Mixed Greens: Australia wins COP19’s first ‘Fossil of the Day’ gong

Having rid itself of a climate change department, and with plans in motion to remove its carbon price scheme, Australia has been awarded COP19’s very first “Fossil of the Day” award, after reports revealed it would not be putting forward any new finance commitments at the Warsaw climate negotiations beyond its Fast Start Finance commitments.

As we wrote yesterday, neither Prime Minister Tony Abbott nor any of his ministers (Environment Minister Greg Hunt will be busy here in Australia, introducing legislation to repeal the carbon price) will be attending the Warsaw talks to receive the award, despite the fact that they would probably feel right at home in coal-addicted Poland. The UNFCCC climate change negotiations will instead be led by Dr Justin Lee, Australia’s climate change ambassador and lead diplomat.

This latest example of the Coalition’s “glaring lack of understanding of the purpose of climate finance,” comes as the fiercest typhoon on record, Super Typhoon Haiyan, tore through Australia’s Pacific neighbour the Philippines, leaving a trail of destruction affecting 4 million people and an estimated 10,000 dead.

Carnegie Wave progress awarded

ASX-listed wave energy developer Carnegie Wave Energy says it has been awarded a total of $659,321 in federal and state government grants, for progress on the manufacture of its CETO Units for the Perth Wave Energy Project. The North Fremantle-based company received $334,882 from the federal government, under its grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) Emerging Renewables Program. It has also recieved $324,439 from the WA government under its LE ED Grant.

Carnegie’s CETO system differs from other wave energy devices in that it operates under water and is anchored to the ocean floor. Several fully submerged buoys, tethered to seabed pump units, move with the motion of the waves and drive pumps, thus converting ocean wave energy into zero-emission electricity and desalinated water. Upon completion, the project will be Australia’s first commercial-scale CETO grid-connected wave energy system.

Energy Efficiency Certificate Creators Association launched

A new national, independent body has been established to represent Australian businesses creating and trading in energy efficiency certificates. Launched on Monday, the Energy Efficiency Certificate Creators Association (EECCA) will represent and self-regulate the activities of businesses operate across the four state and territory schemes currently supporting the reduction in energy use. These activities underpin the Victorian and NSW Energy Efficiency Schemes which facilitate the installation of energy efficient products and services to households and businesses.