The DEWP confirms perceptions that the Australian Federal Government is, as yet, unwilling or unable to face up to the strategic risks to which this country is now exposed from the integrated climate change and energy dilemma.

Some key concerns include:

•  Climate Change and Energy are inextricably linked. However, the DEWP focuses on energy and makes only passing reference to climate change, implying that it is taken care of by the Clean Energy Futures package (CEFP)

•  Addressing climate change will require far more extensive action than is contained in the CEFP, as the government is well aware from the scientific advice it is receiving.

•  Peak oil is discounted as a risk, despite continuing instability in global oil markets, the empirical evidence that the peak in conventional oil has passed, our increasing reliance on international supply as domestic refining capacity closes, evidence from reputable bodies such as the IEA, and our lack of strategic oil reserves.

•  Rather than making Australia’s energy system more resilient, the DEWP would lead to overextended high-carbon growth with potentially catastrophic consequences.

In summary, the DEWP is wholly inadequate as the basis for Australia’s energy future to 2030 and beyond. It seems unable to move much beyond the old “official future” of our high-carbon, dig-it-up and ship-it-out economic model. It should be withdrawn and a comprehensive, whole-of-government, scenario framework developed which is prepared to “think the unthinkable” and seriously address the need for emergency action to transition rapidly from a high-carbon to a low-carbon economy.

Download CPD fellow Ian Dunlop’s submission The Future of Energy: The Most Likely Scenario – Emergency Action here

About Ian Dunlop

Ian Dunlop was formerly a senior international oil, gas and coal industry executive. He chaired the Australian Coal Association in 1987-88, chaired the Australian Greenhouse Office Experts Group on Emissions Trading from 1998-2000 and was CEO of the Australian Institute of Company Directors from 1997-2001. He is Chairman of Safe Climate Australia, Deputy Convenor of the Australian Association for the Study of Peak Oil, Director of Australia 21, Fellow of the Centre for Policy Development and a Member of the Club of Rome.

Change can happen faster than you think – help us seize the moment and point to the alternatives. Add your voice to ours!

Listen to Taegen Edwards and Karin Kolbe on BayFM’s Spin Cycle.

Impacting directly on farmers, rural and regional communities and the environment, CSG exploration and extraction also raises big questions about the future of our state, of our nation, and of our planet. As with many such controversies, claims and counter-claims fly, and PR and political spin hides the truth.

The project will combine informational articles on scientific, social and political aspects of the impact of CSG on Queenslanders with real time discussions, and frequently updated social media content. They will also be reporting from the ground, and stimulating deliberative and interactive discussions. This cauldron of ideas will sit on FAQ Research’s website and Crikey’s dedicated blog, allowing users to test their point of view against expert knowledge.

FAQ Research need your support! Want to help contribute to an interactive and stimulating initiative? Donations can be made here

For more information on Coal Seam Gas – Behind the Seams, please visit the project’s website here

Join FAQ Research on Facebook here and follow on Twitter here.

“In the final week in Durban a sense of frustration is permeating the COP, where aspirations for a global deal remain high, but expectations swing between mildly hopeful and almost absent.”

The 2011 Durban Climate Change Conference is in its final week and its organisers are hopeful of hammering out a deal that finally makes it a legal obligation to tackle climate change. CPD fellow Fiona Armstrong is attending the event and has given her report to the Climate Spectator.

You can read Fiona Armstrong’s full article in Climate Spectator here.

Laura is the author of Stocking Up: Securing Our Marine Economy the first in a series of reports that will look at how different sectors of Australia’s economy can benefit from policies to preserve the environment and resources that sustain them.

There are also gaps in our official accounts, which record only a fraction of the real, long-term value of our oceans. We know that our oceans support 9,000 direct jobs in commercial fishing and a marine tourism industry worth $11 billion per year. Yet Australia currently accounts for only $44 billion out of a total of $69 billion in annual economic value.

A new report released by the Centre for Policy Development reveals a shortfall of $25 billion per year that nature provides for free as ecosystem services – clean water, fish nurseries, and food and recreation for the one in five Australian’s who fish at least once a year. A company that neglects to account for a third of its annual production value should expect wildly unpredictable returns. The same is true of the returns we can expect from our natural resources.

The federal government has committed to put a representative system of marine protected areas in place by 2012. Without proper accounting for ecosystem services we’re in danger of drawing lines on maps that fail to protect our most valuable assets. The current proposal for a South West marine park, for example, covers a lot of open ocean but very little seagrass. Seagrass areas sequester 10 to 40 times as much carbon as forests and are particularly important as nurseries for young fish. Adjusting the policy to meet scientific recommendations for areas of coastal shelf, seagrass and coral reef could protect a further $1.1 billion in ecosystem services a year.

A good understanding of the fundamental drivers of value and risk can be a useful guide for long-term investors – whether public and private. With the global population heading towards 9 billion on a finite planet, food prices will continue to rise rapidly over the medium to long term, while environmental pressures are likely to pose increasing risks to natural resource bases.

In this context Australia needs a responsible investment strategy to ensure that our portfolio of ocean wealth increases in value over time and rides out the booms and busts of the environment and economy. A common way to achieve more stable returns is to include a balanced mix of assets – our marine portfolio should follow this approach. Investment options available to Australia include:
»   A well-managed commercial fishing estate. Currently providing low financial returns, with half of Australia’s fisheries struggling to cope with high fuel prices and the high Australian dollar, it is however a valuable source of employment and provides a product that is likely to rise in value in the near future.
»    Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This investment has been shown to provide very high returns, with immediate benefits to high-value tourism, medium-term benefits to recreational fishing, and longer-term benefits to commercial fishing through more stable and resilient stocks.
»   Highly Protected Areas (within MPAs), where no fishing or oil and gas exploration takes place. Just as banks keep some capital in reserve to hedge against unexpected losses, it makes sense for Australia to include highly protected areas in its marine estate. High capital reserves protect banks from GFC-like shocks to financial systems. Highly protected areas will help protect Australia’s marine portfolio from ecosystem shocks.

This is a time of great risk for our marine economy, but there are also opportunities if we get our policies right. Our report finds that the value of sustainably managed Australian fisheries could increase by 42% over 20 years if global fish stocks collapse. We have the scientific knowledge to identify and protect key marine areas. We have the policy opportunity. We need to make sure that this opportunity is not missed through the failure to recognise that a strong marine economy depends on a healthy marine environment.

This article was first published in The Australian Financial Review on 13 September 2011.

READ the key findings & recommendations in Stocking Up: Securing Our Marine Economy here.

DOWNLOAD the report here

“Sea grasses store 10 to 40 times as much carbon per hectare as forests, and Australia’s sea-grass meadows are the largest in the world, a report by the Centre for Policy Development says.

Considering the Gillard government wants to charge $23 per tonne of carbon emitted by Australia’s biggest polluters, that would make Australia’s coastal seagrass beds worth $79 per hectare, the report’s authors added at its official launch today.” 

The report recognises some of the added value that our oceans and marine parks contribute to our economy, most of it unnoticed.

“Ocean ecosystems add an extra $25 billion to the national economy each year which is not accounted for in official figures, the report says. These includes $15.8 billion a year in carbon storage” 

Read the complete article here

READ the key findings & recommendations in Stocking Up: Securing Our Marine Economy here.

DOWNLOAD the report here

According to Laura Eadie, “It’s not an easy thing to put a price on the value of life let alone an ecological treasure chest that sustains and if protected could sustain us for future lifetimes, but that’s what this study aims to do.”

Eadie told Xinhua that through analysis of the UN’s Environment Program biodiversityassessments, and in the face of Prime Minister Gillard’s recent pricing of carbon, the price tag of what is beneath Australia’s oceans depends on the strength of future protective modeling.

“What this means is Australia’s marine life, fish stocks and ecosystems willneed to be protected to buffer them from the risks of over- exploitation, risingtemperatures and acidity due to climate change, and pollution.”

To read the full report, click here.

READ the key findings & recommendations in Stocking Up: Securing Our Marine Economy here.

DOWNLOAD the report here

Forbes Advocate Andrew Darby reports on CPD’s Research Paper Stocking Up: Securing Our Marine Economy.

Building on the UN Environment Program biodiversity assessments, CPD’s paper counted the worth of nature hidden beneath the sea’s surface.

As Environment Minister Tony Burke indicates, this is once-in-a-generation chance to protect the marine environment.

Establishing stronger protections for our marine ecosystems could set Australia up to benefit at a time when global fisheries were being depleted.

To read the full report, click here.

Gunter Pauli has a dream. The Belgian economist and entrepreneur has a plan to develop 100 manufacturing innovations with viable business models that could generate 100 million jobs in 10 years. All with zero emissions and no waste.

He calls it “The Blue Economy” with innovations covering the full gamut of industrial activity, from energy to mining, from medicine to banking … all of it inspired by science and biometrics. And Pauli isn’t all talk … there’s plenty of action in the many startup-style projects around the globe funded by his organisation Zero Emissions Research and Initiative, which is now a global network.

Memorable achievements include recycling coffee waste for mushroom farming, making biodegradable detergent from discarded citrus peel, and the conversion of petrol stations into ‘charge stations’ for electric cars.

Last month we presented a talk with Gunter Pauli at Sydney University together with Sydney Ideas  titled: The Blue Economy: 10 Years, 100 Innovations, 100 Million Jobs.

WATCH Gunter Pauli’s talk here.

About the speakers:

Gunter Pauli was born in Antwerp, Belgium. His entrepreneurial activities span business, culture, science, politics and the environment. He founded Zero Emissions Research Initiative (ZERI) and the subsequent Global ZERI Network which uses science and publicly available information to find and develop sustainable business solutions. Serving clients from remote communities to major corporations, solutions are inspired by what is locally available, building on local knowledge and culture. Pauli has been visiting lecturer and professor at universities around the world, and a board member of NGOs and private companies in Asia, USA and Latin America. Since 2009, he has taken responsibility for the design of an economic development concept based on GNH (Gross National Happiness) principles and values as part of his advisory role in designing an economic development strategy for Bhutan. Pauli has published 19 books and 36 fables bringing science and emotions to children. He is fluent in seven languages and has lived in four continents.

Ian Dunlop is a Fellow at the Centre for Policy Development and a contributing author to their latest book, “More Than Luck: Ideas Australia Needs Now”. He is Chairman of Safe Climate Australia and chaired the Australian Greenhouse Office Experts Group on Emissions Trading from 1998-2000.

WATCH Gunter Pauli’s talk here.