12 June 2015, Renew Economy, 10 things we learned about Tony Abbott’s war on renewables: Ever since the Coalition election victory in September 2013, and indeed beforehand, RenewEconomy has been accused of making a harsh assessment on its approach to climate and clean energy policies. Wind energy the biggest loser as Abbott sweeps to power, we wrote the day after this ultra-conservative Coalition came to power. And we continued with headlines such as Australia’s wind turbine syndrome, why Abbott hates the RET; Abbott’s Achilles Heel – is it ideology or ignorance?: andTony Abbott’s energy rules: It’s goodies versus baddies. Harsh? Turns out we were probably not harsh enough. Our lingering suspicion that the Abbott government’s policy positioning and actions have been designed with one thing in mind – to cripple the clean energy industry in Australia – have been proven to be true … by the Prime Minister himself. Read More here
Tag Archives: Emissions
11 June 2015, Energy Post, Canada will find US shale oil revolution hard act to follow:The new edition of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, just released, reports that the US recorded the largest increase in oil production in the world, surpassing Saudi Arabia, thanks to its shale revolution. Can Canada follow the US example now that huge new shale oil deposits have been identified in the country’s remote Northwest Territories? Andrew Topf of Oilprice.com reports that the oil may well be there, but the external conditions are very different from those in the famous Bakken Formation in the US. There are many hurdles to overcome before the Northwest Territories become another Bakken. Read More here
r ageing populations could help slow greenhouse emissions: finally -something good about being a Baby Boomer! In many parts of the world, and particularly in developed countries, populations are getting older. Of the baby boomers (born between 1945 and 1965), the oldest are now well into their sixties, and in their lifetimes fertility rates have fallen while life expectancies have climbed… Population ageing will put significant pressure on the fiscal policies of governments around the world. Healthcare and pension systems are expected to bear the brunt, while ageing populations will shrink the labour force, putting downward pressure on economic productivity. But what if there’s an upside for the environment? My recent research has found that, in rich countries at least, ageing populations might help to drive down greenhouse gas emissions. Read More here
4 June 2015, Climate Action Tracker, Bonn: The combined climate plans for the G7 and EU have made a small step towards the right track to hold warming to 2?C, but there is still a substantial emissions gap, the Climate Action Tracker said today. Ahead of the upcoming G7 meeting in Germany, the Climate Action Tracker – an analysis carried out by four research organisations – has looked at the combined INDCs of all G7 governments and the EU, who are responsible, in aggregate, for around 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 40% of global GDP.
- Current policies in the G7+EU are projected to stabilise emissions through to 2030 at close to present levels, and do not yet show a decline in emissions, which is needed to move towards below 2°C and 1.5°C emission pathways.
- The projected combined effect of G7+EU INDCs for 2025, and 2030, if implemented, would bring the group 20-30% of the way to 2°C-consistent emissions in this period.
- The G7+EU 2020 pledges only bring emissions 5% of the way towards emissions levels consistent with 2 and 1.5°C in that year.
- While the remaining gaps still represent important mitigation challenges (roughly 6.5, 7.6 and 7.8 GtCO2e/year in 2020, 2025 and 2030 respectively or 21%, 24% and 25% of 1990 emissions levels excl. forestry), there is a clear, but as yet insufficient, improvement in ambition. Read More here