Local Government exploring energy efficiencies through sustainable public lighting
http://www.lga.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=198&c=18697

Opinion

Unleashing Shakti: our power to transform
Fossil fuels have fossilised our imagination, our potential, and our creativity.Environment - Vandana Shiva - posted 4/8/2009

The folly of ‘magical solutions’ for targeting carbon emissions
Governments and society should focus money and attention on workable solutions for improving energy efficiency. Environment - Roger Pielke - posted 4/8/2009

Australian Government Media Releases

Business commended on climate change
Greg Combet - Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change - Media Statement - 03-07-2009

National Strategy on Energy Efficiency
http://www.pm.gov.au/media/Release/2009/media_release_1118.cfm
Today the Council of Australian Governments signed up to an ambitious road map to accelerate action on energy efficiency and assist Australia's transition to a low carbon economy.

Ministerial statement on preparing our forest industries for the future - The Hon Tony Burke MP - Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
http://www.maff.gov.au/media/media_releases/2009/july_new/ministerial_statement_on_preparing_our_forest_industries_for_the_future
SNIPPET: Some questions have been raised in recent days over the statistics included in my Ministerial Statement on `Preparing our forest industries for the future' on 24 June 2009. In relation to the proposal for Gunns' Bell Bay Pulp Mill, the employment figures used in that statement form part of a report which was prepared in 2004 by the Centre of Policy Studies at Monash University.

COAG: National strategy on energy efficiency
Kevin Rudd - Prime Minister Peter Garrett - Minister for Environment, Heritage and The Arts - Media Statement - 02-07-2009

Smart Grid, Smart Ciy - National Energy Efficiency Initiative
http://www.environment.gov.au/smartgrid
Industry consultation workshops will be held during July 2009 to inform a pre-deployment study for the National Energy Efficiency Initiative.

Australian Government Media Releases

Australian Government helps the Hunter and Central Coast plan for Climate Change
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/minister/combet/media/mr26062009_hunter.html
SNIPPET: Department of Climate Change. Greg Combet, the Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change, today awarded $279,000 towards two projects to help the Hunter and Central Coast in New South Wales prepare for likely climate change. The project is part of the Australian Government's Local Adaptation Pathways Program - Round 2 which awarded a total of $874,000 for seven projects to help regional areas across Australia plan for climate change.

Australian Government helps Victoria plan for Climate Change
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/minister/combet/media/mr26062009_wa.html
SNIPPET: Department of Climate Change. The funding is being provided to eleven councils across the region under the Australian Government's Local Adaptation Pathways Program - Round 2. The project is part of the Australian Government's Local Adaptation Pathways Program - Round 2 which awarded a total of $874,000 for seven projects to help regional areas across Australia plan for climate change.

ACT leads the way on stormwater capture - media release 8 May 2009
http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/kelly/2009/mr20090629.html
Yarram and Stratford farmers affected by falling groundwater levels in Victoria's Latrobe Aquifer will receive payments as part of a $5 million assistance package. Farmers in the areas will continue to operate within existing caps on groundwater use.

Minister holds energy effiency talks with International Energy Agency - media release 25 June 2009
http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/garrett/2009/pubs/mr20090625a.pdf
SNIPPET: MEDIA RELEASE The Hon Peter Garrett MP Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts PG/297 25 June 2009 MINISTER HOLDS ENERGY EFFICIENCY TALKS WITH INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY Environment Minister Peter Garrett met with the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Nobuo Tanaka, in Paris on Friday, putting forward Australias ambitious energy efficiency agenda. Australia has a comprehensive set of energy efficiency initiatives, including legislation, incentives and support for smarter technologies, which focuses on our buildings, lighting, appliances and equipment, and industry, said Minister Garrett.

Desalination plant approved with strict conditions - media release, 24 June 2009
http://www.environment.gov.au/about/media/dept-mr/pubs/dp24jun09.pdf
SNIPPET: MEDIA RELEASE 24 June 2009 DESALINATION PLANT APPROVED WITH STRICT CONDITIONS The federal environment department has given conditional approval to the Southern Seawater Desalination Project at Binningup. The department has imposed 23 strict conditions on the project to minimise impacts on nationally threatened and migratory species, with particular focus on the listed black cockatoo species, the western ringtail possum and whales. The project design was negotiated and strict conditions were put in place relating to revegetation work to preserve important habitat for the species.

Energy Efficient Homes Package availability of insulation installers register Traveston Dam Opposition position on climate change - transcript 29 June 2009
http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/garrett/2009/pubs/tr20090629.pdf
THE HON PETER GARRETT AM MP MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, HERITAGE AND THE ARTS TRANSCRIPT E&ampOE TRANSCRIPT DOORSTOP INTERVIEW OPENING OF BRADFORD INSULATION PLANT BRENDALE, BRISBANE 29 JUNE 2009 SUBJECTS: Energy Efficient Homes Package availability of insulation installers register Traveston Dam Opposition position on climate change GARRETT: It is a tremendous opportunity to be here with Jerry Maycock from CSR at this Bradford plant here in Brendale where we are now seeing the incredible ramping up of capacity in this facility which will be producing insulation for Australian homes and householders in large volumes.

Media release from Resources, Energy and Tourism Portfolio
http://minister.ret.gov.au/thehonmartinfergusonmp/pages/australiajoinsinternationalrenewableenergyagency.aspx
The Hon Martin Ferguson AM MP. The Clean Energy Initiative includes:. $465 million to establish the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy to support the development and commercialisation of renewable energy technologies in Australia.

Smart 2020: Enabling the low carbon economy in the information age

The Climate Group and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative
Transformation in the way people and businesses use technology could reduce annual man-made global emissions by 15 per cent by 2020 and deliver energy efficiency savings to global businesses of over EUR 500 billion (AUD 980 billion), according to this international report. Posted 11-02-2009

Media release from Resources, Energy and Tourism Portfolio

TITLE: Media release from Resources, Energy and Tourism Portfolio
PORTFOLIO: Resources, Energy and Tourism

SNIPPET: The Hon Martin Ferguson AM MP. Improving energy efficiency is one of the key planks of the Government's effort to reduce CO2 emissions and energy costs and it is expected that the introduction of a carbon price will increase energy efficiency and innovation. The Council of Australian Governments has agreed to develop a National Strategy for Energy Efficiency to accelerate energy efficiency efforts across all governments and to help households and businesses prepare for the introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

Exploring China’s Growth

Preventing the Tragedy of the CO2 Commons:
Exploring China’s Growth and the International Climate Framework

Under reasonable assumptions, China could achieve parity in living standard with Western Europe by 2100, and India by 2150. Climate change, however, may be a key obstacle preventing such a convergence. The business-as-usual (BAU) growth path of the world economy might increase concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases to unsafe levels and cause significant negative environmental feedback before China achieves parity in living standards with the OECD countries. We use a dynamic multi-country general equilibrium model (the G-Cubed Model) to project a realistic BAU trajectory of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and we find it to be even above the CO2emissions from the high-growth scenario estimated by the Energy Information Agency in 2007. This outcome is a reminder that it has been usual so far to underestimate the growth in China energy consumption.

Mandatory energy efficiency a $710m benefit

A mandatory implementation energy efficiency program focusing on large energy users consuming 100 TJ or more of energy a year is likely to deliver a net economic benefit over 10 years of around $710 million, reveals a leaked copy of a report by The Allen Consulting Group...
(12 August 2008) Full Story

How the world should invest in energy efficiency

Boosting energy efficiency will help stretch energy resources and slow down the increase in carbon emissions. It will also create opportunities for businesses and consumers to invest $170 billion a year from now until 2020, at a 17 percent average internal rate of return.
However, a wide range of information gaps, market failures, and policy imperfections could slow the pace of investment.
Public- and private-sector leaders can encourage higher energy productivity by setting efficiency standards for appliances and equipment, financing energy efficiency upgrades, raising corporate standards for energy efficiency, and collaborating with energy intermediaries.

Achieving sustainability of the energy sector in Canada

Achieving sustainability of the energy sector in Canada
Energy represents a major sustainable-development challenge for Canada. In the short term, labour shortages and infrastructure bottlenecks are likely to hinder energy developments and need to be addressed.In addition, provincial fiscal management could be improved by adopting prudent allocation and withdrawal rules of revenues from non-renewable resources to and from a long-term fund. Eventually the main challenge will be to curb greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), despite the rapid expansion of high emitting sectors. The effectiveness of environmental policies could be enhanced by better federal-provincial coordination. Efforts should be concentrated on designing and implementing an missions-trading scheme compatible with corresponding systems abroad. Finally, effective and efficient systems of regulation and taxation are essential to facilitate the timely realisation of energy supply plans.

ACHIEVING SUSTAINABILITY OF THE ENERGY SECTOR IN CANADA

ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT WORKING PAPER No. 618
By
Annabelle Mourougane

Energy represents a major sustainable-development challenge for Canada. In the short term, labour
shortages and infrastructure bottlenecks are likely to hinder energy developments and need to be addressed.
In addition, provincial fiscal management could be improved by adopting prudent allocation and
withdrawal rules of revenues from non-renewable resources to and from a long-term fund. Eventually the
main challenge will be to curb greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), despite the rapid expansion of high
emitting sectors. The effectiveness of environmental policies could be enhanced by better
federal-provincial coordination. Efforts should be concentrated on designing and implementing an
emissions-trading scheme compatible with corresponding systems abroad. Finally, effective and efficient
systems of regulation and taxation are essential to facilitate the timely realisation of energy supply plans.

Defining a national energy efficiency strategy

McLennan Magasanik Associates / Climate Institute
Australia's energy productivity lags behind other developed countries across many sectors of the economy and that there are significant opportunities to save energy and cut costs with a comprehensive energy efficiency strategy, according to this report. Posted 14-07-2008