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The Generator news service publishes articles on sustainable development, agriculture and energy as well as observations on current affairs. The news service is used on the weekly radio show, The Generator, as well as by a number of monthly and quarterly magazines. A podcast of the Generator news is also available.
As well as Giovanni’s articles it picks up the most pertinent articles from a range of other news services. You can publish the news feed on your website using RSS, free of charge.
 

  • Sun shines in China thanks to feed-in tariff

    Sun shines in China thanks to feed-in tariff

    Wednesday 9 September 2009

    The world’s largest solar power station – a massive 2 gigawatts – will
    be built in China thanks to the Chinese adoption of a renewable energy
    feed-in tariff, it was announced overnight.

    The Rudd Government has repeatedly refused to embrace the feed-in tariff
    Private Member’s Bill introduced by Australian Greens Deputy Leader,
    Senator Christine Milne. The Government claims its policies are
    sufficient, even though all the evidence points to a stagnating
    renewable energy sector in Australia.

    “Australia is the sunny country and the clever country, but Mr Rudd and
    Senator Wong want us to remain coal country,” Senator Milne said.

    “The gross feed-in tariff, which guarantees a fair market for renewable
    energy, is delivering gigawatts of zero emissions power and hundreds of
    thousands of jobs around the world, but in Australia the Government
    prefers photo ops to real policy.”

    The massive 2 gigawatt solar power station announced overnight in China
    will be built by US company, First Solar. First Solar’s CEO, Mike Ahearn
    said:

    “The Chinese feed-in tariff will be critical to this project.

    “This type of forward-looking government policy is necessary to create a
    strong solar market and facilitate the construction of a project of this
    size, which in turn continues to drive the cost of solar electricity
    closer to `grid parity` – where it is competitive with traditional
    energy sources.”

    Senator Milne said “I couldn’t have put it better myself.

    “The Rudd Government recently cut the hugely successful Remote Regional
    Power Generation Program because it ran out of its allocated funding.
    Communities in remote parts of Australian keen to clean their air and
    water by getting off dirty diesel now can’t do so.

    “The Rudd Government’s Solar Flagships program is increasingly being
    seen by industry as a classic ‘Hollow Men’ idea without any policy
    backing. It has been delayed for 18 months and is attracting criticism
    for being unworkable from the very companies it is supposed to support.

    “Embracing the gross feed-in tariff for all renewable energy in
    Australia would go a long way to making sure we see massive solar
    developments coming to the sunny country instead of solar innovators
    going bust or going offshore.

    “Why won’t Mr Rudd and Senator Wong embrace the feed-in tariff?”

    Several States in Australia have introduced Claytons feed-in tariffs
    which support only net generation from small-scale rooftop solar power.
    It is critical that a feed-in tariff is national and supports all energy
    produced from all renewable energy technologies of all sizes.

    Tim Hollo
    Media Adviser
    Senator Christine Milne | Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Climate
    Change Spokesperson
    Suite SG-112 Parliament House, Canberra ACT | P: 02 6277 3588 | M: 0437
    587 562
    http://www.christinemilne.org.au/| www.GreensMPs.org.au
    <http://www.greensmps.org.au/>

    PROTECTING THE CLIMATE IS A JOB FOR EVERYONE

    Sign-up to GreensMPs <http://greensmps.org.au/stay-informed>
    GreensBlog <http://greensblog.org/>
    Twitter <http://twitter.com/GreensMPs>

    Please consider the environment before printing this email.

    —
    Another message from the Greens Media mailing list.

  • Greens & Greenpeace urge new diplomatic effort to stop whaling

    Greens & Greenpeace urge new diplomatic effort to stop whaling
    Tuesday 8th September 2009

    The Australian Greens today called on the Federal Government to
    vigorously pursue negotiations with the incoming Japanese Government
    over continued whaling operations in the Southern Ocean.

    “Although diplomatic efforts undertaken by Minister Peter Garrett have
    thus far been rather unproductive, we now have a fresh opportunity with
    a new Japanese Government in place,” said Australian Greens Senator
    Rachel Siewert.
    “While the Democratic Party of Japan’s policy on whaling is not
    dissimilar to the previous government, they have made some policy
    commitments to stamp out corruption and taxpayer money waste in the
    whaling industry. This is an opportunity to effect real change.”
    “We also know that public opinion against whaling within Japan has been
    on the rise. With the right kind of pressure from countries like
    Australia, we could see actual movement towards stopping the annual
    slaughter of thousands of whales,” she said.

    “Here in Canberra with me today is Mr Toru Suzuki, an anti-whaling
    campaigner from Greenpeace Japan. His efforts resulted in the uncovering
    of whale meat black market sales, showing what we have known all along –
    ‘scientific’ whaling is a commercial industry with a very weak
    disguise.”

    “I encourage my fellow Senators and Members to attend a talk tonight by
    Mr Suzuki, in which he will outline the politics behind the whaling
    industry in Japan as well as discuss the dramatic change in Japan’s
    political landscape, and how this can be used to diplomatically end
    whaling in the Southern Ocean,” concluded Senator Siewert.

    Event details:
    “What will end whaling – An insider’s view’: APH Theatre, 6-8pm TONIGHT

    For more information or media enquiries please call Tim Norton on 0418
    401 180

    ________________________________________
    GREENPEACE MEDIA RELEASE

    Japanese activist says time is right for diplomatic end to whaling

    Canberra, Tuesday, 8 September 2009: Toru Suzuki, a Greenpeace
    anti-whaling activist facing up to 10 years in prison for exposing
    corruption in the Japanese whaling industry, is in Australia to discuss
    the opportunities the first real change of government in Japan for 50
    years offers to end whaling in the Southern Ocean.

    Suzuki will spend time briefing Government and Opposition MPs and
    Senators on the Greenpeace campaign in Japan, the opportunities to
    pressure the whaling industry with a new Government in Japan and the
    upcoming court case of the Tokyo Two1.

    He will also provide insight into the politics behind the whaling
    industry in Japan as well as discuss the dramatic change in Japan’s
    political landscape, and how this can be used to diplomatically end
    whaling in the Southern Ocean.

    “With the first real change of government in Japan in 50 years, we have
    a window of opportunity to push the incoming government to live up to
    its election promises and stamp out corruption and the waste of taxpayer
    money in the whaling industry,” said Mr Suzuki. “The industry is already
    struggling to stay afloat, and if it lost government support it would
    disappear virtually overnight.”

    With little more than two months before the normal scheduled departure
    of the Japanese Government-sponsored whaling fleet, the key message for
    Kevin Rudd is that strong pressure must be applied now, before the
    slaughter begins.

    “Prime Minister Kevin Rudd should take advantage of this opportunity and
    visit the new Japanese Prime Minister immediately, asking him to retire
    this environmentally and economically bankrupt programme once and for
    all,” said Mr Suzuki.

    Note to editors
    Toru Suzuki will present a free public talk: ‘What will end whaling – An
    insider’s view’ tonight at Parliament House Theatre, Parliament House
    from 6-8pm hosted by Greens Senator Rachel Siewert. MPs from both major
    parties will be attending. 

    Media enquiries:
    Zoe Porter, Greenpeace media officer  0409 048 260
    Reece Turner, Greenpeace whales campaigner 0408 754 910
    —
    Another message from the Greens Media mailing list.

    Too many messages? Don’t unsubscribe – try switching to a daily digest.
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  • Labour falure on climate change a ‘political crime’, says Green leader

     

    Lucas, one of the party’s two MEPs, said Greens were the only politicians who were being “honest” with the public about the scale of the threat posed by global warming.

    “As the vital Copenhagen climate summit draws closer, it’s clear that the current level of ambition will not deliver anything like the speed and scale of the emission cuts that we so urgently need,” she said, referring to the international conference taking place in December.

    “In a few years, people will look back bewildered and angry that – knowing what they knew now – none of the other main political parties in Britain confronted the most critical issue of our time.

    “They have pretended that they have the problem under control, that a few low-energy lightbulbs here, a bit of lagging on your loft there, and the problem is solved. And that to do anything more is either unnecessary or involves too much ‘sacrifice’.

    “We’ve got news for them: a transition to a post-carbon world doesn’t have to be about sacrifice.

    “It’s about jobs, it’s about a more equal society, and it’s about a way of life with the potential to be far more fulfilling than the turbo-charged consumerism which is peddled by politicians today.

    “And that’s why we say that our government’s inaction is nothing less than a political crime.”

    The conference is taking place adjacent to the Brighton Pavilion constituency in which Lucas is standing at the general election. She hopes to become Britain’s first Green MP and in 2005 she came second, polling 22% of the vote.

    She told members the Greens got more city votes in the European elections than any other party, that the party increased its share of the vote by 44% and that, at a time when “the image of politics and parties could hardly be lower”, the Greens had gained 1,000 new members in the last six weeks.

    In a speech that strayed well beyond environmental issues, Lucas said that, “for years”, her party had been warning against “the lethal cocktail of liberalisation and deregulation which has fuelled this recession”.

    And she also called for far-reaching reforms to the Westminster political system, including fairer funding for political parties, a ban on “mega-donations”, tougher freedom of information legislation, and electoral reform.

    “The expenses scandal isn’t a freak accident of an otherwise healthy body politic,” she said.

    “It’s a symptom of a system that is wholly dysfunctional. We’re being governed by a political elite that has stopped listening.

    “Too many MPs seem more interested in changing their homes than in changing the world. We need to make Westminster alive again with political ideas.”

     

     

  • Yukio Hatoyama sets tougher greenhouse targets

    “Our nation will strongly call on major countries around the world to set aggressive goals,” added Hatoyama, 62, who last week suggested that Japan would seek a greater voice in international diplomacy.

    Japan would present its target at international talks in Copenhagen in December aimed at agreeing a follow-up treaty to the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.

    Japan is the world’s number two economy and the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases, which are blamed for raising global temperatures, melting the earth’s ice caps and glaciers, and changing weather patterns.

    “What we need in international negotiations is that politicians in the world assume responsibility in order to firmly prevent climate change and protect peace and stability at global levels,” Mr Hatoyama said.

    The head of the Democratic Party of Japan made clear that Japan would ask other major emitters also to set tough targets, saying that “climate change cannot be stopped if only our country sets a reduction target”.

    “A highly ambitious accord with participation by all major countries is a prerequisite to our country’s promise to the international community,” he said.

    Without mentioning China or India by name, Mr Hatoyama said: “We think developing countries are also required to make an effort to reduce greenhouse gases, as a global effort is needed on the issue of climate change.”

    “Developed countries should provide financial and technical support for developing countries that are trying to reduce greenhouse gases.”

    In June, Mr Aso announced a far lower greenhouse gas reduction target, equivalent to eight per cent from 1990 levels by 2020, earning his government criticism from environmental groups.

    Mr Hatoyama said: “I hope that a power shift in Japan will lead to a big change in climate change measures and mark the beginning of a big contribution to the future of our society in international negotiations.”

  • Tripodi’s clean coal smoke screen demolished by Four Corners

    Tripodi’s clean coal smoke screen demolished by Four Corners

    Media release: 7 September 2009

    The Rees government’s plans to entice the private sector to build two new coal-fired power stations that are ‘carbon capture and storage’ ready have been exposed by revelations that the technology is not likely to be commercially available until 2040, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.

    Commenting on ABC TV’s Four Corners report ‘The Coal Nightmare’ (Monday 7 September, 8.30pm), Dr Kaye said: “Finance Minister Joe Tripodi is trying to hide a massive 57 percent increase in the state’s electricity sector greenhouse gas emissions behind the hope that the plants will some day be fitted with equipment to capture and bury the CO2.

    “Clean coal technology does not exist.

    “The growing body of expert opinion is that it will not be commercially available for another 20 or 30 years.

    “Even then it could be prohibitively expensive and too late to save the planet from disastrous global warming.

    “In the meantime, if Joe Tripodi’s massive power station building program goes ahead, it will boost the state’s emissions by 30 million tonnes of CO2 each year.

    “That’s the equivalent of another 7 million motor vehicles on the road or twice the emissions from all existing private vehicle transport in this state.

    “The Rees government is hoping no one will notice that the only thing that stands between their electricity privatisation plans and a blow out of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions is the clean coal story and it has just been demolished,” Dr Kaye said.

    For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455

    —
    Another message from the Greens Media mailing list.

  • Where to now on the CPRS

     

    We all agree (even the Government) that the CPRS is not good enough to seriously deal with the climate crisis, but the voices saying that it is “better than nothing” are growing louder. And, disturbingly, there seems to be a feeling almost of resignation growing in parts of the rest of the movement – a feeling that this is going to happen and we might as well not try to stop it. But for all those who argue that it should (or might as well) be “passed now and improved later”, I have one critical question:

    How?

    We cannot sit back now and assume that, if the CPRS passes in its current form, we’ll simply be able to improve it further down the track. If we agree it is not good enough, we must lay the groundwork now to improve it later. We need a strategy, not just a vague hope.

    As part of the effort to find a way forward – the best path for us, as a movement, to ensure that we get strong, ambitious, science-based climate policy – here are the options as I see them for what may conceivably happen in the Senate in the coming months:

    • The CPRS fails again because all non-Labor Senators oppose it, leading to a possible early election;
    • The CPRS becomes law with the Government working closely with the Greens to make it environmentally effective and economically efficient, securing Senate support through bringing to bear their moral authority with a bill that matches the scale of the challenge;
    • The CPRS becomes law with the Government browning it down even further with the Liberal Party, and the Greens supporting it because it is better than nothing;
    • The CPRS becomes law with the Government browning it down even further with the Liberal Party, but opposed by the Nationals and Greens for different reasons.

    Let’s take these one by one, looking at the implications for any campaign to achieve ambitious action.

    In the extremely unlikely event that we face an early election on climate change and the CPRS, the implication for us all is clear: we need to be ready to run a powerful campaign calling for the strongest possible action from the next Parliament. We need to make it abundantly clear that there is an appetite in the Australian community for meaningful government action on the climate crisis, and that the community will not accept the CPRS or anything worse. If we fail to deliver a mandate for strong action and a rebuke to the CPRS, we cannot believe that we will see anything stronger than the CPRS actually implemented.

    On the second option, if you don’t believe that the Government has no intention of working with the Greens to green up the scheme (and I can tell you from personal experience that they don’t have any such intention), you will at least acknowledge that the Government has no political reason to do so in the absence of a strong public campaign calling for them to do so. It is just imaginable that, if such a campaign were to build this month and grow to a crescendo by November, the pressure on the Government would be such that they would at least consider their options in the Senate. With silence and division in the climate movement, it is absolutely guaranteed that they will not do so.

    Taking the third and fourth options together, it seems pretty clear to me that, once the CPRS passes, the heat will very swiftly go out of climate debate in Australia. Mainstream opinion will be that something is being done. It will be incredibly difficult for us to bring the issue back to the boil in time to deliver a safe climate.

    If the Greens, and the climate movement more broadly, fall silent now, or, worse, support the CPRS now as ‘better than nothing’, I believe that it will be simply impossible to rescue the situation and strengthen Australia’s climate response in the little time we have left. We will have allowed the Government to frame the CPRS as action on climate change, the best that can be achieved at this time, and we will have given away the only thing we have: the fact that we are right.

    However, if we campaign hard against the CPRS now, highlight its flaws and promote a positive alternative, it may just be possible to continue and build on the frame that this is a polluters’ paradise that must be swiftly replaced with something meaningful. The stronger our opposition now, the more clearly articulated our alternative, the more likely it becomes that we can succeed down the track.

    The clear lesson from this analysis is that we must strengthen our resolve and work now to build the strongest possible campaign for ambitious climate action. Now is the time to provide a counterweight to the continued and accelerating rent-seeking of the polluters. We need to throw everything we have at this – from details critiques and analyses to NDAs and other protests, from continuing letters to editors and calls to talkback to doorknocking campaigns.

    We can debate for months (as we have already) whether the CPRS is better than nothing or worse than useless, but one thing is clear: if the CPRS passes and is not rapidly strengthened, it will legislatively ensure that Australia’s emissions cannot and will not start heading downwards until 2013.

    I am convinced that, if we reject that bill to lock in failure, we will be able to achieve faster emissions cuts sooner than the CPRS could ever deliver.