Five things we learned this week ….

Frankenstorm puts climate change back on US political agenda

It took a hurricane to do it, but climate change is now back on the US political agenda. The topic did not get a single mention in the three televised presidential debates – for the first time since 1988 – but Sandy, the hurricane supercharged by warmer than normal Atlantic waters, the merger with a cold depression from the west and trapped by a blocking system to the north and east, has now caused politicians and pundits in the US to start focusing on the unmentioned and unmentionable.

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg used it to justify his endorsement of President Obama – read Bloomberg‘s full statement here – and for the extraordinary front page on the Bloomberg BusinessWeek magazine.  That should not be completely surprising, as Bloomberg has reportedly donated $50 million for the anti-coal campaign in the US. He would agree with Al Gore’s comment this week: “Dirty energy makes dirty weather.” The US polls are being held next Tuesday.

Shock and ore out West

On the subject of not speaking about climate change, or at least not doing much, the conservative WA state government has quietly revealed the sum total of four years of deep analysis into the state’s climate change strategy – and produced a nine page document (with nine half page glossy images) that comes to the breath-taking conclusion that the government needs to identify “whole-of-government climate science research priorities” so it knows how to adapt to a world with more heat, less water and rising seas.

The document, “Adapting to our changing climate” prepared by a team of five, and apparently with the contribution of two outside consultants, studiously avoids any reference to mankind’s contribution to climate change, and even puts the term “enhanced greenhouse effect” in quotes. It sees no point in having a state emissions reduction target, because the carbon price and support for new low emissions technologies are the federal government’s business, although it does see a role for itself in “complementary” actions such as energy efficiency schemes and tree plantings, and speaks of the need for a transition from coal to gas.

It does, though, have a picture of the Albany wind farm, which it says is a “popular tourist attraction”. As Greens MLC Robin Chapple noted, there is no budget and no strategic plan. Sadly, given the political rhetoric in this country, it is a document of which the conservative premiers of NSW, Queensland and Victoria might well be proud.

Garnaut says thermal coal is “in deep sh*t”

Many in business have been similarly deluded, particularly in the coal sector. RenewEconomy has questioned some of the heroic assumptions made about demand for thermal coal in China and India by the proponents of the mega coal projects in Queensland, and these were reinforced this week by Ross Garnaut, who made the observation that coal demand in China is well below forecasts, due to Beijing’s rapid switch to low-emissions hydro, wind, nuclear and solar energy. Indeed, its coal consumption for energy in August was now 7 per cent below the same period a year ago, and its share of energy production had fallen to 73 per cent from 85 per cent over the same period.

Garnaut has often lamented the lack of understanding in Australia’s business (and political) community about China’s effort to reduce emissions. He told the Melbourne Institute on Thursday that Australian business leaders had wasted shareholder funds by underestimating the serious of China’s commitments. “It happens that the Chinese structural change has had its most severe effect precisely on the three commodities which have been at the centre of the Australian resources boom – iron ore, metallurgical coal and thermal coal,” he told the conference. ”The awful reality is that parts of corporate Australia have dissipated shareholders’s funds by underestimating the seriousness of Chinese commitments to reduce the emissions intensity of economic growth.” In an interview with the AFR, Garnaut went even further: “In China, thermal (coal) is in deep sh*t,” he said.

And our asset managers are still  looking elsewhere

Still, it seems that the people who manage the $1.4 trillion is retirement funds for Australian workers are as blind as many company boards to the threats of climate change, or the opportunities of a low carbon economy. The Asset Owners Disclosure Project – co-founded by the Climate Institute – found that only 11 per cent of the trustees in charge of those fund rated the likelihood of climate change as high. Legal firm Baker & McKenzie said asset managers and fund managers were reluctant to disclose the climate-associated risks of their investment portfolios, but added that ”those who failed to consider climate change risk may be in breach of their fiduciary duties” and could face future litigation if they fail to take appropriate steps to protect the values of their long-lived assets. ”Trustees have a clear duty to consider climate change risks and relevant laws and policies in making investment decisions where such matters prove to be material,” the report said. ”To fail to do so would be negligent and a breach of their duties.”

But our dogs are too afraid to pee

The one bright spot on the horizon was the Climate Change Authority’s recommendation that Australia stick to its fixed target of 41,000GWh of renewable energy by 2020, even if that means slightly overshooting the 20 per cent minimum target. That will mean a lot of wind farms, and companies are already moving to get them built. In South Australia, the first sod turning for the Snowtown 2 project was held this week, to the general applause of the local population. Queensland may finally get a large scale wind farm with AGL Energy’s Cooper’s Creek project moving forward. Local farmers have stablished a 400-strong support group for the project.

Still, there remains a noisy and at time influential opposition, judging by the vote against the Cherry Tree wind farm by the Mitchell Council in Victoria as one example. Our attention was drawn to a web-site called “Ill Wind” – set up in Ontario “to uncover and document the many instances of negative effects from wind developments in rural communities”.

It’s an eye opener.

One complaint comes from a resident that lives 25 (twenty five) kilometres away from the two-turbine, community owned Hepburn Wind Farm in Victoria and complains of constant throbbing and sleep deprivation for the entire family. Another, in Canada, says their dog is so traumatized by nearby turbines that it will not go outside to pee at night, which may open a new market opportunity for catheters. Another “verified” report from Sheffield in Vermont, came from a woman who complained her husband  has a hard time “staying on task” and had an odd sensation in the “grey matter” in his head. “Can’t really put a finger on it,” she lamented. Neither can we, but on the subject of wind farms and health, this is a must read.

 

Comments

One response to “Five things we learned this week ….”

  1. Ronald Brak Avatar

    I’m very glad to read that thermal coal use is down in China. I expected China’s coal use to drop at some point, but I didn’t know it was occuring right now. At last we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel for Chinese emissions and it’s not be an oncoming coal train.

Get up to 3 quotes from pre-vetted solar (and battery) installers.