2020 - Nov 1st - Australia's 1.3% global emissions stance

 Perhaps the most morally hollow argument from the “no regrets” school is that because Australia contributes only 1.3 per cent or so of global emissions, we have no duty to do anything (or as little as diplomatically tenable). “It’s up to the US and China!”

The very same people never apply this argument to Australian participation in foreign wars, and generally have been supportive of political leaders in the US who have stymied every global attempt at climate action.

In any event, at 1.3 per cent, Australia is still the 14th biggest emitter (out of 195 countries) and among the worst.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison with a lump of coal in parliament.

Only Julia Gillard implemented a policy that, for two years (July 2012-June 2014), substantially reduced Australia’s emissions: the notorious “carbon tax” legislated in the Clean Energy Act of 2011. But Gillard lacked the gravitas to defend either herself or her policy against vicious attacks from the carbon club. Likewise Bill Shorten.

2020 - Oct 30th - Final turbine completed at Tasmania’s Granville Harbour WIND FARM

The last of 31 turbines has been fully installed at Tasmania’s 112MW Granville Harbour wind farm, a project that promises to deliver a one-third increase to the state’s total wind power capacity.

The major milestone was achieved on Monday, and confirmed on Wednesday, almost exactly 11 months to the day after the completion of the project’s first 3.6MW turbine, back in 2019.

And it means that final testing and commissioning work can now get underway in preparation for the wind farm reaching full generation capacity, which is hoped to be achieved by the end of the year. (It started sending some power to the grid back in February.)

“It’s almost one year since the first wind turbine was erected in November 2019, and it’s been a really challenging time for our construction team – many of whom have spent long periods away from home,” said project director Lyndon Frearson in a statement on the project website.

As it turns out, the sort of strong and consistent wind conditions that make the Tassie site well suited to a wind farm do not make for ideal installation weather.

Frearson notes that while the final tower sections and nacelle were installed last Friday, the crew had to wait until the wind dropped before progressing with the hub and blades on Monday morning.

“This is highly specialist, precision work and involves a significant degree of difficulty, as well as risk,” he said.

“I’m extremely grateful to everyone who has been involved and worked tirelessly to ensure the turbines were installed safely – it’s a significant achievement and reflects a huge team effort.”

The $280 million project is being developed by Palisade Investment Partners in partnership with Royce Smith, a local whose cattle grazing land on Tasmania’s west coast is hosting the wind farm.

The project was initially being developed by Westcoast Wind, but was bought out by Palisade in February 2018, some months after the two companies negotiated a long-term PPA with Hydro Tasmania.

“Now that construction activities are largely complete, the team onsite is firmly focussed on rehabilitation works to restore the land to pristine pasture for Granville Farm’s 1850-head of prime beef cattle,” added Frearson.

Once fully operational, Granville Harbour is expected to produce 400 gigawatt-hours of clean energy every year for Tasmanian homes and businesses.

 

2020 - Oct 30th - David Attenborough : "A life on our Planet"

 

In the documentary ‘A life on our Planet’, David Attenborough lays out the facts but also offers a future of hope if human beings take appropriate remedial action. 

The first scenes are around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986 in the Soviet Ukraine.

However, David  says that “A bigger tragedy is the loss of Biodiversity across our Planet”.

The Natural World is failing.  “We have to act now to put it right”.

 

1937 – 2.3 Billion World population. Carbon in the atmosphere 280 parts per million and the Wilderness was 66%.  By 2020 – 7.8 Billion World population.  Carbon in the atmosphere 415 parts per million and the Wilderness reduced to 35%. 

The World is 4 Billion years old. 65 million years ago there was a mass extinction by a meteor colliding with the earth wiping out 75% of all species.

 

In the last 10,000 years the temperature has only varied by 1degree up or down.  The season were reliable and predictable.  Farming and food crops required clearing of the land.

 

Whaling in the 1970’s reduced Blue Whales to a few thousand and the “Save the Whales” campaign was launched.

·       By 2000 Borneo’s Rainforest was reduced by half in 50 years.

·       Half the species on land live in the rainforest.

·       Tree diversity is the key to the rainforest.

·       Many rainforests were converted into oil palms

·       3 Trillion trees have been cut down around the world

·       Half the worlds rainforest have already been cleared.

·       From the 1950’s onwards, 90% of the large fish in the sea have been removed.

·       1998 was around the time coral bleaching was seen.

·       In the last 200 years Coal and Gas have produced Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to a worrying extent.

·       Up until the 1990’s the ocean absorbed much of the carbon and masked what was really happening

·       Melting of the polar caps

·       In the last 90 years, the temperature has risen over 1 degree the speed of change exceeds that of the last 10,000 years

·       The Arctic has reduced by 40% in 40 years.

·       Humans have over fished the oceans reducing fish stocks by 30% to critical levels.

·       Human are cutting down 15 billion trees each year

·       Rivers and lakes are being dam and polluted

·       Fresh water populations have been reduced by over 80%

·       “We are replacing the Wild with the Tame”

·       Half the fertile land on earth is now farm land

·       70% of birds on the planet are domestic birds and the majority of those are chickens.

·       Humans account for 33% of the mammals on earth.  A further 60% are animals we raise to eat and 4% from mice to whales make up the rest.

·       Since the 1950’s wild animal populations have more than halved

 

PREDICTING THE FUTURE IF HUMANS DO NOT TAKE ACTION TO CHANGE

2030’s – The Amazon will be cleared and become a dry savannah.  The water cycle alters further.  The Arctic become ice free.  Global warming increases.  Frozen soils thaw releasing methane gas which is more potent than carbon.  Climate change is accelerated drastically.

2050’s – Oceans heat and become more acidic – corals die.  Fish populations crash

2080’s – Soils exhausted by overuse.  Pollinating insects disappear.  Weather is more and more unpredictable

2100’s – 4% C warmer.  Large parts of the earth are uninhabitable.  Millions of people rendered homeless.  Mass extinction is under way. Irreversible change.  11 Billion World Population

 

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO REVERSE THE CURRENT SITUATION?

 

“We need to restore biodiversity – the thing we have removed”

“We must ‘REWILD’ the world

“Access to health care of all”

“Help people out of poverty”

The World population will peak sooner and at a lower level if we take appropriate action

Endeavour to keep girls  at school as long as possible

Increase the standard of living without increasing the impact on the world

 

RENEWABLE ENERGY. 

·       The natural world of trees rely on solar. 

·       We need to faze out fossil fuels and run the world on the energy of nature – water, sun, wind and geo-thermal. 

·       Renewable power plants – Solar farms.

·       Morocco is a great example of what can be achieved.

·       Within 20 years, renewable energy will be the main source of power and energy will be more affordable

·       Cities will be cleaner and quieter

·       Renewable energy will never run out.

·       The ocean can reduce carbon in the atmosphere and the more diverse it is the better the job it can do.

·       The healthier the habitat in the ocean the more fish will be there.  “No Fishing Zones” created which will results in fished areas being restocked.

 

CHANGING THE WAY WE DO THINGS

·       Reduce farmland

·       Change our diet to be more plant based which will reduce the need for land by half

·       The Netherlands is a great example of less space, less water, less pesticides and is now the 2^nd largest exporter of food in the world.

·       Forest lock away carbon

·       “If we take care of nature, nature takes care of us”

·       “Establish a life in balance with nature”

·       “Work with nature rather than against it.

 

The documentary end where it started at Chernobyl showing that nature has claimed the abandoned city back with birds and animals etc returning.

 

 

2020 Oct 30th - Labor powerbrokers thrash out a ‘pro-gas’ peace deal

 https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/labor-strikes-peace-deal-on-gas/news-story/ef5962ec9ea4031195cf9f59841f429c

Anthony Albanese’s shadow cabinet has agreed on a “pro-gas’’ peace deal as it seeks to defuse an open conflict within caucus on climate and energy policy and meet demands from major ­unions to back blue-collar jobs.

As Scott Morrison champions a gas-led recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, shadow cabinet endorsed a joint submission by opposition energy spokesman Mark Butler and resources spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon outlining a “statement of principles” forming the framework of Labor’s future policies on climate and ­energy.

The two-page document, debated and endorsed last month but yet to be distributed to the Labor caucus, was described by frontbench MPs as “pro-gas”.

While it backs the resource as a transition fuel to a net-zero emissions economy, the document also recognises Australia will not be a low-carbon economy “anytime soon”.

The Australian Workers Union, which has been critical of Labor’s equivocation on gas, is understood to be supportive of the contents of the document.

On Tuesday, CFMEU mining and energy national president Tony Maher and AWU national secretary Daniel Walton briefed more than 30 Labor MPs on the importance of gas and coal in the future energy mix.

Sources report the document says Labor “supports the gas sector and recognises all the important roles it plays”, including on economic growth, export income, job creation, electricity generation and providing feedstock for manufacturers.

They say the document also says Labor “recognises that gas will play an important role to get to net zero emissions” and the party supports the development of new gas reserves if they pass environmental approvals.

The document says the party will support “sensible measures” to expand the gas network if it is in the national interest.

The joint submission was an attempt to bridge the policy divide between Mr Fitzgibbon and Mr Butler, who have been openly at odds over energy and climate change policy.

“It is just full-on support. There is no equivocation,” one source said.

Another said: “It was a sensible landing point.”

A speech by Mr Butler in parliament on Thursday infuriated pro-resources MPs as he ridiculed the Prime Minister’s plan for a gas-led recovery from the pandemic. “The clear message being given by all business groups, by investors, by lenders by central banks, here in Australia and all around the world … is the economic pathways out of this COVID pandemic and the recession that is being driven by the pandemic should be paved with clean ­energy,” he said

Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles said Labor’s dispute over gas had been “settled”.

“We support the Australian gas industry. I mean Australia is the largest gas exporter in the world, of course we support the gas industry,” he said. “We understand how important its role is in electricity generation.”

Some Labor MPs are agitated that the gas document has not been released more broadly since it was endorsed by shadow cabinet last month, with party sources saying its language showed Mr Fitzgibbon had made headway in his internal policy war after finding support from the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union and the AWU.

“It needs to see the light of day,” a Labor source said. “People are frustrated that after all the process, it has now gone into Albanese’s drawer.”

Left faction sources have rejected claims Mr Butler largely adopted Mr Fitzgibbon’s position, saying the document was consistent with Mr Butler’s previous policies on gas.

The AWU and CFMEU on Tuesday handed a 15-page briefing document to Labor MPs. In the document, seen by The Australian, the two union figures warn that Australia will not become a renewable energy “superpower tomorrow if we de-industrialise today”.

“We need to maintain our heavy industrial base today to expand it,” the briefing document says. “Battery storage is not close to replacing coal. Currently batteries dispatch 0.08 per cent of total electricity generation.”

The document, titled A Sensible Pathway to Net-Zero Emissions, says gas versus renewables is a “false choice”.

Last month’s shadow cabinet meeting came after Mr Butler (opposition eneryg spokesman) had garnered internal criticism over an anti-coal and gas speech ­labelled by Mr Maher a “gratuitous insult” to blue-collar workers and ­regional communities.

In a speech to a climate change webinar last month, Mr Butler, a key Left faction ally of Mr Albanese, said coal and gas “come with a huge cost that to this day isn’t reflected in their price or in government policy. Now, 20 years into the 21st century, we know that coal and gas won’t underpin continued prosperity, whether for Australia or the rest of the world.”

The speech was subsequently deleted from Labor’s website.

Mr Butler and Mr Fitzgibbon’s public dispute over gas began in August when the opposition resources spokesman backed a proposal for government under­writing of gas infrastructure.

Labor MPs Julian Hill, Tim Ayres and Josh Byrnes were among caucus members who were critical of the underwriting proposal, which has not been addressed in the shadow cabinet document.

Mark Butler (opposition energy spokesman)

2020 Oct 30th - Australia can no longer ignore need to move away from coal as customers commit to reducing emissions

 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-30/australia-coal-mining-decline-as-partners-commit-net-zero-2050/12827098

"Isn't it amazing what this little black rock can do?" was the key slogan of the Minerals Council's notorious marketing campaign about coal's "endless possibilities".

Yet one thing the coal industry and its powerful lobby can't do is stop the momentum towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, as Australia's key coal customers embrace clean energy and act to try to limit the threat of global warming.

On Monday, Japan, by far Australia's biggest market for the thermal coal used in electricity generation, pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

On Wednesday, South Korea's president Moon Jae-in also formally pledged in the nation's National Assembly that the country would achieve net zero by 2050, a commitment previously flagged.

This follows China — which burns half the world's coal and produces 30 per cent of the world's CO2 emissions — committing to "carbon neutrality" by 2060. According to influential Chinese academics with the ear of the nation's leaders, this will require China's electricity system to achieve net-zero C02 emissions by 2050.

To cap it off, the Philippines — regarded by the Australian coal industry as a large potential market for expansion — announced that it is banning all new coal-fired power stations as it moves to renewable energy.

It's getting harder for coal projects to gain finance, too.

On Thursday, ANZ joined well over 100 other banks around the world in refusing to fund new coal projects, following on the heels of similar announcements by major banks in Japan.

Under ANZ's policy, it will no longer provide finance to any new customers with exposure to thermal coal in their investment portfolios of more than 10 per cent, and work with existing customers to phase out their coal investments.

The accelerated targets for emissions reduction announced by Japan, Korea, and China have big implications for Australia, the world's second-biggest producer of thermal coal, 80 per cent of which is exported.

"[They are] Australia's largest fossil fuel customers and all three of them have made surprise announcements that are way in advance of the Paris climate agreement," says Tim Buckley, a former investment banker at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Economics, which supports a transition to clean energy.

Japan's announcement was foreshadowed three months ago when the nation's powerful Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced plans to shut down 100 of 114 older, more polluting coal power stations.

Japan's biggest power generation company, JERA, has put meat on the bone of this commitment by announcing it will shut down all "inefficient" thermal power stations by 2030.

The finer details underline how serious Japan appears to be about reducing carbon emissions.

JERA defined as "inefficient" anything short of "ultra-supercritical" coal power stations — the gold standard — which means even relatively modern plants built within the last 15 years will be shuttered, less than halfway through their potential operating life.

For a world facing the threat of climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels, all this is great news.

But for miners of thermal coal used in power stations, it's ominous.

Australia last year exported $17 billion of thermal coal to Japan, China, and South Korea — nearly $10 billion worth to Japan alone.

If Japan, South Korea and China are serious in their commitments, Australia will face a dramatic reduction in demand for thermal coal in coming years as Asia's economic giants could shut down coal power stations and shift to renewable energy supplemented by nuclear power and hydrogen.

How soon, it's hard to say; it depends on the pace of the transition and how Australian thermal coal exports fare against exports from other coal-producing nations.

Australia needs to start planning for a significant reduction in coal exports.

Publicly at least, the main lobby group for the thermal coal industry in Australia is still bullish about future prospects.

The Minerals Council of Australia has released a study it commissioned from consultants which projected a 270 million tonne increase in Australian thermal coal exports this decade — but the announcements from key Asian customers rendered this out of date before it was released.

That International Energy Agency has long been regarded as pro-coal.

Releasing its latest World Energy Outlook earlier this month, IEA executive director Fatih Birol declared solar power the "new king", set to replace coal as the main source of energy for the world by the middle of this decade.

On its central scenario, the IEA forecast that coal would fall from 58 per cent of electricity generation in the Asia Pacific to just 9 per cent by 2040, with a 4.5 per cent average annual decline this decade.

And those estimates were made before the announcements by Australia's major Asian customers.

Tim Buckley observes: "What Japan, China, and Korea have committed to means that we are going to see volumes [of thermal coal exports] declining by 1, 2, 3 or 4 per cent per annum."

"Now that doesn't sound like much in a one-year view but extrapolate that out a decade and we are going to see a 10, 20, 30 or 40 per cent decline in demand from our major customers for thermal coal."

Coal industry insiders who spoke to the ABC on the basis of anonymity did not accept that thermal coal demand would wane in the near term but acknowledged the writing was on the wall.

"We still see demand expanding in the near term, but the peak is coming," said one.

"Whether that's 2025 or 2030, it's hard to say."

Yet no-one is preparing for the coming decline.

Not the coal industry lobby group, which continues to talk up prospects, not the Federal Government or the Opposition, who are courting the votes of coal-mining workers, and not the coal-mining union.

It's a collective denial.

Although the CFMEU mining and energy division has done considerable work on a "just transition" for power industry workers facing the inevitable closure of coal power plants, it's done very little to prepare for a transition away from thermal coal mining.

Workers in the thermal coal mines of the NSW Hunter Valley and Queensland's Bowen Basin, some of whom come from families that have worked in the mines for generations, may not want to hear about it — but the end of the industry is foreseeable.

If Australia wants to create new jobs and industries for workers bound to be displaced, now is the time to start planning and acting.

2020 - Reducing EMISSIONS in Broome 2020 and beyond - signing the WALGA Climate Change Declaration

 The SOE Report acknowledges that the Shire of Broome is responsible for the natural environment and the sustainable use of resources for land or activities directly under its control. 

This includes both strategic and operational activities that address planning and management responsibilities. 

The State of Environment Report identifies six themes that require management and strategic and operational responses. Responses identified in the SEO report and subsequently incorporated into the WALGA Climate Change Declaration are highlighted below:

The WA Local Government Association (WALGA) is working for Local Government in Western Australia. As the peak industry body, WALGA advocates on behalf of 138 WA Local Governments and negotiates service agreements for the sector. WALGA is not a government department or agency.

 • Theme - Land Management Response - Implement Bushfire Management plans for Shire Managed reserves.

• Theme - Biodiversity Response - Continue and expand the propagation and use of native plants in the Shire’s landscaping activities.

 • Theme - Water Response - Ensure future development and subdivisions incorporate best practice Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD). 

• Theme - Coasts Response - Undertake staged implementation of the adaptation and mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of coastal hazards in vulnerable areas of the Broome townsite. 

• Theme - Energy Response - Continue to include fuel efficiency as an important consideration in the Shire’s vehicle and plant procurement policies. Response - Prepare and promote energy efficiency through the local planning framework through best practice design of parks and streetscapes, covered or shaded footpaths, dual use paths and car parks and energy efficient outdoor lighting.

 • Theme - Waste Management Response - Continue the process of design and location for a suitable Resource Recovery Facility to meet Broome’s household and other solid waste needs into the future. It is broadly accepted by the scientific community and policy makers that climate change is occurring and greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are the dominant cause. The North of Western Australian and more specifically the Shire of Broome has been found at higher risk from the impacts of climate change. More specifically for the North-west of Western Australia, the following impacts are forecast by the CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology: 

• Average temperatures will continue to increase in all seasons (very high confidence). 

• More hot days and warm spells are projected (very high confidence). • Changes to rainfall are possible but unclear. 

• Increased intensity of extreme rainfall events is projected (high confidence). Agenda – Ordinary Meeting of Council 29 October 2020 Page 25 of 177 • Mean sea level will continue to rise and height of extreme sea-level events will also increase (very high confidence). 

• With medium confidence, fewer but more intense tropical cyclones are projected. The Shire of Broome has been proactive and implemented a significant number of initiatives to reduce its carbon emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. 

Signing the WALGA Climate Change Declaration would: 

• Continue to demonstrate Council’s acknowledgment of the impacts of climate change and commitment to developing locally appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies to manage climate change; and

 • Further support WALGA to advocate for the appropriate funding and development of legislative mechanisms to support local government climate change mitigation and adaptation work. 

2020 Oct 29th - WA committed to achieving ZERO EMISSIONS by 2050

 The Paris Agreement As a signatory to the Paris Agreement (2016) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Australia has committed to taking action on climate change and committed to reducing Australia’s emissions to 26-28% on 2005 levels by 2030. The Paris Agreement expressly recognises the importance of engagement at all levels of government and invites: Civil society, the private sector, financial institutions, cities and other subnational authorities to scale up their efforts and support actions to reduce emissions and/or to build resilience and decrease vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change. In August 2019, the State Government of WA

committed to working with all sectors of the economy to achieve net zero emissions for our State by 2050.

2020 Oct 28th Boris Johnson tells Scott Morrison it's time for 'bold action' on climate change'

 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-28/boris-johnson-scott-morrison-climate-change-bold-action/12817474

The UK has a net zero emissions by 2050 policy, but Australia only has a target to 2030

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson emphasised the need for "bold action" to address climate change in a phone discussion with Scott Morrison overnight.

But a statement from Mr Morrison described the call differently, noting that Mr Johnson "welcomed" Australian emissions reduction initiatives and "strongly endorsed" the Australian approach.

The UK has a policy of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

A press release from 10 Downing Street following the call said Mr Johnson "stressed that we need bold action to address climate change, noting that the UK's experience demonstrates that driving economic growth and reducing emissions can go hand-in-hand".

The Budget this year promised $1.9 billion in funding over 12 years on new energy technologies.

The Government characterises some investment in fossil fuel technology as reducing emissions, for example, upgrades to coal power station Delta Electricity’s Vales Point Power Station.

It is also spending $50 million on establishing the Commonwealth Carbon Capture Use and Storage Development Fund, which will research technologies that could store emissions underground.

The UK has begun phasing out coal power stations and fossil fuel-powered cars.

Mr Morrison was critical of electric cars in the lead-up to the 2019 election.

The Australian Government has promised to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030 but has not offered a longer-term target.

Carbon policies of trading partners ‘a matter for them’

Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne says she acknowledges, but does not welcome, announcements this week of two major Australian trading partners — South Korea and Japan — that they will go carbon neutral by 2050.

2020 Oct 27th Japan's new PM Yoshihide Suga announces climate change policy of carbon neutrality by 2050

 

Key points:

• The country will intensify research and development into solar cells and carbon recycling
• Japan is the world's fifth-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide
• The country also plans to roll out new coal-burning power stations

Chinese President Xi Jinping in September pledged to make his country carbon neutral by 2060.

Japan is aiming to achieve the target by investing in solar and carbon recycling.

2020 Oct 27th - Who’s afraid of Kerry Stokes? Perhaps the EPA can tell us

https://www.crikey.com.au/2020/10/26/kerry-stokes-wa-influence/?fbclid=IwAR1cPNm4Rn3fv4OxZuBGx3uYxOvZakpPSL4U8qB-h1u3gWS3o7ygxHpp4EM 

WA's Environmental Protection Authority has been hammered by the billionaire's media company — and Premier Mark McGowan hasn't been much help either.

Is Western Australia’s environmental watchdog afraid of Kerry Stokes? It’s a question being asked by environmental groups after a company backed by the billionaire got a step closer to a gas development with a tick of approval from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).

The Waitsia project attracted controversy in August after it was the only one in the state to be granted an exemption from tough new restrictions on gas exports out of WA to the eastern states and overseas. WA Premier Mark McGowan walked out of a press conference instead of answering questions about whether he had spoken to Stokes about the matter.

And last month the project, which is a joint venture between Stokes-backed Beach Energy and Japanese company Mitsui
and Co, was handed another win: environmental approval from the independent regulator amid concerns most pollution from the project has been overlooked.

Don’t forget Mr Stokes owns The West, Channel 7, GWN, the radio channel as well as the Broome Advertiser - no wonder they refuse to report on protests against fracking!

2020 Oct 26th Geological features of the Canning Basin

 THEIA ENERGY compare the Great Sandy Desert Resource to the Eagle Ford in Texas (Second to None). Eagle Ford has over 22,000 wells as of Jan 2020.

(The Ordovician Period lasted almost 45 million years, beginning 488.3 million years ago and ending 443.7 million years ago. ... The Ordovician is best known for its diverse marine invertebrates, including graptolites, trilobites, brachiopods, and the conodonts (early vertebrates).