Newsletter

June/July 2009

EBA News

Contents

Perspective

Fiona Wain, CEO, Environment Business Australia

After the Copenhagen World Summit on Climate Change I spent time in Europe talking with energy and climate change strategists, scientists, investors, policy makers and technology developers and project proponents. Two messages came across loud and clear. Firstly, there is a deep and growing concern about the message from climate scientists and an understanding that urgent and meaningful action is needed. Secondly, the 'Global green new deal' approach that puts environmental goods and services at the top of the value chain for investors and governments is beginning to change the marketplace as the opportunity side of action is better understood. As President Barack Obama suggested - the nation that leads the world in clean energy is the nation that will lead the global economy. He wants America to be that leader. I think Australia could have a crack at it as well. Continued...

EBA news

EBA forum - soil carbon, biosequestration and agriculture, Sydney 28 July
This is the fourth in EBA's 2009 series of cutting edge forums. Leading experts will discuss the role of landscape management and agriculture in drawing down legacy carbon from the atmosphere and generating market value at the same time. EBA is calling for soil carbon and biosequestration to be included alongside forestry, deforestation-avoided and reforestation projects in the Kyoto Protocol - debate and conclusions from the forum will be used to help shape our arguments for action to the Australian and international governments. If you haven't received an invitation email Valerie Orton

EBA at the World Business Summit on Climate Change
See EBA interventions in the WBSCC by viewing webcasts of the World Business Summit at www.copenhagenclimatecouncil.com

Copenhagen Climate Council Releases World Business Summit Summary Report for Policymakers
WBCSD New Study: Green Energy Investment Could Deliver Millions of Jobs.
The Business Case for a Strong Global Deal - paper by ClimateWorks, with analysis by McKinsey & Co. www.copenhagenclimatecouncil.com

EBA hosted 'Opportunities Beyond Carbon' book launch
Six of the authors of the 28 chapter book joined editor John O'Brien to highlight the positive aspects of going beyond seeing carbon as a problem. For those unable to attend the event copies of the book are available from web.mup.unimelb.edu.au

Fiona Wain listed in the 50 most influential green people in Australia
Fiona Wain, EBA's Chief Executive, has been listed as one of the 50 most influential people in Australia who are committed to the environment, the planet and for the future of life on earth. Cate Blanchett and Tim Flannery topped the list of prominent Australians who are advocates for climate change awareness and action at home and abroad, as well as campaigners for clean energy and energy efficiency. The list was compiled by ABC CARBON from nominations received. For the full list see: abccarbon.com

EBA member news

Deutsche Bank greenhouse counter up in New York
A 21 metre sign near Penn Station in New York is now showing the increase in CO₂ in the atmosphere as it happens. Launched by Deutsche Bank, the Carbon Counter displays the running total amount of long-lived greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere, measured in metric tons. At current rates, the counter's figures are expected to rise by 2 billion tonnes a month. Carbon count update www.dbcca.com

Acciona
Mr Jose Manuel Entrecanales, Chairman and CEO of Acciona Group joined a group of major Spanish businesses who accompanied H.M. King Juan Carlos I of Spain on his official visit to Australia. Acciona Group, one of Spain's largest corporations, is a global pioneer in sustainable development in energy, water and infrastructure. It is currently the world's number two renewables group, ranks among the world's top ten infrastructure companies and is the global leader in reverse osmosis desalination. The group is active in more than 30 countries on five continents, with consolidated revenues of nearly €12.7 billion and a global workforce of more than 35,500. "The renewable energy and water projects Acciona has established in Australia over the short period of six years are a credit to all involved," Mr Entrecanales said. "We have already invested A$630 million in Australia, with projects worth a further A$1 billion planned for the next four years." Acciona Energy's Australian centrepiece is the 192MW Waubra Wind Farm in Victoria - the Southern Hemisphere's largest. Representatives of AdelaideAqua, the consortium building the Port Stanvac Desalination Plant in South Australia, have agreed to double the volume of clean drinking water produced at the plant; the expansion means the completed plant, to be powered by renewable energy, will deliver half of the water supply for Adelaide, making it the largest of its kind anywhere in the world. www.acciona.com

Soil Carbon (Australia)
Soil Carbon was recently invited to participate in the UK Guardian Newspaper's contest on environmental solutions. Tony Lovell and Bruce Ward made a compelling pitch about the importance of rangeland management and the ability of grasslands to assist with soil sequestration of carbon - they are now in the final line-up of 10. See the presentation at www.guardian.co.uk

Now it's up to a public vote to decide the outright winner - follow the same link as above replacing grasslands with 'poll' and cast your vote - it would be great to have an EBA member as a winner! And, as Tony says the Soil Carbon approach is the only one dealing with both past and future emissions.

Flexiwaggon, by Celtec Rail
A report, Transforming Rail: A Key Element in Australia's Low Pollution Future by CRC for Rail Innovations outlines the reasons why a major change in the transport sector will be necessary to pursue even a modest global stabilisation target of 550 ppm CO₂-e. Reducing transport emissions will in turn require a substantial modal shift from road to rail, as well as lower emissions intensity in all transport modes. These changes will not be achieved by emissions trading alone, but need a new generation of transport policies, states the report. There's a new and unique solution, Flexiwaggon, marketed by Celtec Rail, Melbourne, facilitating the transportation of vehicles such as heavy trucks and trailers on rail, both short and long haul distances without requiring large investments in cranes or new terminals. It will greatly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and will lower cost of transportation and distribution for companies transporting large quantities of goods. Loading and unloading only takes 10 minutes by a press of a button and requires only 8 metres of hard surface such as gravelled ground. The Flexiwaggon has the benefit of support from the Swedish Government, the Swedish Energy Agency, Swedish Rail Administration and companies such as Green Cargo which is the largest freight rail operator in Sweden, Tetra Pak and the Swedish Association of Road Haulage Companies. The German research institutes and Dutch authorities support the work with Flexiwaggon within Europe. Overall the total social and environmental costs of transport in Australia are estimated at A$52 billion or 5.6% of GDP in 2005, before including congestion costs, of which rail contributed only approx 9%. Contact: Anders Nyholm, 0409-413098, anders.nyholm@celtec.com.au - watch a five minute clip on You Tube showing the Flexiwaggon in operation. www.youtube.com

Conics to be acquired by RPS
RPS announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Conics, the major planning, surveying and environmental consultancy headquartered in Brisbane. The acquisition of Conics represents a significant step forward in the development of RPS's strategy and its business in Australia. Its existing strength in Western Australia will be complemented by a business with considerable presence in Queensland, to assist in creating strong market positions in New South Wales and Victoria.

Greenlight Technology Group - funding from AusAID
Funding for Greenlight is part of the new AusAID supported partnership with REEEP to green the Pacific by expanding renewable energy use and energy efficiency in the region. The exercise will see the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) and AusAID help fund new projects to help kick-start emerging markets in the Pacific. "REEEP funding provides the opportunity to test new clean energy or energy efficiency models that then can be applied on a larger scale" said Chris Andrew, CEO Greenlight Technology Group whose innovation has been selected because of its approach to reducing carbon footprints. Click here for more information on selected projects, such as a microfinance scheme with the Foundation for Development Cooperation. Contact: Eva Oberender, REEEP Regional Director, eva.oberender@reeep.org

SITA Environmental Solutions - new CFO
David Lamy is the incoming Chief Financial Officer of SITA Australia. Effective October 1, 2009 David Lamy will take the financial helm of SITA Australia (SITA) following three years as CFO of SITA Poland. Paul Bourdillon SITA's current CFO will complete his three year assignment to Australia on September 30, and will return to the SUEZ Environment head office in Paris as the Director of Mergers and Acquisitions.

Parsons Brinckerhoff - climate expert tour
Climate change scientist Ben McNeil will share with corporate leaders the business case behind the 'clean industrial revolution' during a national tour with Parsons Brinckerhoff. Ben McNeil said Australian business could lead this revolution - if they choose to see the opportunities it brings. Business cannot continue to say "we can't afford it" - there are considerable economic opportunities for responding to climate change. 22 July Melbourne; 23 July Brisbane; 23 July Sunshine Coast; 24 July Gold Coast. Ben McNeil's new book is The Clean Industrial Revolution: Growing Australian Prosperity in a Greenhouse Age. For more details see www.thecleanrevolution.com.au

Parsons Brinckerhoff is one of the world's leading planning, environment and infrastructure consultancies, with over 13,000 staff based in offices across six continents. In Australia and New Zealand, PB's multidisciplinary team of over 2,500 professionals offers a comprehensive range of multidisciplinary services and total project delivery on projects of any scale. See www.pb.com.au and www.pbworld.com

Finsia - financial planners not prepared for climate change
According to a Financial Services Institute of Australia (Finsia) and Griffith University report financial planners are the least prepared members of the financial services industry for tackling climate change. The report, entitled: Is the financial services industry ready for climate change?, calls for effective leadership on transitioning to a low-carbon economy in the midst of the global financial crisis. It presents a climate change capacity building framework for the Australian financial services industry to assist the industry to become a regional leader in climate change adaption and response. "Factors that impact the long-term horizon of economic prosperity and, therefore, investment returns, should now be assuming greater prominence in financial modelling and analysis," Finsia chief executive Dr Martin Fahy said. To read the full report click here

Welcome to new EBA members

Dyesol - www.dyesol.com
Dyesol is the international leader in the commercialisation of Dye Solar Cell (DSC) technology, bringing DSC to the forefront of the solar industry. Dyesol offers a holistic DSC solution comprising a wide range of products and services including materials, consulting, research & development, contracting, licensing, training, laboratory facilities, prototyping and pilot equipment, and turnkey manufacturing facilities. Dyesol officially opened its new manufacturing facilities in Queanbeyan on the 7th of October 2008. Click here to read an article by ABC. Click here to view a slide show of the opening. The 3rd International Conference on the Industrialisation of DSC was held in April 2009 in Nara, Japan. Click here for more information. Contact: Ross MacDiarmid email: rmacdiarmid@dyesol.com

Sustainability Learning Institute - www.sustainabilitylearning.com.au
The Sustainability Learning Institute is being established in Australia, bringing systemic learning and change practices developed here and already successful in California, the EU and Asia. We work in and across organisations to build people's capacity to deal with the complexity and uncertain futures of sustainability: eco-commerce, regenerative enterprise, resilient strategies, impacts mitigation, supply network effectiveness. Transforming your enterprise. It will offer a combination of project-based and capacity building services in building sustainable organisations. SLI will apply the IP at the heart of the world's first GreenMBA at Dominican University, California www.greenmba.com and applied in Asia, the UK, EU and Australia by GreenYourManagement www.greenyourmanagement.com.au "Dealing with Climate Change" Community Workshops are underway in six NSW coastal council areas, where local people are being invited to consider the impacts of climate change and how they might begin to mitigate them. These are being facilitated by two of our colleagues from Dominican University as part of our continuing relationship with the GreenMBA. Chairman: Bruce McKenzie - founded Systemic Development Associates, is an Adjunct Professor of the Green MBA at Dominican University and Co-Founder of Green Your Management. Directors & Senior Partners: Cheryl Hardie, Rob Kay, Bruce Hills, Damian Collins, David Morrissey, Ian Hardie. Contact: Victoria, Cheryl Hardie, cheryl@sustainabilitylearning.com.au; NSW, David Morrissey, 0414 716 450, david@sustainabilitylearning.com.au

Australia News

Climate Safe initiative
Launched earlier this week in Melbourne the Climate Safe initiative gathered some 1000 business people to hear from Al Gore that Australia can play an influential global role as a path-breaking, innovative early responder to climate change. Climate Safe is a coalition of concerned scientists, community and business leaders and counts Prof Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Ian Dunlop and Bob Welsh among its directors alongside founder Brendan Condon. Climate Safe is organising an awareness-raising 6,000 kilometre run and some of Australia's leading firefighters and emergency personnel who battled the February bush fires are donating a month each to the campaign because of their concerns about that the worse climate change becomes the more intense and frequent bushfires are likely to be. Climate Safe aims to become a central clearing house for research and action to tackle climate change and following the launch staged a working group meeting with Al Gore which EBA attended. EBA looks forward to working closely with the Climate Safe team.

Solar power - will Australia be competitive?
www.smh.com.au Just as the world recognises the need to come to grips with climate change and implement renewable energy at scale, a report in the Sydney Morning Herald suggests that many other countries are taking the solar industry more seriously than Australia. Recent breakthroughs in concentrating solar power technology allow heat energy to be stored almost indefinitely - in molten salts - and dispatched as needed. The Andasol parabolic trough solar thermal plant near Guadiz in Spain, developed and operated by German company Solar Millennium (which has an Australasian joint venture with Leighton Contractors), generates 50MW of clean electricity with enough storage to run for 7.5 hours without sun and around the clock in summer. Spanish company Torresol, in a joint venture with giant Middle-Eastern clean energy investor MASDAR, is developing other solar thermal projects near Seville and Cediz. And there's plenty more coming with Bloomberg reporting 14000MW of solar thermal power stations are in the pipeline in Spain alone. That's enough clean power to run NSW, according to Matthew Wright, of Melbourne-based advocacy group Beyond Zero Emissions. In the United States, SolarReserve and a division of giant defence contractor United Technologies plan a series of solar thermal "power towers'' in the Californian desert - generating between 50MW and 300MW each - again using molten salts to store energy and able to run 15 hours without sun. The US Department of Energy predicts that by 2020 concentrating solar thermal power stations with storage will generate clean electricity at a cost of US3c to US6c per kilowatt hour. That's comparable with the cost of existing (and heavily-subsidised) coal-fired power and way cheaper than if the unknown additional cost of carbon capture and storage (CCS) was factored in.

Coalition urges carbon credits for farmers to mirror US bill
The Australian June 30, 2009. Coalition MPs have urged the Rudd government to amend its emissions trading scheme further to ensure proposed US emissions laws do not disadvantage Australian farmers. The opposition's calls for farming to be given credits for reducing carbon emissions are part of continuing plans to delay the carbon pollution reduction scheme in the Senate when parliament resumes in August. Senior Liberal senator Bill Heffernan said the proposed US carbon trading scheme was very different from Australia's and would disadvantage Australian farmers who could not get carbon credits for cutting carbon emissions. Senator Heffernan, who is a member of a committee on developing northern Australia, said that if the US legislated in favour of its farmers, Australia would have "no choice but to do the same thing".

ACF accuses companies of 'misleading climate change statements'
15 June ABC News. The Australian Conservation Foundation has called for the investigation of statements made by a number of companies about the possible impact of the Federal Government's carbon pollution reduction scheme, saying the companies may have misled investors and the public to maintain share price. The foundation has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to investigate the statements. The complaint concerns statements the companies made about the possible impact of the Federal Government's carbon pollution reduction scheme. The Conservation Foundation says it believes the companies may have breached the Trade Practices Act by presenting worst-case scenarios to the public and policy makers, while giving investors a different message to maintain share prices.

NSW Energy Savings Scheme (ESS) commenced on 1 July 2009.
The Energy Savings Scheme is designed to increase opportunities to improve energy efficiency by rewarding companies who undertake eligible projects that either reduce electricity consumption or improve the efficiency of energy use. The ESS is modelled on the end-use energy efficiency part of the Demand Side Abatement (DSA) component of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme (GGAS). As a result, ESS eligible projects currently accredited under the GGAS DSA Rule will be able to transition into the ESS. On-Site Generation projects will continue to be able to create NGACs under the DSA Rule for generation occurring after 1 July 2009. A new version of the DSA Rule has been released and is available here: www.greenhousegas.nsw.gov.au

The new ESS website, www.ess.nsw.gov.au, contains current information about the operation of the ESS and how to participate.

PACER Plus
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is calling for public submissions and comments on a prospective trade and economic agreement between Australia, New Zealand and Forum Island Countries. This new trade and economic agreement - known as PACER Plus - is intended to strengthen Pacific Island countries' ability to trade, trade capacity building and trade development assistance are part of the plan. Interested parties are invited to lodge submissions by 31 July 2009. Brief, as well as detailed, submissions/comments are welcome. All submissions will be made publicly available on the DFAT website unless the authors specify otherwise. www.dfat.gov.au (02) 6261 1248.

Revolutionary LPG cylinder wins Australian International Design Award
1 June 2009: Elgas was recognised with the presentation of an Australian International Design Award for a revolutionary lightweight LPG cylinder - the first and only thermoplastic composite cylinder ever produced. Along with the revolutionary cylinder design, SWAP'n'GO GREEN also has 100% carbon offset LPG and a 100% recyclable cylinder. Presented by Standards Australia, the Australian International Design Awards recognise superior design and innovation in Australia and provide consumers with an independent indicator of quality and value for professionally designed products. SWAP'n'GO GREEN also received a second honour, being selected for exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum due to its excellence in design and innovative use of new technologies. The Powerhouse Museum will exhibit a selection of finalists from the Australian International Design Awards for 12 months commencing August 2009. The product is currently available in Sydney Metro and will be available in all eastern states in October of this year. Elgas is the largest LPG marketer in Australia. Elgas services more than 5000 sites with its SWAP'n'GO cylinder exchange program. Founded in 1984, Elgas, part of The Linde Group, also services over 500,000 residential and commercial customers. For more information, visit www.elgas.com.au

The World Green Car of the year is coming to Australia.
A five-door BMW hatchback, which consumes just 4.5 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres, will go on sale locally. The BMW 118d emits a mere 119 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre - nearly half the average for new cars sold in Australia. At traffic lights the car automatically switches its engine off to save fuel. It also 'teaches' drivers how to drive more efficiently by advising when to change gears. When braking, or coasting, electric power is generated for the car's on-board network, rather than loading the engine for this task when accelerating. Even the power steering saves fuel. Being electric, rather than hydraulic, it only operates when required, just like the on-demand air conditioning compressor. The BMW 118d was voted World Green Car at last year's New York Auto Show. World Car Awards www.wcoty.com Contact: Toni Andreevski, BMW Group Australia. Email: toni.andreevski@bmw.com.au

Lend Lease collaborates with First Solar to provide solar energy solutions
Lend Lease's project management and construction business, Bovis Lend Lease, has signed a contract with First Solar for the supply of 10 megawatts (MW) of solar panels. First Solar will begin supplying the solar panels immediately to Lend Lease's project management and construction business, Bovis Lend Lease. Once installed, the solar panels will save approximately 15,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) from entering the atmosphere per annum - the equivalent of taking approximately 3,500 cars off of the road each year. Contact: Jack Curtis, Director, Strategic Marketing Operations, First Solar; Chris Carolan, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Lend Lease.

Jackgreen revitalises Board
Jackgreen Limited (ASX:JGL) has announced Mr Greg Martin has agreed to join the Board and assume the role of Chairman. Mr Martin has more than 25 years experience across the energy sector, including five years as CEO of AGL Ltd.

International News

French woman named head of renewables agency
June 30, 2009, Cairo (AFP) - France's Helene Pelosse was elected on Tuesday to head the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) at a meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Pelosse, a French ministerial official, was named director general of the new agency, beating off challengers from Denmark, Greece and Spain. On Monday, delegates voted for Abu Dhabi to host the headquarters of IRENA, after Bonn and Vienna withdrew their candidacies, despite criticism of the high carbon footprint of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE proposes to locate the headquarters in Masdar, a 22-billion-dollar city near Abu Dhabi that will have zero carbon emissions. It is scheduled for completion in 2015 with a capacity to house up to 50,000 people. The oil-rich Gulf state has vowed to offer loans worth 50 million dollars annually through the Abu Dhabi Fund For Development fund to promote the use of renewable energy in developing countries. Delegates from 129 countries took part in IRENA's first working meeting. The agency, which was launched in Bonn in January, will advise governments on technical and financial issues linked to renewable energy and promote such technology in developing countries.

Permafrost melt poses major climate change threat
1 July 2009. CSIRO Media Unit. New research shows that the amount of carbon stored in frozen soils at high latitudes is double previous estimates and could, if emitted as carbon dioxide and methane, lead to a significant increase in global temperatures by the end of this century. "Massive amounts of carbon stored in frozen soils at high latitudes are increasingly vulnerable to exposure to the atmosphere," says the Executive Director of the Global Carbon Project at CSIRO, Dr Pep Canadell in paper published in Global Biogeochemical Cycles. "The potential for significant feedbacks from permafrost carbon could be realised with only a small fraction of currently frozen carbon released to the atmosphere. For example if only 10 per cent of the permafrost melts, the resultant feedback could result in an additional 80 ppm carbon dioxide equivalent released into the atmosphere, equating to about 0.7°C of global warming." The Centre for Australian Weather & Climate Research is a partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology. Further Information: Dr Pep Canadell, Global Carbon Project, CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research E: Pep.Canadell@csiro.au www.globalcarbonproject.org

Nations may form global CO₂ market without UN deal
New York, June 12 (Reuters) - Rich countries may act on their own to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by developing a carbon market they hope will lure in poor nations even if UN climate talks get bogged down. But there remains a large rich-poor divide. Developing countries want industrialized countries to make deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in the international agreement (to be finalised in Copenhagen in December). Industrialized countries want poor countries to take on binding commitments. To get past the differences, the rich world, including the European Union and the United States, may form a carbon market outside or parallel to the U.N. talks. Rapidly developing countries like China may be inspired to join the market to sell emissions offsets such as clean energy projects. A McKinsey study this year found that financing new energy technology, efficiency and forestry projects to control global warming may take more than $260 billion a year by 2030 .... Editor's note - McKinsey also point out that this investment will be part of building a dynamic new marketplace.

WTO sees curbs to help climate
Shanghai Daily - 27.6.09. The World Trade Organization acknowledged some limits on free trade may be necessary to stop runaway climate change - provided the restrictions aren't a cover for protectionism. "WTO case law has confirmed that WTO rules do not trump environmental requirements," the global commerce body said. Import taxes on goods coming from countries that fail to meet environmental standards might be among the measures exceptionally permitted under global free trade laws, WTO said. Such measures are among a wider set of so-called border tax agreements that have been proposed as a means of ensuring that carbon trading programs don't result in companies moving energy-intensive production to countries that refuse to join the programs. WTO's opinion on green taxes, contained in a 166-page joint report with the UN Environment Programme, is an indicator to policy makers that the Geneva-based body won't allow its trade rules to be used as a catch-all excuse for rejecting laws aimed at combating climate change. "Trade is a friend and not a foe of the environment," said WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy in presenting the report. He stressed that trade's contribution to global carbon emissions can be offset by its ability to help spread green technology. China this week defended its curbs on exports of industrial raw materials by saying the measures are meant to protect the environment. President Obama meanwhile has asked that the Waxman-Markey Bill remove references to trade restrictions.

European airport group pledges to cut CO₂ to zero
Brussels (Reuters) - Thirty one European airports including Paris Charles de Gaulle launched a joint program to cut their carbon dioxide emissions to zero, airports body ACI Europe said. But ACI Europe's scheme did not set a deadline for airports to become carbon neutral - largely by cutting emissions from ground transport, boosting renewable energy and reducing the energy consumption of buildings. The Airport Carbon Accreditation scheme covers about 26 percent of passenger traffic in Europe and includes some of Europe's biggest airports, including Frankfurt, Athens, Dublin, Amsterdam's Schiphol, Italy's Milan Malpensa and Orly in Paris. But London's Heathrow - whose owner BAA is struggling with a partial break-up - did not sign up. Cutting energy consumption has become a key priority in Europe as it seeks to lead the world toward a global deal to fight climate change at talks in Copenhagen in December. Airport operations account for up to 5 percent of the emissions from aviation, which in turn represents just 2 percent of global greenhouse gases, said the group, which represents 440 European airports.

Indian Government has big plans for solar energy
During a visit to the Solar Energy Centre (SEC) a research facility from the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, emphasised the great importance that solar energy will have in the future for the economically up-and-coming country. India's National Action Plan provides for a required 5-percent national renewable energy rate. According to the ministry's plan, 2% of this specification should be fulfilled with solar energy. The government's energy strategy provides for the installation of 20 GW of solar energy by 2020. Minister Dr. Abdullah emphasised solar energy's suitability especially for decentral supply for village structures, but also for roofs in urban areas. Experts expect that the 2% solar energy requirement will stimulate domestic production and employment. www.energy-server.com

Private sector observers to two Climate Investment Fund (CIF) committees
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is designing and facilitating the self selection process for private sector observers to two Climate Investment Fund (CIF) committees - Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and Strategic Climate Fund (SCF); and one subcommittee of the SCF, the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR). The self-selection process is directed to business associations to ensure that the business community is represented and participates in the meetings based on the guidelines for inviting representatives of civil society to observe meetings. To ensure transparency in the design and implementation of the self-selection process, an Advisory Board has been created. The Advisory Board comprises five recognized energy and climate change experts, who have been selected through consultations with the private sector, a broad range of stakeholders, the CIF Administrative Unit and the accredited UNFCCC business and industry NGOs. The Advisory Board has prepared the attached terms of reference and guidelines for the selection of observers for the CTF, SCF and PPCR. If your organization wishes to participate in this selection process and believes it complies with the criteria outlined in the terms of reference of one of the fund committees/subcommittee, please complete and return the application form to climate@wbcsd.org before 25 July 2009. see www.wbcsd.org/web/CIF.htm

Renewables Global Status Report 2009
The Renewable Energy Policy Network REN21 has released the Renewables Global Status Report 2009 Update. The report shows that the fundamental transition of the world's energy markets continues. Download the report at: www.ren21.net/globalstatusreport

Earthscan book - carbon markets set to treble in size over the next 3 years
Despite the global value of carbon markets falling from €92 billion in 2008 to an estimated €63 billion in 2009, volumes of carbon credits continue to rise with carbon markets expected to treble in size by 2012. Evidence in the new Earthscan book Carbon Markets: An International Business Guide suggests that irrespective of any agreement in Copenhagen, growth will be driven by new emissions-trading schemes in the USA, Australia and New Zealand and the broadening of the European Emissions-Trading Scheme (EU-ETS). By Arnaud Brohe, CO₂logic; Nick Eyre, Lower Carbon Futures team at Oxford University, and Nicholas Howarth, former economic advisor to the Australian Environment Minister. CO₂logic, a leading advisory firm in the carbon markets, participates in the development of carbon reduction projects to generate carbon credits by implementing various flexibility mechanisms (CDM, Gold Standard, VCS). www.earthscan.co.uk

Diary of Events

The Financial Review Cutting Carbon Conference 2009 - supported by EBA: Managing business into a cleaner economy. 23 July 2009, Hilton on the Park Hotel, Melbourne. www.afr.com

The Global Energy Revolution - ending our dependence on oil with Shai Agassi, Founder & CEO, Better Place. 23 July 2009. 12-2.00pm. Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, 199 George Street, Sydney.

EBA forum - Carbon biosequestration. 28 July, 3 pm to 6.30 pm, Sydney.

7th Annual Australian Energy & Utilities Summit 2009, Sydney Exhibition & Convention Centre, 27-29 July 2009. Contact: (02) 8908 8515 or email peter@acevents.com.au

Climate Change & Sustainability, 28 July 2009, 12-2.30pm. The Hyatt on Collins, Melbourne. Contact: event@charlton.com.au

2009 North American Biochar Conference, 9-12 August 2009, co-sponsored by the International Biochar Initiative (IBI). Boulder, Colorado. Online registration is available at cees.colorado.edu/ibi_2009.html

EBA forum - 19 August, Sydney - details will be sent to members.

CO₂ Introductory Training course: 20 August 2009, Sydney. Point Carbon. www.pointcarbon.com

5th Australia-New Zealand Climate Change & Business Conference, 24-26 August, Melbourne. www.climateandbusiness.com

3rd India Carbon Market Conclave 2009 - New Delhi, 2-3 September 2009, www.ficci.com/icmc2009 email: rita@ficci.com

Clean Energy Expo Asia, 16-18 September 2009, SUNTEC Singapore - www.cleanenergyexpoasia.com

Environment and Energy Tech, Bexco, Busan, Korea. 16-19 September 2009. www.entechkorea.net Free exhibition stands and 3 nights accommodation offered to EBA members who participate. Contact: Email: www.kotra.or.kr/Sydney

12th International Riversymposium, 21-24 September 2009. www.riversymposium.com

Climate Change Adaptation Information Sharing Forum, 22 September 2009, Canberra. Call for presentations open until 30 June 2009. Email www.homelandsecurity.org.au

EBA Forum. 23 September, Melbourne. Details will be sent to members first.

Carbon Markets India conference - Mumbai, 29-30 September. www.greenpowerconferences.com

CARBON MARKET EXPO AUSTRALASIA 2009, 26-28 October 2009, Gold Coast, Queensland co-hosted by EBA.

CSR Asia Summit 2009. Kuala Lumpur 27-28 October 2009. www.csr-asia.com

Green Hub Korea Week, 28-29 October 2009, Samsung-dong, Seoul, Korea. Contact: jmorning@kotra.or.kr

EBA Annual General Meeting, 4 November, Sydney.

Global Eco Asia Pacific Tourism Conference, 9-11 November 2009. Alice Springs.

Towards an Action Plan for Energy Efficient Housing in the UNECE region. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in cooperation with the City of Vienna and CECODHAS (the European Liaison Committee for Social Housing) - Second Workshop on Energy Efficiency in Housing, Vienna, 23 -25 November 2009. www.ee-housing.org www.energy-housing.net

UNFCCC, Conference of the Parties COP 15, Copenhagen. 7-18 December 2009. www.unfccc.int

Perspective (continued)

Fiona Wain, CEO, Environment Business Australia
The very welcome passage of the Waxman-Markey Bill in the US lower house has brought climate sceptics to peak furore as they try to sway the vote in the Senate later this year. One has to ask what is it they don't understand about commercial value-adding activity that creates new markets, new industries and new jobs without collateral damage to the environment, public health and the economy?

This week news came from 12 European companies planning major solar thermal plants based in Africa to provide electricity to Europe. This is the scale of thinking and planning that is needed. EBA has proposed for some time that Australia could become a regional hub for minerals processing and heavy manufacturing with 'mega clean energy parks' fuelled by solar thermal, geothermal, marine and wind power. And if Africa can export electricity to Europe via smart and efficient grids then presumably Australia could export excess electricity to countries in Asia as proposed by Desertec Australia. I had the opportunity to outline this major renewable energy approach at the World Business Summit on Climate Change (see links below). I also suggested that the world could be powered by cheap energy not cheap labour if we made a strategic leap forward and gave markets the signals they need to invest in and trade in 'value' as opposed to the negative-externality-pyramid-scheme.

Of course it would be good to reach first base and have an emissions trading scheme and a renewable energy target in place in Australia. While the CPRS and the RET are far from perfect, it is important that at least a basic framework is put in place for industry and the finance sector to build on. At present the environmental goods and services sector and the investment sector are being asked to absorb the risks of bringing new technologies to operating infrastructure scale - but the carrot of commercial upside is missing.

EBA was heartened by the G8 agreement that developed countries should set 80% GHG reduction targets for 2050 but we also agree with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's call to the G8 for 2020 targets to be set. EBA has proposed targets of 25% to 40% cuts in GHG emissions by 2020 for Australia and in numerous papers we have outlined how this could be achieved based on the 'growing new markets, new industries and new jobs' approach.

As Lord Nicholas Stern said recently "We have to make the agreement, which will guide the world economy after Kyoto, guide the international understandings on climate change after Kyoto. If we miss it, we will undermine confidence in the carbon markets, which will be of vital importance in getting this whole set of investments-which are necessary-going. So, 2009 is a vital year. What we see is the biggest technological opportunity that we've had for a very long time-as big as the railways, as big as electricity, as big as the motorcar, and most recently, information technology. It's the opportunity to go for low-carbon growth. And we understand, roughly speaking, what technologies are needed. Some of them will be very quick, like insulating houses, promoting energy efficiency, and that will put unemployed construction workers back into work now, this year. Others, like bringing forward infrastructure investment, take a little longer. Others like R&D have a still further lead time.

But we have to put these kinds of packages together. To take the opportunities of the kind I described, there are a number of things that we have to overcome. One is the idea that the economic crisis takes precedence over the climate crisis. That's just confusion. That just misses the point about how we can put our policies on these two things together in a very constructive way."

Disclaimer: This newsletter is only for general information and is not to be taken as a substitute for specific advice. EBA accepts no responsibility for any person who acts on the contents of this newsletter.