London Leads the way

Allan Jones, CEO of the London Climate Change agency spoke in Sydney on revolutionising energy generation. He is well qualified to do this as he was the key person who enabled Woking, UK, to reduce its CO2 emissions by 77% in 14 years and to produce 80% of its own power by 2004. He did this by installing gas trigeneration systems supplemented by using fuel cells and solar PV panels. He spoke to a packed audience in Sydney about the initiatives now being undertaken in London and the vision of a more distributed energy grid.

Much can be learned by linking in to what has been already achieved - not just about the technological challenges, but also about the power of a focussed political and business vision for a region. Businesses, both small and large, can benefit themselves and the future by becoming involved and by collaboratively working on new energy systems to power greener cities, and isn't that where most of us live!

picture (just because I liked it!) called computer light 1 from Yanglong7 ex Flickr

Our common future

Yesterday I attended a talk in Sydney by Prof. Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, and author of Common Wealth, Economics for a crowded planet. Prof. Sachs spoke passionately about what needs to be done and about caring mindfully about the planet, poverty, and our collective future. We no longer have the luxury of nations thinking independently, and for their own gain - thinking in the next few decades must be global. By increasing our common understanding and by sharing technology and knowledge, the challenges can be met, and he emphasised the importance of Australia, despite its size, as a role model for other nations such as the USA.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about why we as a nation should act in areas such as Emissions Trading - what's in it for us as a small nation in terms of population? Google the work of Jeffrey Sachs - his work clearly shows that one person, one community and certainly one nation can make a difference, and that may be just the difference this planet needs!

Growing Your Green Business

If you are located in Sydney (Australia) and would like to join a group sharing business ideas about green and renewable businesses, then join us at our new GreenBizCafe group, Monday 14th July at 6pm, at The Fair Trade Cafe 33 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe. Our guest panel for the first meeting will be Alistair Duncan (Eco Living Centre) and Don Pyke (EcoLimo Australia Pty Ltd) and myself. Our topic is "How to start up a Green Business" and not just one that claims to be green!!

As long as we all buy a coffee/tea or hot chocolate, entry is free, so join us there to build and promote your green idea. See Sydney Talks

Inaction or Bravery in Action?

Australia is changing direction, and a leader in that change is Professor Garnaut who has outlined that direction, and he warned about "taking small actions that create an appearance of action, but which do not solve the problem." It reminded me of the second World War - if those who opposed Hitler had not painted the "worst case" scenario, of a future Europe being ruled by a cruel dictator, then who would have bothered to rise to the challenge.

We too, in Australia, and across the world, also need to rise to our challenge and we need to know that there are many possible futures ahead. Our actions today will create those futures. We need to move out of our comfort zones, care for those who will be the most affected, and move with defiant steps to create a future of much lower emissions - and if this means a whole new set of values and way of life, then so be it! The world of 1945 was not the same as that pre-war, and our world too will change. The pain of the challenge will be our badge of honour - let's rise and follow the lead of men like Garnaut.

Picture Garnaut at ANU-1 by davesag ex Flickr