Carbon Alert - November 2010

A monthly resource round-up of recently released reports and upcoming events and training opportunities.

Climate Change Policy and Legislation

Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Briefings.  The Department has made available the briefing documents prepared for the returning government after the 2010 federal election (November 2010)
Administrative Brief 
Strategic Brief 

Domestic Offsets Integrity Committee announced.  The Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency announced the expert members of the interim Domestic Offsets Integrity Committee to assess proposed methods for developing and selling carbon credits (October 2010)

Business and NGO Roundtables on Climate Change.  The Commonwealth Government announced the establishment and membership of two new roundtables.  They have been established to engage the business and community on the Government’s climate change policies (October 2010)

Multi-Party Climate Change Committee Communique.  The Multi-Party Committee held its first meeting to affirm its Terms of Reference and reiterate their commitment to work cooperatively across party lines in considering all the options for a price on carbon (October 2010)

Report of the Prime Minister's Task Group on Energy Efficiency. This report considers the case for a step change in Australia’s energy efficiency performance. It provides a rationale for such an effort, reviews the barriers that will have to be dealt with and proposes mechanisms for moving forward (October 2010)

Establishing the Eligibility of Emissions-Intensive Trade-Exposed Activities.  This paper by the Australian Government outlines the process of determining the eligibility of EITE activities and the eligibility assessments that have been made (October 2010)

The Implicit Price of Carbon in the Electricity Sector of Six Major Economies. This report by Vivid Economics considers policies to promote low-carbon electricity generation in six major economies: Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, the UK and the US. The aim of this report is to capture the extent to which policy in a country increases the incentive for low-carbon electricity generation (October 2010)
Report
Policy Brief  

Climate Change White Paper – Implementation Plan.  The Victorian Government released the Climate Change White Paper Implementation Plan that provides funding and timeline details on the 10 priority actions identified in the Action Plan (October 2010)

Victorian Large Scale Solar Feed-in Tariff Information Paper.  This information paper provides an overview of issues the Victorian Government will need to consider in the formation of the scheme (October 2010)

Medium Scale Solar Discussion Paper. The purpose of this Discussion Paper, released by the Department of Primary Industries, is to provide an opportunity for interested stakeholders to identify and comment on current barriers to investment in medium-scale solar, the opportunities that such investment is likely to provide and potential solutions to addressing any barriers that have been identified (October 2010)

Expansion of Energy Saving Initiative.  The Victorian Government has invited comment on an issues paper outlining the expansion of the Energy Saving Initiative, including doubling the schemes target and expanding to include small and medium sized enterprises (October 2010)

Local Government Climate Grants.  The Victorian Government has invited applications for funding under the $7 million fifth round of its Sustainability Accord with local government (October 2010)

New Private Senator’s Bill – Safe Climate (Energy Efficient Non-Residential Buildings Scheme).  The purpose of this Private Senators Bill, sponsored by Senator Christine Milne, is to introduce a scheme which would provide an economic incentive to owners of non-residential buildings to improve the energy efficiency (September 2010)

New Private Senator’s Bill –  Renewable Energy Amendment (Feed-in-Tariff for Electricity). The purpose of this Private Senator's Bill, sponsored by Senator Christine Milne, is to support the commercialisation of a broad range of prospective renewable energy technologies (September 2010)

 

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Carbon Management and Accounting

The Time Value of Carbon and Carbon Storage: Clarifying the Terms and the Policy Implications of the Debate. This working paper for the World Resources Institute, explores the value of temporary carbon storage, as well as the implications of those temporary storage values for several critical policy design questions relating to greenhouse gas accounting and biological offsets (November 2010)

New Greenhouse Gas Protocol Accounting Standards Available for Public Comment.   The World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) invite public comment on these new global standards, that will help measure and manage the emissions of supply chains and products.(November 2010) 
Product Accounting & Reporting Standard
Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard

Cashing In On Carbon.  A new guide by the Climate Group, designed to help Victorian businesses make the transition to the low carbon economy and save money along the way (October 2010)

Launch of the Carbon Markets Institute.  A new independent, not-for-profit organisation based in Melbourne has been formed by the Asia-Pacific Emissions Trading Forum (AETF) to assist Australian business with the implementation of climate-related markets and associated business opportunities (October 2010)
Media Release 
Background

Green Star – Public Building Pilot Tool.  A new tool has been released by the Green Building Council of Australia for rating public building. A limited number of places are available for project teams to register to achieve the first certifications (October 2010)

People Matter – Engage: Inspiring Employees about Sustainability.  People Matter is a project to explore the link between talent skills and sustainability by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. This report is the first in a series of issue briefs and focuses on the links between employee engagement and sustainability (October 2010)

Speaking Green: A Guide to Effective Marketing Communications of Sustainability Issues. This guide by Elise Constable is for people responsible for communicating about sustainability issues, whether in the workplace or across the community. It is designed to help communicators speed up mainstream community support for green products, services and the adoption of green lifestyle behaviours.

Carbon Disclosure Project 2010 – Australia and New Zealand Report. This CDP report discloses Australian and New Zealand Project participant’s greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategies.  It provides a detailed analysis of the information supplied each year and indicates important trends and developments (October 2010)

EPA Victoria’s Greenhouse Inventory Management Plan: 2008-09 Update.  This plan, released by EPA Victoria, outlines the steps undertaken as part of the 2008-09 annual greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory. EPA has made this document public and transparent. While it will serve as an internal guide for future inventories, it is not intended to serve as a manual for other organisations. EPA will update this document annually to reflect key changes (October 2010)

 

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International Climate Change News

Copenhagen Targets and Australia’s Climate Commitment. This policy brief by Frank Jozo of the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy at Australian National University, explains some of the Copenhagen targets set by countries, including Australia (October 2010). 

Climate Change Adaptation:  What Federal Agencies Are Doing (US). This report by the PEW Centre on Global Climate Change, highlights specific adaptation initiatives (such as a program office or strategic plan) that are in place at the Department level within the US Federal Government. These are followed by an overview of each agency or bureau within that Department and relevant adaptation activities (November 2010)

Asia Pacific Corporate Carbon Exposure Survey.  This document released by RepuTex provides a list of some of the key findings and data from this survey, sent out to more than 300 corporations from 13 countries (October 2010)

Government Response to the Second Annual Progress Report of the Committee on Climate Change (UK).
This response by Her Majesty’s Government, addresses the points raised in the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) second annual report on UK progress towards meeting carbon budgets and the 2050 target, as required by the Climate Change Act 2008 (October 2010)

Accounting for Carbon: Executive Summary. This report by the International Emissions Trading Association reveals how large emitters in the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) are accounting for emission allowances (September 2010)

 

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Energy, Technology and Renewables

Monitoring, Verification and Enforcement: Improving Compliance Within Equipment Energy Efficiency Programs. This paper by the International Energy Agency aims to provide clear guidance to policy makers and relevant stakeholders on best practice compliance (through monitoring, verification and enforcement [MVE]) in end-use appliance and equipment standards and labelling (S&L) programmes (October 2010)

Investing in Clean Energy: How Can Developed Countries Best Help Developing Countries Finance Climate-Friendly Energy Investments? This Global Climate Network report encompasses findings from a two-stage study of climate change financing, focused on mitigation and specifically clean energy (November 2010)

Water and Energy $avings Program.  Want to save money and improve your company's environmental performance? EPA Victoria's Water & Energy $avings Program offers support for feasibility studies that focus on reducing potable water and energy in industrial processes. The projects are tailored to industry needs to achieve best possible savings. Applications are accepted on an open door basis (October 2010)

Electricity Prices Skyrocket Around Australia. Media release by the Institute of Public Affairs on research regarding the increase in price of electricity in capital cities (October 2010)

Bottom Line on Renewable Energy Tax Credits.  The Federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC) are incentives for development and deployment of renewable energy technologies. This document by the World Resources Institute, provides an update on their benefits, applicability to specific technologies, and expiration dates (October 2010)

Driving Energy Efficiency in the Mining Sector. This information resource, released by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism provides guidance for project manager in the mining sector on developing a business case for projects which will effectively communicate the business benefits to senior managers (October 2010)

Energy Efficiency in Buildings: Transforming the Market. This is the final report of the Energy Efficiency in Buildings (EEB) project by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.  The report and the project concentrate on energy used in buildings during their operation (October 2010)

 

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Climate Change Science and Adaptation

Securing the Australian City: What is the National Adaptation Role in a Climate-Constrained Future?  This issues paper explores the democratic dilemmas and potential of a greater national adaptation role for Australian cities within a climate-constrained future (September 2010)

Sustainability Meta Labelling: A Discussion of Potential Implementation Issues.  This paper by Leonie Dendler and released by the Tyndall Centre, looks at the option of a standardising, unifying meta scheme for sustainability labelling (September 2010)  

 

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