You can bet your house that Copenhagen will not conclude with a 25% mandatory target for all the developed economies. But is that even what we need to do, or is the whole of the Copenhagen process wrapped in an enormous delusion? asks David Spratt.
Carbon emissions
One world, one phone charger
Why does every single mobile phone have a different charger? Not only is it annoying, making and delivering replacement chargers has a huge carbon footprint. The UN’s Telecommunication Union is finally creating a universal charger — and it could cut C02 emissions by 24m tons a year.
Toyota invents its own climate-cooling flower
Manufacturing the Toyota Prius produces more CO2 than normal cars, so the company came up with a novel solution: engineer a new species of flower to plant around factories that reduces the temperature and the energy needed for cooling, thus offsetting the carbon emissions.
CCS Institute comes clean on clean coal
In somewhat surprising and welcome candour, the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute’s latest report suggests that there is a low likelihood of CCS being economically viable before 2030 to 2040, writes Michael James.
UK climate chief: Give up meat to save the planet
British climate guru Lord Stern of Brentford has caused a ruckus by declaring that the world will need to go vegetarian to combat climate change, predicting that, as people become increasingly aware of the carbon content of their food, they will naturally make the switch.
At risk of banging on about this, we’re all going to die
It now seems certain that without urgent and more stringent emission cuts are within the next few years, humans will be powerless to stop the shift to a new climate on Earth.
20-20 vision needed on 2020 vision
The climate debate as fostered by Crikey in 2009 has gone off the rails and is no longer a credible force for meaningful debate. It has joined the ranks of the political nutters, says Simon Mansfield.
Political snippets: Bloggers beware — here comes the FTC
America’s Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on bloggers taking cash for comment, and how the global recession may have reduced carbon emissions.
Crikey Says: The real cost of climate change
This week the World Bank released a report estimating the costs of battling climate change. It’s around $75-100bn per year and doesn’t include the costs for developing countries.
Beijing builds the Wall Street of carbon trading
They may still be one of the biggest polluters in the world, but China is laying the groundwork to build an epic carbon trading market, which it claims will let Western companies offset their emissions faster and cheaper than in the US or the EU.
Is China’s climate pledge all just hot air?
China’s President Hu Jintao addressed the UN General Assembly for the first time in 40 years, making a much-hyped commitment to act on the country’s carbon emissions. But unfortunately, says Jonathan Watts, his speech was pretty light-on for substance and specifics.
No frills airlines won’t cut corners on planet
Low-cost carriers are often seen as an environmental scourge. But Ryanair and easyJet have just agreed at the United Nations forum to help halve the industry’s emissions by 2050 (with a couple of conditions).
The sketchy science of carbon footprints
Measuring the carbon footprint of your business/travel/lifestyle is So Hot Right Now, but the maths and methodologies involved are so imprecise and subjective, a “low carbon” label may soon be as meaningless as a “low fat” one.
The high price of carbon aid: a climate sleeper
It’s not just carbon emission targets that will vex developed world governments in Copenhagen — they also need to decide how much assistance to provide to developing countries.
Condoms: the ultimate green technology
A new study says greater global access to contraception would reduce the world’s population by half-a-billion over the next 40 years, saving the planet 34 gigatons of CO2. At roughly $7 for a box of rubbers, it’s a cheap plan for saving the planet.
Australians: the worst polluters in the world
Australia loves coming first, and here’s another gold to add to the collection: a new report says Australians are the worst polluters of carbon dioxide in the world, with an average output of 20.58 tonnes of C02 per person per year.
The best climate change campaign? Grassroots, of course.
Eco-warrior Franny Armstrong knows how to harness people power, with her film The Age of Stupid financed by crowd funding and her 10:10 carbon emissions campaign getting support from The Guardian.
Saving the planet, one ice-cream at a time
Unilever is creating a “low carbon” ice-cream, which will be sold at room temperature and frozen at home, to reduce the enormous carbon footprint of keeping the treats frozen during transportation and storage. But can ice cream really help cool the planet, or is “low carbon” just the new “low carb”?
World becomes bin for China’s rubbish
China, the world’s largest producer of household waste, relies on waste incinerators to control its rubbish. But their emissions are sending toxic pollutants out across the globe.
Buildings responsible for up to 80% of emissions in our cities
Whatever the outcome of the Senate’s vote next week on the CPRS bills, the sector of the economy that is responsible for more than a third of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, and up to 80% of emissions in our cities, won’t be affected.
More jobs, less cost, same target: Turnbull talks up new carbon plan
Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull has designed a rival emissions trading scheme, which he claims could save thousands of jobs and dollars while delivering the same pollution reductions as the Rudd government’s proposal.
Gottliebsen: The coming carbon crisis
Australia’s proposed carbon trading scheme is the product of an inexperienced government and an incompetent opposition, writes Robert Gottliebsen. If it goes ahead, expect to see global energy capital disappear from our shores, with huge implications for all citizens.
China costing the environment $13b a year
China’s emissions per capita may be lower than most developed countries, but it is still the largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world, and according to Greenpeace, the country’s addiction to coal lead to an estimated $13 billion worth of environmental damage last year.
A Liberal fable: once upon a time on a small, blue planet …
A small, relatively insignificant country in the planet’s southern hemisphere, which produces about 2% of the carbon causing the problems, is furiously debating how to move away from a dependence on carbon. Not that it will make a difference.
U2’s massive carbon footprint
U2’s “360” World Tour this year will generate 64.42 tonnes of CO2, with the band clocking up 70,000 air miles in their private jet, while other planes haul three 390-tonne stages and 200 crew members around the world.
