9 September 2015, The Guardian, Pacific leaders voice frustration over Australia’s position on climate change. Kiribati president says any attempt to water down a commitment to curb global warming would be a ‘betrayal’ and that there will be no compromise on target. Tony Abbott is set to receive a frosty reception from some Pacific island leaders in Papua New Guinea amid frustration at Australia’s perceived failure to properly address climate change. The president of Kiribati, Anote Tong, said that Australia may be asked to leave the Pacific Islands Forum, or face a walkout by small island states, if it attempted to water down a commitment to curb global warming. Pacific nations have called for global warming to be limited to 1.5C above a pre-industrial baseline, claiming that the internationally-agreed limit of 2C would devastate their low-lying islands through sea-level rises and extreme weather. Tong said that it would be a “betrayal” if Australia forced any compromise on the 1.5C target at the forum, which is being held in Port Moresby this week. “We expect them as our big brothers, not bad brothers, our big brothers to support us on this one,” he said. “We cannot negotiate this, no matter how much aid. We cannot be bought on this one because it’s about the future. Read more here
Yearly Archives: 2015
9 September 2015, Energy Post, The Urgenda judgment: a “victory” for the climate that is likely to backfire. The Dutch government has decided to appeal the widely publicised “Urgenda” ruling from the district court in The Hague, ordering the Netherlands to step up its climate change actions. According to Lucas Bergkamp, Partner at Hunton & Williams and Emeritus Professor of International Environmental Liability Law at Erasmus University Rotterdam, there are good reasons why we should hope that the court of appeals will overturn the ruling. According to Bergkamp, it sets a dangerous precedent for judicial activism, is inconsistent with European law and will even undermine international climate negotiations. Read More here
8 September 2015, ARENA, Three months on and Nyngan is flying. The largest solar power plant in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere in Nyngan, NSW, is fully operational and has generated 60,000 MWh of renewable energy to date, according to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Since achieving full generation in June 2015, the plant has been sending 102 MW of solar-generated electricity into the National Electricity Market. ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the successful beginning of Nyngan’s operations was a significant milestone in the development of Australia’s large-scale solar sector. “AGL’s Solar Project at Nyngan and Broken Hill represents a big investment by the company and also by ARENA,” Mr Frischknecht said. “It’s already achieving one of ARENA’s key aims of increasing the amount of renewable energy in Australia. “And the knowledge gained from its successful launch and ongoing operations will lead to further improvements in technology and reductions in costs for the sector.” The solar plant, a partnership between AGL Energy Limited (AGL) and First Solar, is expected to produce around 230,000 MWh of electricity annually which is sufficient to meet the needs of approximately 33,000 NSW homes. Read More here
7 September 2015, The Carbon Brief, Bonn climate talks ask for draft Paris text. A draft international climate agreement package will be published within weeks, setting the scene for crunch UN talks in Paris in December. During negotiations in Bonn last week, countries made progress on some key sticking points and started to lay out the skeleton of the planned agreement. Yet with just five more days of formal negotiations before Paris, disagreement over many details remains profound. The co-chairs of the process will now attempt to cement progress and bridge those divides. They have been given a mandate to prepare a draft agreement by the first week of October. Parties will then start line-by-line negotiations on the draft text when they return to Bonn on 19 October. Carbon Brief summarises events in Bonn last week and rounds up reactions to the latest talks. Read More here