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Category Archives: Emissions

Steven Marshall welcomes Elon Musk and wants to cut energy costs

Incoming South Australian Premier Steven Marshall says cutting energy costs to business and households is a major priority for his new government, with a $200 million inter-connector fund a centrepiece of his plans to deliver cheaper power. Mr Marshall is also getting on the front foot with a proposal for a $100 million household storage battery fund, which would provide means-tested grants of around $2500 to households with solar panels that want to install home storage batteries. It would cover about 40,000 households. Getting the fund up and running is among the projects earmarked for the first 100 days of …

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2018 Program Available for Download

The 2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference Program is now available online. The 2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference will be held on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 March at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, Brisbane.  The sustainability topics that will be embraced include integration, politics, technology, automation, future of renewables, procurement, food security, sustainable construction and waste as a resource. Featured Speakers for 2018 include: Mr Lucas Cullen, Board Member, Blockchain Association of Australia Dr Helen Lewis, Adjunct Professor, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney & Environmental Consultant, Helen Lewis Research Mr Chris Nunn, Head of Sustainability, Real Estate, AMP Capital Mr Tony …

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In Australian first, two schools powered solely by green energy.

Two schools’ classrooms in NSW will be powered solely by renewable energy, taking them off the grid and teaching students about sustainability. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and federal government are providing $370,000 in funding to St Christopher’s Catholic Primary School in Holsworthy and Dapto High School to trial a 100 per cent renewable power and smart technology program in their new classrooms. Known as the Hivve, the modular classrooms – which are fully air-conditioned – integrate solar photovoltaic panels and real-time energy and air quality monitoring to generate energy and control their own usage. According to ARENA, these classrooms will have …

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Virgin Starts Brisbane Biofuel Trial

Brisbane airport will become one of the first airports in the world to use biofuel, with Virgin Australia trialling the sustainable fuel source. Virgin has partnered with US-based renewable fuel supplier Gevo Inc to supply “biojet” fuel to Virgin planes out of Brisbane for the next two years. Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti said the airline wanted to test whether the renewable fuel was a viable alternative to straight jet fuel. “The project announced today is critical to testing the fuel supply chain infrastructure in Australia to ensure that Virgin and Brisbane Airport are ready for the commercial supply of …

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Low Carbon West

Councils are taking responsibility to reduce carbon emissions – leading the way by reducing their own emissions and assisting community action. But to transform a whole region to a low carbon economy, councils need to do more. They can collaborate on large-scale projects across municipalities, create opportunities for businesses from sustainable, low-carbon growth, and coordinate programs to increase their reach to communities, strengthen their messages and improve liveability. The Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action (WAGA) is a partnership of eight councils in the west of Melbourne, representing a cross-section from urban (Brimbank, Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong and Moonee Valley), to growth …

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HVACR: A Major Source of Emissions Reduction

The National Sustainability in Business Conference will be held in Brisbane from the 23-24 March 2017. The Conference theme ‘Renewables – Markets – Innovation – Opportunities – Capital’ will address the need for sustainable business practices, and what this means in today’s ever-changing world. Mr Tim Edwards, President of the Australian Refrigeration Association joins us in March and will present on the topic ‘HVACR: A Major Source of Emissions Reduction’. The presentation will explain that the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning industry will add more to global warming than all other sources of carbon emissions combined unless we stop using high GWP …

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Move to clean energy requires smart policy

The phrase “sovereign risk” is used liberally in Australian public debate, most often in relation to established industries that may be affected by change in federal and state policy. But few have suffered as much as the still-establishing renewable energy sector, which has had to deal with constant chopping and changing in government thinking since the turn of the century. This has particularly been the case since the election of the Abbott Coalition government in 2013. With an axe hanging over the renewable energy target and the abolition of the Labor-Greens carbon pricing scheme, there was a 70 per cent …

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Naomi Klein says building new nuclear power plants ‘doesn’t make sense’

News.com.au, 1 September 2015. BUILDING new nuclear power plants to create a carbon-free world “doesn’t make sense” and just serves as a distraction from the risks, Canadian author Naomi Klein says. The activist and author of This Changes Everything, was asked what she thought about the possibility of building a nuclear power plant in South Australia, which a Royal Commission in the state is currently considering. Backers of nuclear power often spruik it as an alternative to renewables because it does not produce greenhouse gases, unlike coal-fired power stations. But Klein said building new nuclear plants did not make any …

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Carbon price to cost trucking industry $500m

The trucking industry wants to stay protected from Australia’s carbon price legislation beyond 2014. Under current plans, fuel used by trucks on Australia’s roads is not subject to the carbon price until middle of next year. That is when the Labor government’s legislation will reduce the fuel tax credits trucking operators can claim. Australian Trucking Association chairman David Simon has said the planned reduction of about seven cents a litre amounts to a 27 per cent increase in the fuel impost. To read the full story, click here

US legislature to introduce a market-based mechanism to place a price on carbon?

13 February 2013 — US President Barack Obama has called on the US legislature to introduce a market-based mechanism to place a price on carbon. President Obama was delivering his 2013 State of the Union address, delivered to Congress, 13 February, Australian time. The President called on Congress to pass a bill similar to that proposed by Senator John McCain and former Senator Joe Lieberman a few years ago, which would have introduced a US “cap and trade” emissions trading scheme. “I urge this Congress to get together to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one …

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