Feed aggregator

As the worst global bleaching event on record stretches across its third year, coral reefs around Okinawa in Japan are being hit hard. Experts warn this type of bleaching event may become the new normal. These images from the XL Catlin Seaview survey reveal the devastating effect warming water is having on coral in the area

Continue reading...

Henley, Oxfordshire The palaeontologist and author offers a tour of Grim’s Dyke Wood, which he bought in 2011

Five years after the palaeontologist Richard Fortey bought Grim’s Dyke Wood, a small Chiltern beech wood, he shows no diminution in enthusiasm for his “nature reserve”. He gives me a tour, though in truth we delight in each other’s discoveries. I find him a ring of bright feathers on a pile of rotting pine logs, a raptor’s kill, the buffs and browns speaking of a song thrush forever silenced. He finds bracket fungi that have insinuated themselves into the thin, horizontal lesions on a cherry tree’s trunk.

Related: Writers' rooms: Richard Fortey

Continue reading...

Decision by AEMC will push more local generators and prosumers to reduce their use of the grid, to look at private wires and microgrids, and potentially to disconnect.

Inclusion of the Illawarra and south coast lowland forest and woodland on the list of threatened ecological communities, in the critically endangered category.

Inclusion of the Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain on the list of threatened ecological communities, in the endangered category.

Our analysis suggests that wind exported from South Australia is pushing down prices across the National Electricity Market by a much as 10 per cent.

Research shows that the introduction of emission standards for light vehicles has considerable benefits for motorists and Australia more broadly.

A proposal for a massive solar plant paired with pumped hydro storage in an old gold mine has taken a big step forward.

The Kramer experiment - flying through the air on sweet winding roads on our Zeros, and our 100% electric motorbike trip.

Wood Mackenzie estimates seaborne thermal coal use would have to fall by 40 per cent by 2035 to meet the 2° target.

The Western Rivers Alliance is calling on the Queensland Government to make good on its election promise to protect the unique rivers of the Channel Country.

Australia commits to ratifying Paris climate deal, which will come into force by the end of the year - a speed of action almost unprecedented on the international stage. But that means Malcolm Turnbull will have to match words with action. But how?

Research says genetically modified enzymes, which allow products to be still labelled as ‘natural’, should be tested like potentially hazardous chemicals

Genetically modified enzymes used in food, perfumes, medicine and cleaning products are “potent allergens” and should be tested like other potentially hazardous chemicals, experts have said.

There has been an explosion in the use of enzymes to boost flavours and aromas, including in low-fat foods, helping to create a sector worth about $10bn (£7.7bn), according to a study published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine.

Continue reading...

The defining 'boom and bust' flooding cycles of Australia's inland Great Artesian Basin desert river systems are under threat from the development of unconventional gas mining, according to a new report.

Carbon dioxide standards for cars are the cheapest way to cut emissions. Car exhaust www.shutterstock.com

The Australian government has started looking into carbon dioxide emissions standards for light vehicles, as part of new measures to meet the nation’s 2030 climate targets.

However, some are already questioning the use of standards, with media reports pointing to higher costs for new car buyers and the possibility of the government bungling the introduction of standards.

Ministers Josh Frydenberg (energy and environment) and Paul Fletcher (urban infrastructure) have acknowledged these concerns, stating that “the reform agenda raises issues which need to be carefully considered including for their impact on motorists, the automotive sector and others”.

In 2015, new Australian vehicles produced an average of 184 grams of CO₂ for each kilometre. Introducing a standard is the cheapest way to cut carbon emissions in Australia’s economy.

At ClimateWorks Australia, we’ve long been calling for best-practice standards for new light vehicles. This has been supported by Global Fuel Economy Initiative, Future Climate Australia, and other environmental groups. Indeed, the latest report from the Climate Change Authority also recommended a mandatory CO₂ emission standard.

Our research shows that the introduction of emission standards for light vehicles has considerable benefits for motorists and Australia more broadly.

So let’s look at five key concerns and why light vehicle CO₂ emission standards should be introduced in Australia.

Emission standards will cuts costs for drivers

Based on a conservative estimate, we estimate that more efficient vehicles would add A$2,500 to the upfront costs for motorists (the Climate Change Authority estimates A$1,500). However, our research shows that the average driver could recoup these within three years through fuel savings, or even sooner for fleet drivers travelling greater distances. These payback periods are well within the average ownership periods for new cars.

With best-practice vehicle emission standards in place, by 2025 the average vehicle owner driving 14,000km a year would achieve annual fuel savings of up to A$850, while a fleet driver averaging 20,000km each year would save up to A$1,200.

Emission standards are the cheapest way to cut carbon

ClimateWorks’ Low Carbon Growth Plan for Australia and a range of other studies shows that reducing emissions from cars and light commercial vehicles through better fuel use is the cheapest way to reduce emissions across our economy.

Our analysis shows best-practice standards for new light vehicles, equivalent to 130g of CO₂ per km in 2020 and 95g CO₂ per km in 2025, would reduce CO₂ emissions by about 100 million tonnes from 2020 to 2030. This is bigger than the 76 million tonnes of CO₂ previously identified by the federal government.

Currently Australia is one of the few remaining developed countries without light vehicle CO₂ emission standards in place, with standards covering over 80% of the global automotive market. Any delay in implementing CO₂ emission standards will lock-in less efficient vehicles, resulting in higher costs to consumers, and higher emissions.

We don’t have to wait for better testing

The Volkswagen emissions scandal has increased scepticism about introducing standards here. The scandal highlighted the issue that laboratory testing of emissions does not reflect on-road driving conditions resulting in an overestimate of actual emissions reductions.

In fact, a recent report found completely legal inconsistencies between testing and on-road use in car models across Europe.

Some argue that Australia should do nothing until a better testing system has been developed to address these issues. However, even taking into account the fact that on-road emissions may possibly be higher than what current standards testing show, Australia would still improve the efficiency of its vehicle fleet by 50% with standards in place.

Fuel quality standards won’t get in the way

Some groups argue that Australia’s lack of low-sulfur fuel could be a roadblock in meeting future new vehicle CO₂ standards and that we need to have more stringent fuel quality standards in place before we look to introduce CO₂ standards.

Vehicles do run more efficiently with low-sulfur fuel, meaning they produce less CO₂. However, the sulfur content of our current fuel quality standards does not present an obstacle for vehicle efficiency technologies for compliance with CO₂ standards. The International Council on Clean Transportation has stated that Australia’s fuel quality now doesn’t present any impediment to reduce vehicle emissions at rates comparable to the other regions of the world.

As improving fuel efficiency now is shown to be cost-effective and technically feasible, we shouldn’t delay the implementation of CO₂ emission standards. Our research shows that any delay in improving vehicle emissions standards will lead to a level of emissions lock-in – where a larger proportion of vehicles on our roads will be less efficient than they would be with standards in place – reducing the potential by which vehicle emission standards can contribute to Australia’s emission reduction targets.

Australians will have more choice

The introduction of best-practice emission standards does not mean that drivers will have less choice. Under emissions standards, manufacturers are required to meet an average emissions standard across the entire fleet. This allows manufacturers to provide a range of models so long as the average emissions of the fleet as a whole does not exceed the agreed standard.

Rather than limit consumer choice, standards should increase the availability of more efficient vehicles into the Australian market and continue current trends of increasing the number of green vehicles.

The federal government has the opportunity to introduce best practice emission standards for light vehicles. If designed well, in collaboration with industry and consumers, it presents a significant opportunity to reduce emissions from the transport sector while providing benefits for vehicle owners and the broader economy.

ClimateWorks is funded by philanthropy through The Myer Foundation with Monash University. ClimateWorks Australia also periodically conducts research with funding from Federal, State and local governments and from private companies; all our work is focused on supporting strong emissions reductions in Australia. The author has no other relevant affiliations.

GENETIC HISTORY: The most comprehensive genomic study of Indigenous Australians to date not only confirms they are the descendants of the first people to inhabit Australia, but that there is remarkable genetic diversity across the continent.

Months after the worst coral bleaching event to hit the reef, Australian conservationist Tim Flannery returns to a tourism hot spot 50km north-east of Port Douglas to witness the destruction wrought by a warming planet

John Rumney says that just a year ago, this particular spot was once the most stunning coral garden on the entire Great Barrier Reef. If a film crew said it wanted to get a cliche shot of the reef with its mind-boggling richness of coral and fish species, this was where he took them.

Now he’s taking us there to see the destruction wrought by climate change. He says the fact this reef was used in so many films and magazines means it’s a perfect location to see the effects of the recent bleaching event.

Continue reading...

The Australian conservationist travels back to the Great Barrier Reef with the Climate Council after witnessing extensive coral bleaching in the area in May. An estimated 30% to 40% of the previously bleached sections of the reef have now died, which Flannery attributes to ‘the burden of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere causing these unprecedented underwater heatwaves’

Continue reading...

Natural Resources Defence Council claims Samsung, LG and Vizio have designed sets that perform well in testing but disable energy-saving features in real-world conditions, causing energy consumption to soar

Independent tests in the US have found that the energy consumption of Samsung and LG TV sets nosedives under test conditions but can soar by up to 45% in real-world use, raising questions of manipulation by software devices.

TVs from the top three best selling US brands - Samsung, LG and Vizio - have also been found to be switching off power-saving features without warning, as soon as consumers make “out of the box” changes to their main picture menu settings, which can double the TV sets’ energy usage.

Continue reading...

Ice cap is disappearing far more rapidly than previously estimated, and is part of a long-term trend, new research shows

The huge annual losses of ice from the Greenland cap are even worse than thought, according to new research which also shows that the melt is not a short-term blip but a long-term trend.

The melting Greenland ice sheet is already a major contributor to rising sea level and if it was eventually lost entirely, the oceans would rise by six metres around the world, flooding many of the world’s largest cities.

Continue reading...