Carbon Footprints

In the interview above, Connecting climate change and economic recovery, Sir Nicholas Stern, author of the famous Stern Review on the economic consequences of climate change, discusses the economic downturn and its effect on the climate change agenda.
The economic slowdown has prompted some public and private leaders to question whether the world can afford to [...]

The Australian Government released its controversial Carbon Pollution Reduction Schemedraft legislation today and I thought it best to explain as simply as possible how it works.
Download a PDF version of this diagram with more details.
The Government makes the political decision to reduce targets according to some trajectory. Not wishing to pick favourites the [...]

Pretty much the whole of Australia is on track to be completely carbon neutral if the Australian Federal Department of Climate Change gets their way. How will this amazing feat be achieved? By redefining the term ‘carbon neutral’.
Yesterday I attended a meeting of most of the key members of the Australian Carbon Offset [...]

The Toronto Sun is reporting in a story Window of Opportunity that US President Obama has just four years to turn climate change around.
“(Obama’s) four-year administration offers the world a last chance to get things right,” said James Hansen [NASA's top climate scientist, director of the Goddard Institute for Space and an adjunct professor of [...]

Business research company McKinsey have just released a detailed report into the Australian Cost Curve for GHG Reduction where they make 3 major findings.

A significant reduction in Australian GHG emissions is achievable — 30 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 60 percent by 2030 without major technological breakthroughs or lifestyle changes.
Reducing emissions is affordable—with [...]

The UK’s The Guardian is drawing attention to the latest Worldwatch Institute’s ‘The State of the World 2009‘ report in an article Emission impossible.
The much-respected Washington DC-based Worldwatch Institute has just published The State of the World 2009, the 26th edition of its annual status report into the planet’s environmental health. You won’t be surprised [...]

The Australian Government has just released its White Paper on the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and has set what can only be described as an entirely unambitious target of a 5% reduction by 2020. This compares unfavourably to the EU’s stated 20% by 2020, a target to be matched by incoming US President [...]

Reuters is reporting on a recent speech by Nicholas Stern, he of the famed (in climate change circles anyway) Stern Review. Stern was quite explicit, saying the Risks of global warming greater than financial crisis.
“The risk consequences of ignoring climate change will be very much bigger than the consequences of ignoring risks in the [...]

The Associated Press is reporting EU lawmakers back climate change goals:
EU lawmakers backed the bloc’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 despite concerns in many countries about the financial impact on industries already struggling with the economic downturn.
The European Parliament also passed a bill Wednesday to promote greener transport by obliging public authorities, [...]

The 2008 Carbon Market Expo Australasia, being held at the Gold Coast Convention and Entertainment Centre on 30-31 October (ie next week) is shaping up to be huge. Carbon Planet people will be there, staffing a stand (see the floor plan) and I am speaking on the future of the Voluntary Market as part [...]