Global warming due to increasing greenhouse gases is responsible for some of the overall heating observed in Los Angeles and the rest of California. Most of the increase in heat days and length of heat waves, however, is due to a phenomenon called the “urban heat island effect.” Read more here.
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Better Reason Than ‘Climate Change’ for Eating Kangaroo
The Australian government’s climate change advisor, Professor Ross Garnaut, has suggested that reducing sheep and cattle numbers and replacing them with 175 million farmed kangaroos would help to dramatically reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. Read more here.
Yep. The concept of a climate crisis can be used to justify all sorts of things.
A problem for the kangaroo industry has been the lack of a reliable market in large part because of animal rights campaigning against the killing of this Australian icon, and cute and cuddly.
The late Steve Irwin was against the idea of farming Australian native animals and supported a campaign that forced David Beckham to stop wearing kangaroo skin soccer boots.
There are better reasons than ‘climate change’ for eating what I have called ‘Nature’s natural bounty’ including kangaroo and also whale. But we first need to overcome some of our cultural aversions. Read more here.
Hello from Bowen, North Queensland
I am in North Queensland at the moment, looking at mangroves. Today I drove from Townville to Mackay; here I am at Horseshoe Beach, Bowen.
Key Australian Government Advisor Hands Down Final Report on Climate Change
The Australian Government’s climate change adviser, Professor Ross Garnaut, says a global agreement must be reached to successfully reduce the world’s carbon emissions and has urged action without delay. Indeed Professor Garnaut went so far as to suggest in a televised address that, “On a balance of probabilities, the failure of our generation on climate change mitigation would lead to consequences that would haunt humanity until the end of time.”
On the issue of the need for a worldwide response Professor Garnaut suggested:
1. An International Adaptation Assistance Commitment would provide new adaptation assistance to developing countries that join the mitigation effort
2. Early sectoral agreements would seek to ensure that the main trade-exposed, emissions-intensive industries face comparable carbon prices across the world, including metals and international civil aviation and shipping
3. A World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement is required to support international mitigation agreements and to establish rules for trade measures against countries thought to be doing too little on mitigation
On the issue of an Australian emissions trading scheme, the Professor suggested:
1. The Establishment of an independent carbon bank with all the necessary powers to oversee the long-term stability of the scheme
2. Implementation of a transition period from 2010 to the conclusion of the Kyoto period (end 2012) involving fixed price permits
3. Credits to trade-exposed, emissions-intensive industries to address the failure of our trading partners to adopt similar policies
4. No permits to be freely allocated
5. Scheme coverage that is as broad as possible
Such a trading scheme would be very different to the European Model where I understand credits have been freely allocated and petrol, for example, is exempt.
Professor Garnaut has accepted the science of climate change as explained by the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and sections of his earlier reports read like oversimplified versions of the IPCC reports.
Professor Garnaut is close to Australia’s Rudd Labor Government and this final report is likely to reflect Australian government thinking on this issue. The Australian Prime Minister, Kelvin Rudd, and his Climate Change Minister, Penny Wong, have both used climate change as a vehicle for self promotion nationally and internationally and are deeply committed to the idea of a climate crisis.
The Garnaut Climate Change Review was commissioned by Australia’s Commonwealth, state and territory governments to examine the impacts, challenges and opportunities of climate change for Australia. A Draft Report was released on 4 July 2008. The Supplementary Draft Report Targets and trajectories was released on 5 September 2008. The Final Report was released yesterday on 30 September 2008. All documents can be downloaded from the Garnaut Review website.
Financial Crash, Not Good for Concept of Carbon Trading
The proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street failed to pass the US Congress last night. Across the world disappointed investors are now fleeing stock markets as the global economy teeters on ruin.
With the likely arrival of more austere times it is unlikely national governments will have a lot of time or interest in environmental issues, including global warming.
The belief that Australia may be somehow immune from hardship because of our mineral wealth and proximity to China is likely to be challenged, along with the idea that we can forge ahead with an Emissions Trading Scheme. Indeed it is resource shares that have been most affected this morning.
During this period of intense market instability, it is likely to be increasingly difficult to justify any additional stresses to the economy particularly one based on the idea of trading a commodity, carbon, for which there is no real market.
Bill Kininmonth to Speak at Melbourne Forum
A branch of the Victorian Liberal Party has been attacked for holding a climate science forum in Melbourne that will hear only one, unfashionable point of view: the skeptics. For more information on this, and other environment-related events, visit the community page at this blog.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.