24. Carbon Zero Cities

A new book by Alex Steffen called "Carbon Zero: Imagining cities that can save the planet" delves into the challenges and opportunities for how we can grow our cities and seize a better future in the face of climate change. It makes some bold statements about the situation we have created and how we can respond ... here are a few quotes to get a flavour.

Humanity will either bring its climate emissions down to a number in balance with the capacities of the planet (and have begun a worldwide effort to pull carbon out of the atmosphere) or face worsening, destabilizing disasters. Our choice is binary: carbon zero or climate chaos.

So, it's not about doing a little or trying our best. It's about getting to zero carbon and quickly.

I believe that planetary limits and human creativity are now inextricably bound together. Design constraints often deliver better results than complete freedom. Quite the opposite of imposing hardship, carbon zero targets may very well spur a renaissance in urban creativity.

As the saying goes - necessity is the mother of invention.

In just the next couple decades we must achieve net-zero climate emissions. That target, zero carbon, presents a stupendous challenge. Our cities, though, give us amazing opportunities to reduce our climate emissions while improving both our economy and our communities.

It will be very hard. But in cities, we can make deep cuts in emissions and create a social and economic boom from our innovations.

We can’t build, though, what we can’t imagine. Carbon Zero takes on the task of imagining how all these innovations might work together, and gives you the tools to reimagine the possibilities of your city. It’s not a blueprint. It’s not a manifesto. Carbon Zero is an invitation to imagine winning the climate fight.

Indeed, we need to break away from understanding the future based on today, and let our imagination free!

23. Guns or kids, me or us?

The horrific shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in the USA have captured the attention of the world, as we again witness the impacts of public gun ownership. I have been following the news, reading blogs and watching debates unfold on Facebook (as we all have been doing). The calls for greater gun control in the USA have started. But will we see any change? In short, no. The more likely response in the USA is to see security guards placed at schools, more training for teachers and children, and perhaps even the arming of principles and teachers. Sounds crazy? Not in the USA. When you look closely at those that argue for gun ownership what you see is that they are arguing for individual rights. In the USA, this seems to trump everything else. It is argued that individuals have the right to own a gun and it is not the realm of governments to regulate or control this 'god given' right. So guns are protected more than kids? But if we jump to Sweden or Australia we see a totally different take on how society works. Both these countries have enforced strict gun control, and therefore have very few (if any) shootings like those experienced in the USA. In Sweden, there is a deep understanding by the vast majority of people that 'I am better off, if we are better off'. This means people are willing to 'sacrifice' something for the greater good. So nobody has guns, and virtually nobody gets killed by guns (in comparison to the USA). But this thinking extends further. In Sweden, you cannot drink and drive (the blood alcohol limit is set so slow that it has created a culture of no drinking if you plan to drive). Because if you drink and drive you endanger the lives of others and yourself. All of these issues are also inter-connected with a child-friendly society that puts kids in focus! And it goes further, Sweden has committed to deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions because, you guessed it, the greater (global) good. In the USA, they cannot commit to any kind of global agreement on climate change because this can infringe on individual (and national) rights ... and the more I look across these issues, the more I see that it is all about shifting from 'guns and me' to 'kids and us'. The USA could learn a lesson from Sweden and Australia on these matters.

22. Exporting GHG emissions

An interesting article appeared in The Age today that had also been published on The Conversation recently about the use of coal in Australia and more importantly the export of coal and the associated GHG emissions. A few quotes sum up the key points ...

Australia's domestic emissions represent ''only'' 1.5 per cent of the global total. Yet this makes us the world's 16th largest national contributor to global warming.

Australia is the world's largest coal exporter. If emissions from Australia's exported coal are added to its domestic emissions, our carbon footprint trebles. Our coal exports contribute at least another 3.3 per cent of global emissions. 

In aggregate, considering coal exports, Australia is now the source of at least 4.8 per cent of global emissions. Our carbon footprint is the world's 9th largest.

By 2020, our coal export boom — based on ''locked in'' projects alone — will make Australia's carbon footprint the world's 6th largest, after China, the US, Russia, India and Indonesia. 

Our mitigation efforts are swamped by our exports. We are a growing super-contributor to climate change: our responsibility is of global proportions.

And this is where the challenge lies for Australia. In order to make deep cuts in GHG emissions, the coal industry will need to be phased-out. This is both our domestic use and exported coal. The article ends with a clear-cut picture of the future ...

Ultimately, change will be forced upon us whether or not we like it or are prepared. We can choose a rapid, planned scale-down in coal exports now. Or we can continue to boost our coal export sector and then allow market forces and climate change to combine in a perfect storm.

21. Nation and industry building policy

An article on The Conversation today laments that there is an ever-widening gap between rising greenhouse gas emissions and the steps necessary to keep global temperatures within the generally agreed – but increasingly difficult – 2°C safe limit above pre-industrial levels. It goes on to argue that the type of transformation needed would require the world to wake up tomorrow and embrace a new green industrial revolution whereby new economic development is focused on establishing a large and rapidly growing non-polluting energy sector as the vehicle to meet new energy and jobs demand. We are not talking about incremental changes and low-cost solutions. Rather, the challenge is structural changes and high-impact strategic decisions.

I recently gave a talk at the annual Bioenergy Australia conference entitled "How to build a bioenergy industry? From Sweden to Australia". I presented the rather dramatic transformation of the energy system in Sweden from the 1970s when imported oil dominated supply by about 70-80%. But over the past 4 decades, oil has declined to about 30% and bioenergy now provides about 32%. And the trends are for bioenergy and renewable energy to keep growing, and oil shrinking. The driver behind these changes is simple - strong government policy designed to build up new industries by creating conditions for investment, and a clear intent to phase-out fossil fuels.

20. Learning, travelling and doing

I was just thinking about how important it is for more of our political, business and community leaders to better understand the challenges and solutions to climate change and global change. And in my inbox I found an email about applications to a fantastic, international Masters course that involves my institute in Sweden, and provides students with extrodinary opportunities to learn from a mix of universities in Europe and North America. Check it out!

MESPOM is an Erasmus Mundus Masters course in Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management operated by four leading European and two North American Universities and supported by the European Commission. MESPOM prepares students for identifying and implementing solutions to complex environmental challenges, especially in an international context. The MESPOM study programme is in English and lasts two years.

The students study in at least three out of six consortium universities: the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics at Lund University (Sweden), the University of Manchester (UK), Central European University (Budapest), the University of the Aegean (Lesvos, Greece), Middlebury College and its affiliate Monterey Institute for International Studies (MIIS) (USA), and the University of  Saskatchewan (UoS) (Canada).

19. Sustainability or survival

A new scientific report by the World Bank called "Turn Down the Heat" says the world is heading down a path to heat up by 4 degrees (keeping in mind the scientific world thinks we should remain below 2 degrees) at the end of the century if the global community fails to act on climate change, triggering a cascade of major changes that include extreme heat-waves, declining global food stocks and a sea-level rise affecting hundreds of millions of people. President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim says the world must tackle the problem of climate change more aggressively. It seems to me we are shifting from a discussion on sustainability to that of survival. Perhaps this might jolt us into action!

18. Creativity and Sustainability

The last couple of days I have spent at the Thriving Neighbourhoods Conference in Melbourne.This event brought together a diverse range of people from around Australia, as well as from New Zealand, Canada, USA (virtually via video link), South Africa, Japan and Europe. The topic under discussion was how do we move towards thriving, resilient, sustainable communities. Based on the idea that it is communities or neighbourhoods that make up our cities, and cities that make up our countries. Among many interesting presentations, we were able to hear from and speak to Richard Florida, author of several major books on creativity, via video link from the USA. This was a great example of how well virtual meetings can work! Richard spoke for 30 minutes about his work and how his ideas link directly to the conference theme of thriving neighbourhoods. He then answered questions from the audience for about 30 minutes. By the end, I think I can say everyone in the room was inspired by this interaction and excited about the prospects of how such virtual communication could be greatly expanded at conferences (especially in Australia, which is quite a long way from just about everywhere). The content of the talk and discussion with Richard raised some big questions about how we can better integrate creativity with sustainability. It's not a given that more creativity equals more sustainability. I think this is a key area of research and action.

17. Thriving Neighbourhoods

Next week I will be attending and speaking at the Thriving Neighbourhoods Conference in Melbourne. It is a conference on emerging global approaches to the planning, design and management of communities and cities that are set to radically improve the sustainability, liveability, health, and productivity of communities. Here is what I will be saying and presenting ...

Advancing Sustainable Urban Transformation: Learning from the Future?

Diverse processes of transformation, which lead to altered urban functions and new local needs and opportunities, constantly influence cities. Interpreting these different development processes and identifying and realising opportunities are growing challenges. There are exciting prospects for creating more sustainable and liveable urban environments because cities are focal points for creativity that provide possibilities for technological, organisational and social innovations. However, in spite of increased awareness and ambitions, there are few powerful initiatives that decisively shift urban development in a sustainable direction. A complex array of reasons is responsible for this situation, encompassing a lack of urgency of getting on with the changes that are needed and therefore inadequate political, business or broader social support, fragmentation in research activities as well as in urban practice and planning, and a significant separation between science and practice. The emerging concept of sustainable urban transformation places a strong emphasis on structural transformation processes – broad, multi-dimensional and radical change – that can effectively direct urban development towards sustainability. This involves understanding cities as a source of possibilities, promoting active collaboration among diverse stakeholders (particularly researchers and practitioners), and integrating different perspectives and bodies of knowledge and expertise. This presentation is based on a Special Volume of the Journal of Cleaner Production on Advancing Sustainable Urban Transformation, which contains 20 articles with experiences, insights and outlooks from over 40 cities in a diversity of countries around the world. This Special Volume contributes to knowledge and understanding on governance and planning, innovation and competitiveness, lifestyle and consumption, resource management and climate mitigation and adaptation, transport and accessibility, buildings, and social interaction and public space. Importantly, the lessons from this Special Volme are not only from the past and present, but from the future visions, plans and strategies for cities and communities in the context of sustainable urban transformation.

16. Massive Open Online Courses and Education for Sustainability

I have recently become rather interested in the development and possibilities of Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs and Education for Sustainability. These two themes clearly fit together. MOOCs are free, online courses often delivered by universities. Essentially, the number of people that can take a MOOC is unlimited. It's fair to say that education for sustainability could be making a much greater impact through MOOCs. Check out this short film for a nice introduction to what a MOOC can deliver and how it works.

At my work in Sweden, we have been using online, distance education for our Masters Program for some years now. This is of course limited to only the 30-40 students who make it into our Masters Program each year. But the idea of developing a MOOC on sustainability makes a whole lot of sense. Interestingly, Melbourne University just joined Coursera which is a company partnering with top universities  to offer MOOCs. It is easy to see how this can lead to opening up knowledge and understanding that is locked away in universities to millions of people around the world. Wow!

15. Living Labs

I just had a very interesting phone meeting about the design and implementation of a new Cooperative Research Centre (or CRC) on Low Carbon Living in Australia. A substantial amount of funds has been invested into this initiative with the aim "to provide government and industry with social, technological and policy tools to overcome identified market barriers preventing adoption of cost effective low carbon products and services, while maintaining industry competitiveness and improving quality of life". Sounds impressive, and the list of key partners is also a good mix of industry, government and academia. I was discussing the concept of living labs and experiences from Sweden and Europe. In short, living labs can be described as a concept or model for better collaboration, which integrates research and innovation processes in a private-public-people partnership. There is growing interest in living labs, how they work, how they start and develop, and what kinds of impacts can flow from them. The European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) provides a good overview of activities in Europe, which is now spreading out around the world, including Australia. I get the feeling there is great opportunities here for collaboration between Sweden/Europe and Australia!

14. NZ Calling?

I have travelled to many parts of the world, but for some reason never to New Zealand or NZ even though it really is so close to Australia. Well, I am off to windy Wellington to visit an old mate who now lives there. I don't know much about NZ except that it has an extrodinary natural environment, the people love sport, especially rugby, and NZ was one of the first nations to implement an Emissions Trading Scheme or ETS. In fact, a Masters student at my work recently did her research on the ETS in NZ to better understand how it came into force, and what others can learn from the experiences, not to mention Australia, who has recently joined the club with its own ETS. My friend in NZ is in fact an economist, so I am sure he has some thoughts on the ETS in both countries. I look forward to some friendly debates, and getting to see some of NZ :)

13. Creative Spaces

I was recently interviewed by a university student exploring how to design and develop "creative spaces" in the realm of sustainability. Essentially such spaces need to stimulate interaction between people with different disciplinary backgrounds and promote collaboration between academia, government and industry. Both the IIIEE in Lund and VEIL in Melbourne are certainly creative spaces, but I can see at least 2 major persistent challenges in Sweden and Australia (and probably other parts of the world too). First, the academic "system" really does not reward or recognise very well the outputs of creative spaces, particularly related to sustainability. Instead, universities are focused along disciplinary lines of work. Second, it seems to me, people are just so busy these days ... this leaves little time for the coffee breaks and spontaneous conversations that are the foundations of creative ideas. All this thinking reminded me of an interesting report entitled "Review of Interdisciplinary Environmental Science Centres of Excellence". This report provides some important insights into how to establish and maintain creative spaces. Check it out!

12. Sustainable tourism?

I just spent the last 2 weeks in sunny Queensland, in north-east Australia on Hamilton Island and Airlie Beach. It is a beautiful and great part of Australia with tropical weather and warm oceans. I traveled on planes, boats, buses and cars, and stayed in hotels, resorts and caravan parks. Everywhere I went I saw logos and certification for eco-friendly tourism. Clearly, the tourism industry is trying to reduce its impacts and incorporate sustainability criteria into processes and activities. At the same time, there are some inherent challenges in all the "traveling" involved in "traveling", the direct impacts on "natural" environments when large numbers of people descend on places of interest, and the immense waste associated with hotels and resorts. In all the accommodation, a lot of emphasis was put on saving water and energy by not changing towels and bed linen every day. Here we can see a win-win for the environment and economic side of tourist accommodation. There is also perhaps a great educational side to travel. There was so much information about the natural environment and sustainability in the tours and tourist activities! Still, sustainable tourism is a constant challenge and demands that tourism operators continuously innovate, adapt and aim high.

11. From buildings to districts, and surviving to thriving!

I attended a conference last week here in Melbourne called Government Sustainability that attracted lots of people from local government as well as companies/consultants (trying to sell various "solutions") and a few associations and state agencies. Very few researchers attended ... a point that suggests a distinct lack of collaboration between academia and key local/state stakeholders in the field of sustainability?

I was struck by the large focus on sustainable or green buildings with Council House 2 or CH2 in Melbourne as it is called held up as a shining example. There were a few presenters who suggested the role of planning was on the rise in Australia, which is far more about districts rather than single buildings, and city-wide infrastructure.

This discussion highlighted again just how much Australia can learn from Sweden on sustainable urban development. For example, the Western Harbour in Malmö, known as Bo01, is an entire district focused on bringing about sustainability in action. In fact, it is now several inter-linking districts that has a momentum that means it is "creeping" into the whole city planning of Malmö.

I am looking forward to the Thriving Neighbourhoods conference, also to be held in Melbourne, where I suspect there will be a greater diversity of participants, more examples from the "world" outside Australia, and some more in-depth discussions on planning and thriving in a carbon-contrained economy.

10. Creating investment conditions through sticking with targets

I read this today ...

Australia’s clean energy industry today called for the Federal Government to ensure the 20 per cent Renewable Energy Target remains unchanged in order to retain its investment-grade stability and drive job creation along with lower costs for consumers.

The Climate Change Authority is currently undertaking a review of the target, to source 20 per cent of Australia's energy from renewable sources by 2020.

“The Renewable Energy Target is the single most important policy measure for the entire Australian renewables sector,” Clean Energy Council Chief Executive David Green said. “Since its introduction, it has generated some $18.5 billion of investment and thousands of jobs – many of them in regional and rural areas where most of Australia’s abundant clean energy resources are found,” Mr Green said.

“It has seen more than 1.7 million Australian households moving to protect themselves from fossil-fuel-driven price rises by installing small-scale systems such as solar panels and solar hot water.

“In addition, the equivalent of more than 2.1 million households is now powered by large-scale renewables such as hydro and wind.

“To date, it has also been the single largest carbon abatement scheme in Australia and without it Australia would not have achieved its emissions reductions target under the Kyoto Protocol.”

Mr Green said the Renewable Energy Target in its current form stood to generate up to $30 billion more in investment and a total reduction of 380 million tonnes in carbon emissions over the life of the scheme.

But the ability of the Renewable Energy Target to deliver more investment, jobs, carbon abatement and energy security would be severely undermined if fundamental changes are made to it or the legislative and economic mechanisms underpinning it, Mr Green said.

Enough said I think!

9. From geothermal energy to ranking cities

This week I have been reading over two thesis reports by international Masters students I am supervising. One on geothermal energy in Indonesia, looking at the business conditions and effects of policy that are trying to expand georthermal energy rapidly to meet growing energy demands. This is an intriguing story, since it points to how fast-developing countries with large populations can react strongly and quickly to the challenges of moving towards low-carbon societies and economies. The thesis concentrates on the realities of investing in geothermal energy from a bottom-up perspective, and what policy-makers can learn in their efforts to support investors from a top-down approach. The other student I am supervising has conducted research on how cities in the Öresund region, which covers part of Sweden and Denmark, are ranked in terms of environmental performance. The thesis looks at what role ranking systems can play in improving environmental conditions and regional cooperation. The Öresund Region has embarked on a vision to become the first carbon neutral region in Europe - a bold ambition! To get there, the cities in the region will need to regularly evaluate their performance, and at the same time actively collaborate. So two different topics, but one main goal - sustainable development and fast.

8. Is this the start of something big?

Just a quick thought before the weekend. The news is out that Australia and Europe will link their emissions trading schemes. At first glance this can be viewed in a few ways. On the one hand this might just cause more problems and as the "devil is in the details", it is difficult to judge if this is a smart idea ... But on the other hand, this could be a very effective way for the Australian scheme to remain in place even if we see a change in government. As it will be rather difficult to ditch the scheme in Australia if it is closely connected into Europe, and perhaps the schemes of other countries too? It is on this point that perhaps something big just happened ... if Europe and Australia can join their schemes, then maybe others may jump on board too, like China, Japan and Korea ... and that would create real momentum and bring about global trading - something which has seemed a very remote possibility ... time wll tell, but let's hope from little things, big things grow!

7. Beyond Zero Emissions

This week I was able to meet with some people working for Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE), which is a community and volunteer-based climate and renewable energy think-tank with a small team of contracted coordinators who enable hundreds of volunteers to actively engage with the key objective of BZE to move Australia from a 19th century fossil fuel-based economy to a 21st century 100% renewable-powered clean tech economy. It’s a “noble” vision! Essentially, this group works on putting together technically-robust reports that show that establishing 100% renewable energy in Australia is feasible in a short timeframe. Such work is very important, since it provides a foundation for the work of many other environmental and community organisations, not to mention business involved in renewable energy technologies. The history of BZE is …

It was established in 2006 out of a concern that the stated climate change goals of other environmental organisations at the time contradicted the scientific literature. Policies these organisations were calling for if realised would see atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise, thereby causing devastation from global warming. Luckily, this has now begun to change, with the grassroots climate action movement, made up of over 200 groups across Australia adopting a policy of 100% renewable energy for Australia by 2020, and recognising that the current science is explicit in saying that there is already to much carbon in the atmosphere. Some of the bigger environment groups are also moving in this direction. From its inception, the goal of BZE has been to help facilitate a timely transition to a zero carbon future where atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations are reduced to a safe threshold. The group focuses on the research, education and promulgation of scientifically-based policy and technology solutions in order to realise this transition.

So BZE provides a foundation, and shows what is possible from a technical-economic perspective. However, it is worth keeping in mind that the reports of BZE are only showing some possible futures. There are a huge diversity of renewable energy technologies available today and being developed. It is fair to say that the future will look very different to what we expect! Not only is it difficult to predict which technologies will become commercially viable, receive policy support and take-off, it is also extremely difficult to understand how technologies will integrate together. Synergies between technologies will no doubt play a significant role in future energy systems. If BZE sets the groundwork, the other side is “how” to shift towards 100% renewable energy. This demands a deep understanding of socio-technical transitions or transformations, and “where” niche or disruptive changes can start? It is these questions that demand critical attention and action …

Have a good weekend!

6. Time for UniverCities

In Lund, Sweden, which is a university town of about 100,000 people, the local municipality and Lund University have recently established a collaboration to explore how the city and university can better work together on climate change and sustainable development in the local urban context. It is in fact rather disturbing how little universities and cities actually collaborate. A fact that has been highlighted in several reports and research projects. But we do appear to be seeing a move towards closer partnerships between cities and universities around the world, as local municipalities grapple with the weight of expectations that they can transition or transform into low-carbon, resilient and liveable/attractive cities. At the same time, universities are becoming more open to engaging with key local stakeholders, such as cities, to bring about much needed change to respond to global and local challenges. I will embark on a small research project to look at what Melbourne is doing on this front. As a first step I met with key people at the City of Melbourne to learn about what is happening today, and what might happen in the near future. As a city with a critical mass of universities and high ambitions to be in the “top ten” of the most sustainable and liveable cities in the world, it is fair to say that much greater and more innovative collaboration is needed in Melbourne (and this is similar for other cities around the world). But it seems the time might be ripe for some new and more “radical” suggestions on how universities and cities can move towards UniverCities – in other words breaking down the signifcant boundaries between these organizations? An immediate idea would be to place researchers inside city administrations for short and medium stays, so that (among other things) organizational workings can become much clearer. ICLEI has started such a program. This works both ways of course. A further idea is engage large numbers of senior students at universities in visioning and engagement exercises within cities. Something that VEIL is doing. I will return to this theme later in the year!

5. Apocalypse now?

I read a great opinion piece on The Conversation yesterday. First to the article. It had a real go at the Australian debate on climate change. Essentially arguing that the discussion in political circles and the media is polarized between those proclaiming an impending apocalypse and others either in complete denial or committed to some idea that technology or  the market will simply save us from any major impacts (but without any policy or strategy to steer such developments). This leaves no room for constructive consideration of the science, forming responsible and innovative policy, and taking swift action to respond to climate change both in terms of mitigation and adaptation as well as developing new jobs, technologies and industries for a post-carbon world. The article also points out that many other countries are busy innovating and building new industries around renewable energy and environmental technologies. I know one these places very well – Sweden. The piece finishes with the suggestion that perhaps the lucky country better start focusing on being clever! Too right. And a second point. The Conversation is an impressive medium that brings together the academic world with journalistic flair (as it puts it). It has analysis, commentary and news from the university and research sector viewed by some 350,000 readers each month, based on work from more than 3,000 registered academics and researchers from 200 institutions. Perhaps a better debate might emerge here?

4. The most liveable place in the world

It’s Monday morning and I am back in at work after a drive through the streets of Melbourne. I usually take the tram, which has been great. In the mornings and afternoons, the trams are frequent and fast. Certainly a lot nicer than driving across Melbourne, which is now a city of some 4 million people and probably even more cars!? Melbourne is consistently ranked as one of the most liveable cities in the world. But what does this mean? No doubt Melbourne is a vibrant city with many parks and jam-packed with restaurants, cafes and city-activity. But is it really one of the best places to live in the world? To begin with most rankings of cities tend to focus on large urban centres and overlook smaller cities/towns or regional centres. And this immediately raises some questions.

Turning to Sweden, this is a country that ranks as one of the best places to live in the world across a whole range of criteria from life expectancy to educational opportunities. I have been living in Lomma, a small town of some 10,000 people, which is consistently ranked among the top communities in Sweden with the best living standards. I think the contrast between large cities, like Melbourne, and small towns, like Lomma, throw up many important lessons and questions for sustainability and liveability. How should we measure and compare cities on sustainability and quality of life? And what are the key aspects in cities or towns that we value? I am supervising an international Masters student working on this very topic. The results will be interesting indeed. Stay tuned.

3. Winning hearts and minds

I arrived back in Melbourne just in time for a by-election for the State seat of Melbourne (in Victoria). The Greens Party claimed the Federal seat of Melbourne at the last election, and the polls suggested they could potentially take the State seat as well. Cathy Oke (an old friend and current Greens councilor at the City of Melbourne) ran a positive and energetic campaign for the State seat, and it came down to the wire in a race against the Labour party candidate as the Liberal party (currently in power in the State of Victoria) decided not to contest the by-election. In the end, the Greens claimed the largest primary vote with 36% but the Labour party won in the end on preferences after claiming 33% of the primary vote. A number of factors did not go in the Greens favour, including a low voter turn-out and a large number of “donkey” votes, but I think most importantly the result shows the Greens must constantly be reflecting on their key messages and how they frame their role in modern politics. 

For me, I think the Greens political approach (and communication activities by many academics working with sustainability) often becomes too conceptual with ideas like livability, affordability and sustainability put forwards. The Greens also tend to be strong on policy in the sense that they present detailed policy plans (although costings are sometimes weak). On the contrary, I think the vast majority of voters focus little on policy (except for very concrete shifts in policy, like funding cuts for education for example) or concepts and more on values and principles, and want to know exactly what role Greens candidates will play in a Parliament, whether it be State or Federal. I also think the Greens need to focus much more on the business case for developing “smart” technologies and industries (and jobs). There are of course many opinions on what the Greens should and should not be doing, like better defining how they are different from the Labour party and not falling into the role of playing "conventional" politics. It's always going to be tough for the Greens, that's why they need to be innovative and proactive.

2. The slow death of global environmental conferences

I have recently had quite a few discussions about Rio+20, which commemorated the ground-breaking environmental and development conference in 1992 in Rio, Brazil. I was able to attend the Stockholm+40 event, which celebrated the conference from 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden. Unfortunately, this time around, both conferences have been widely criticized as a major failure of global governance. 

Philip Sutton of Greenleap wrote ... "Have we reached our alcoholics anonymous moment with sustainability? The Rio+20 conference was a fiasco, the international climate negotiations are getting nowhere fast and the political setting in Australia for environmental progress is going backwards at a terrifying rate. The purpose of pointing this out is not to engage in self-flagelation or 'dark-siding'. It is simply to see if, at last, we can admit, like a new member of an alcoholics anonymous  self-help group, that the methods we have been collectively applying to sustainability campaigning are simply not working and to continue with the same approach is futile. From that point of recognition it might be possible to build up a new, effective approach."

On a positive side, there was significant acknowledgment of the role of cities and local governments in bringing about sustainability (a theme I will return to later). Overall, there is still much to learn about what happened before, during, and after Rio+20 and what went so wrong? There are a huge number of sources and analyses to better understand what the Rio+20 outcomes mean ...

                                  

Chasek/IISD  http://www.iisd.ca/uncsd/rio20/enb/

Pearce/Yale e360  http://e360.yale.edu/feature/beyond_rios_disappointment_finding_a_path_to_the_future/2547/

Prideaux/MWN  http://wildmigration.org/newsletter.php?newsletter_select=29

James et al./CAP  http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/06/rio_text.html

Halle/IISD  http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2012/com_life_after_rio.pdf

Montague/TBIJ  http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2012/06/22/analysis-rio-20-epic-fail/

Dalkmann/WRI   http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/06/rio20-rear-view-whats-road-ahead-sustainable-transportation

Meynen et al./EJOLT  http://www.ejolt.org/section/blog/

Worth/Major Groups (video statement) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQbo9fPqZbs&feature=player_embedded

Boyd/IISD http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/2012/06/25/its-called-an-un-sustainable-development-conference-for-a-reason/

Leape/WWF http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?205343/WWF-Rio20-closing-statement

Greenpeace (press statement)  http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/press/releases/Greenpeace-Press-Statement-Rio20-Earth-Summit-a-failure-of-epic-proportions/

Mittler/Greenpeace http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/beyond-rio20-lets-mobilize-for-a-better-world/blog/41095/

Birdlife International http://www.birdlife.org/community/2012/06/reflections-rio-reaffirming-renewing-rhetoric-anything-really-changed/

Lieberman/Pew (txt + video statement) http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/press-releases/some-progress-at-rio-but-no-time-to-waste-85899400661

Wagner/Linkages Update (IISD)  http://www.iisd.ca/linkages-update/191/

Sanwal/SD List (developing country perspective)  http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/blogs/rio20-begining-global-transformation-and-new-multilateralism

Norden (Nordic region)  http://www.norden.org/en/news-and-events/news/rio-20-big-step-forward-on-sustainable-consumption-and-production

Smith/RTCC  http://www.rtcc.org/rtcc/a-week-in-climate-change-five-things-we-learnt-4/

Watts & Ford/The Guardian  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/23/rio-20-earth-summit-document

Romero & Broder/New York Times  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/23/rio-20-earth-summit-document

Monbiot/The Guardian  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/25/rio-governments-will-not-save-planet

Beinecke & Van Noppen/New York Times  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/opinion/after-rio20-we-have-to-solve-the-earths-problems.html

Kothari/Tehelka  http://www.tehelka.com/story_main53.asp?filename=Op070712Ashish.asp

Chen/China Daily  http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-06/29/content_15534416.htm

Vidal/The Guardian  http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/jun/27/rio20-reasons-cheerful

Chatterjee/CorpWatch  http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=15746

Associated Press  http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/06/23/world/americas/ap-lt-brazil-rio20-outcome.html

IUCN   http://www.iucn.org/news_homepage/events/iucn___rio___20/on_the_road_to_rio__bonn_2011/?10227/20-years-on-civil-society-leads-in-Rio

Griffin/Bloomberg  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-26/rio-20-on-the-same-planet-but-not-the-same-page.html

Deen/Inter Press Service  http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/06/rio20-promised-green-economy-was-a-fake-say-activists/

Marshall/Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-marshall/rio-20-point-of-no-return_b_1620596.html

Boykoff & Osnes  http://www.insidethegreenhouse.net

1. Flying High

It's a long, long flight from Sweden to Australia. Some 30 hours from door to door and over 20 hours in the air. This time it was from Copenhagen to Doha to Melbourne. It seems airlines in the Middle East are starting to grow their fleets, destinations and customers, which is probably similar in many parts of the world.

While the GHG emissions associated with flying are relatively small compared to other industries, they are growing quickly, and airlines are very sensitive to prices changes in fuel, so there is quite a lot of action in the airline industry around how to be as efficient as possible and the development of alternative fuels.

On my flights from Sweden to Australia a few ideas rushed through my head about airlines, GHG emissions and what the future holds for this industry in a world with higher fuel prices? As I work in the biofuels area, I know there is a lot going on to explore possibilities to produce suitable fuels for planes. This is an area of considerable activity.

I remember I was once given a survey on a plane about how to reduce GHG emissions or offset such emissions? Today, most airline companies offer passengers the opportunity to tick a box and offset emissions associated with their flight. I wrote that this box should be pre-ticked and customers would then have to un-tick the box ... I wonder just how much a different this might make?

I have flown out of Copenhagen airport many times, and spotted posters proclaiming that the airport has drastically reduced its GHG emissions. This is of course impressive for any company or large buildings. But what is patently obvious is that Copenhagen airport is not including the flights in its emissions inventory ... of course it is the planes that make up the vast bulk of GHG emissions when talking about the airline industry. 

And this final thought about Copenhagen airport reminded me about how the Mayor of London took the courageous decision to include the GHG emissions from airports and flights in its GHG emissions accounting for the city. A bold and correct decision that reflects the reality of challenges facing large cities that are based around the movement of people.

That's it for now!