binding targets under the Kyoto protocol, but is likely to miss its own self-imposed target of cutting emissions 20% by 2010 on 1990 levels.

  • US pledges to cut federal government emissions by 28$ by 2020

     

     

    The announcement was held up by administration officials as evidence of Obama’s commitment to his climate and energy agenda, which has run into opposition in Congress and from coal, oil and manufacturing groups.

     

    The White House said the targets – which are set against 2008 emissions levels – would reduce America’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80m metric tons by 2020, and save the government between $8bn (£5bn) and $11bn in energy costs.

     

    Obama will also propose a tripling of government loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors to more than $54bn, an administration official said, a move sure to win over some Republican lawmakers who want more nuclear power to be part of climate change legislation.

     

    The loan guarantees, which follow Obama’s pledge in his State of the Union address to work to expand nuclear power production, will be announced as part of his budget proposal on Monday, the official said.

     

    The federal goverment is the largest single user of fuel and electricity in the country and is responsible for emissions to match. Including the department of defence, it owns nearly 500,000 buildings, more than 600,000 vehicles, and it purchases $500bn in goods and services every year.

     

    “As the largest energy consumer in the US, we have a responsibility to American citizens to reduce our energy use and become more efficient,” said President Obama. “Our goal is to lower costs, reduce pollution, and shift Federal energy expenses away from oil and towards local, clean energy.”

     

    The White House ordered federal government departments last October to begin measuring their use of electricity and fuel, and make energy savings.

     

    Nancy Sutley, the chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said the effort was an important show of leadership. “It shows the commitment of federal government to lead by example and to take on its responsibility to reduce pollution and help stimulate clean energy economy,” she said.

     

    The cuts will come from across 35 government agencies and departments. The Treasury department pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 33%. The department of Defence – which operates 300,000 of those government buildings – pledged to cut its emissions by 34%. However, that effort excludes combat operations, and would cover just 40% of DoD greenhouse gas emissions.

     

    Sutley said government departments across the country were already taking action, installing solar panels and wind turbines. The National Renewable Energy Labs in Denver was aiming to reduce energy use of its data centre by 65%.

     

    Today’s announcement covers only direct emissions from electricity in government office buildings and military installations, and petrol for government cars. Departments are to report back in 2010 about other potential areas of energy savings, including workers’ commutes. The order also does not cover government contractors, officials said.

     

    The initiative comes at a time when the Obama administration is determined to demonstrate its commitment to action on climate change. Obama in his State of the Union address pledged to work to help build Republican support for climate change proposals now under discussion in the Senate. But most observers think getting a climate bill through Congress in 2010 still remains a long shot.

  • Guardian Daily: Climate science under siege

     

    We hear from the Guardian’s environment team who have worked on the story since it broke last year.

    James Randerson is the editor of environmentguardian.co.uk,
    David Adam is environment correspondent, and Suzanne Goldenberg is US environment correspondent, based in Washington DC.

    For more on the hacked climate science emails click here.