4 April 2016, Renew Economy, Canberra and Adelaide leading world in climate disclosure, action Australia has featured prominently in the latest global rankings for climate leadership, thanks to the state-based efforts of Canberra and Adelaide, both of which have been listed among the top 10 cities “setting the bar on climate disclosure” by London-based non-government organisation CDP. In a list published on Monday, the CDP – formerly the Climate Disclosure Project – ranked Canberra and Adelaide alongside Atlanta (US), Durban (South Africa), Leon (Mexico), Mexico City, New Taipei City (Taiwan), Oslo (Norway), Ravenna (Italy) and Vancouver (Canada) as world leaders in reporting on climate change. CDP said the 10 cities selected “scored highly for the quality and completeness of their environmental risk reporting,” a form of disclosure it said was “critical” for guiding investment decisions and addressing environmental risks. “These cities’ accomplishment is significant,” the CDP said in a statement on Monday. “More than 300 cities now use CDP’s system to report on their climate change progress. This group of cities includes many of the world’s largest and greenest cities, including more than 90 per cent of C40 cities.” On Adelaide, the report praises the Adelaide City Council for being “actively and continuously engaged in climate change mitigation and adaptation” since 1996. “It has consistently demonstrated leadership in delivering real and lasting reductions in carbon emissions,” the report says. On Canberra, the report notes the significant efforts the Capital’s government has made to release an annual inventory of greenhouse gases since 1998, calculating emissions back to a 1990 base year. Read More here
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3 April 2016, The Guardian, Adani’s Carmichael coalmine leases approved by Queensland. Decision a major step forward for $21.7bn coalmine, which green groups warn will fuel global warming and compound threats to Great Barrier Reef. The Queensland government has granted three mining leases for Adani’s multi-billion dollar Carmichael coalmine, which will be the largest in Australia. Environmental groups say the mine will fuel global warming and compound threats to the world heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef amid one of its worst coral bleaching events on record. The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, and the mines minister, Anthony Lynham, made the announcement in Mackay on Sunday. The premier put the value of the project at $21.7bn, and said the approvals meant thousands of new jobs were now a step closer to reality. “Some approvals are still required before construction can start, and ultimately committing to the project will be a decision for Adani,” Palaszczuk said. “However, I know the people of north and central Queensland will welcome this latest progress for the potential jobs and economic development it brings closer for their communities.” She said stringent conditions would ensure the health of the reef and the environment, and the interests of traditional owners. Read More here
1 April 2016, Climate News Network, New strategy devised to tackle wildfires. High-risk areas mapped and targeted in efforts by the US and Europe to reduce the risks of catastrophic economic and health damages caused by forest fires. Communities in both Europe and the US are preparing to fight fire not with fire, but with information. European researchers have just established a map of the regions most at riskfrom catastrophic wildfire. And in the US, where 2015 saw more fire damage than any other year on record, a new Wildland Fire Science Centre in Reno, Nevada, hopes to help federal, state and local agencies confront and better prepare for the hazards. The reasoning on both continents is the same. “In the regions we have identified as high risk, local authorities need to prioritise fire risk control and develop better forest fire risk management strategies,” says Heiko Balzter, director of the Centre for Landscape and Climate Research at the University of Leicester, UK. Read More here
31 March 2016, Energy Post, The end of coal: good riddance or dangerous gamble? Scotland has become the first part of the UK to stop burning coal to supply electricity following the closure of Longannet, its largest power station, on March 24. According to Paul Younger, Professor of Energy Engineering at University of Glasgow, the closure of coal-fired power plants in the UK may lead to serious problems with voltage control. Prepare for power interruptions and flickering lights. The closure of Longannet is a sign of the times, with the rest of the UK’s coal-fired power stations on death row after energy secretary Amber Rudd announced late last year that they will all be forced to close by 2025. For many reasons, it is hard to mourn the demise of coal-fired power. Around 12,000 miners are killed around the world each year, most of them digging for coal; abandoned mines cause widespread water pollution; and coal-fired plants pollute the air with the likes of nitrogen and sulphur compounds, as well as the highest greenhouse-gas emissions of any major source of energy generation. In the absence of carbon capture and storage, a technology which would be ready more quickly if the government backed it properly, plant closure may therefore seem sensible – even while we should help those that lose their jobs and regret the loss of skills from the workforce.If we are going to manage without Longannet and all the other gas-fired and coal-fired power stations, we would need at least 970 GWh of storage – more than a hundred pumped hydropower stations of comparable size to those we already have. That would be all there was to say were it not for a few harsh realities of electricity supply. There are two reasons why coal-fired power plants have survived so long. Coal is cheap; only since the US shale-gas boom has it been consistently beaten on price. And coal-fired plants are particularly suited to providing power on demand at short notice, as well as providing crucial stabilisation services for frequency and voltage across the grid. Read More here