35. Ready for disaster?

A colleague of mine here in Australia at the Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab (who also studied at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics in Sweden) appeared in the newspaper on the weekend in an article entitled Ready for disaster? The article was centred around the argument that communities need to begin preparing for the big problems caused by global warming (likes fires, heatwaves and floods to name a few). The article discussed scenario work with two communities, Anglesea and Creswick, to explore the possible impact of climate extremes and the ways residents could best adapt. A powerful quote from the article sums up the future in a couple of sentences. ''Our planning standards and institutions are based on an assumption that the world we live in is fairly stable. Climate change is already rewriting those standards. Uncertainty will be the norm.'' But the article also cautioned that adaptation is only part of the response to global warming. We must continue, and drastically ramp up, mitigation efforts to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The work being done with these two communities goes to the heart of the local, concrete problems, and also where the solutions can be designed and implemented.

34. Positive Charge

I was recently at the Sustainable Living Festival in Melbourne and learnt about an exciting new social enterprise called Positive Charge, which aims to provide cost-effective delivery of community sustainability services – both reducing greenhouse gas emissions and empowering households to better manage rising energy costs. The foundation of Positive Charge is that there is a growing demand for energy-saving services and advice, particularly those that are independent, trusted and tailored to individual needs. Backed by the Moreland Energy Foundation, Positive Charge aims to make energy efficiency as easy as possible. It will be a mainstream service that goes beyond the already engaged ‘green core’, providing services and advice for households of all shapes and sizes. Positive Charge will launch with the support of a number of foundation partner councils, including Melbourne, Port Phillip, Banyule, Manningham, Moreland, Whittlesea and Baw Baw. Residents in these areas can access an extended service, while households across Melbourne can still take advantage of Positive Charge energy tips and recommended products. There is huge potential for energy efficiency improvements in buildings in Australia, and such a service that is tailored to individual needs and the local context will hopefully take off!

33. Sustainability in Schools

While I am in Australia I am working to promote the Young Masters Programme on Sustainable Development - a global web-based learning network for high school students (16-18 years) on education for sustainable development (ESD). It provides unique opportunities for schools, teachers and students to engage in a truly global community on sustainability and climate issues. The programme is totally free, supported by UNESCO and SIDA, and coordinated through Lund University in Sweden. Over 22,000 students have completed the programme in over 100 countries since 1999 when it was established. But now the programme is tapping into the full power of the internet, social networking, e-learning and gaming, and the possibilities are endless! Additionally, the programme is expanding into India and building on its success in China. Exciting times!

So what am I doing in Australia? I have started by contacting the coordinators for the Australian Sustinable Schools Initiative (AuSSI). As I am based in Melbourne, I am focusing on the State of Victoria, and I recently met with the education team at Sustainability Victoria who coordinate AuSSI in Victoria. I have sent off dozens of emails to schools, teacher networks, and education organisations. I will present the programme at the up-coming Toolbox for Environmental Change which is an annual event that attracts over 300 people engaged in ESD in Victoria and Australia. In addition, I am learning a great deal about what already exists in Australia on ESD, such as a great initiative called Cool Australia which provides education resources on ESD, and Kids Teaching Kids which uses local environmental issues as a theme for learning.

32. Coal versus wind. And the winner is ...

A recent article in The Age has argued that the costs and risks associated with building new coal power plants are now more than new wind turbines, and that Australia is unlikely to build new baseload power stations burning coal because of falling prices for renewable energy and the rising cost of finance for emission-intensive fuels, based on research by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Even without a carbon price, wind energy is now 14 percent cheaper than a new baseload coal-fired power station and 18 percent cheaper than a new gas one. The gap widens further when the carbon tax is added. Wind farms can now generate electricity at $80 per megawatt-hour, compared with $143 for a new coal power station and $116 for a new baseload gas power station. Now, these numbers can be debated but the trend is pretty clear. The costs and risks with coal power are rising in contrast with renewable energy. And the banks know it too. So financing will become easier for renewable energy and more difficult for coal and fossil fuels. Of course, there remain many barriers for new renewable energy projects, but the future looks bright!

31. Coal, China and Climate ...

A colleague of mine who was recently in China, forwarded the below information about air quality in parts of China as a result of burning coal. It is disturbing reading and points to a huge problem for China and the world. The mix of coal and a growing China is certainly not good for responding to global warming. Not to mention the devastating air quality impacts in cities, like Beijing.

According to the EIA, China is now burning almost as much coal as the rest of the world combined, due to an increase of more than 200% in Chinese electric generation, in comparison to 2000 levels, fueled mostly by coal. Currently Chinese coal demand accounts about 47% of global consumption.

Additionally, China was the world's largest coal producer in 2011, with more than 3.5 billion metric tons, or nearly 46% of global coal production in 2012, according to data published by the IEA. China was also the world's biggest net importer of coal in 2011, importing about 177 million metric tons of coal and has the third-largest coal reserves. Coal is cheap, and China has access to much of it both within its own borders and through import agreements with other countries.

Global demand for coal has grown by about 2.9 billion short tons since 2000, with 82% of that demand growth registered in China, the EIA said. Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, coal consumption had a hard time, increasing only 1% on average per year, in the last 12 years.

Air pollution in China hit a record high at the beginning of January 2013 at 30- 45 times above recommended safety levels with the Air Quality Index in Beijing increasing to a record 755. China intends to increase the amount of renewable energy it consumes, but growing demand for electricity denotes that coal consumption will remain strong.