Direction --> Money

Truman Semans published an article on Dec 18th, called "In Copenhagen, Follow the Money". In it, he says:

"Few of the Copenhagen negotiators understand economics, investment, and business well, or the contributions business can make to solve the problem, or the policy frameworks that would best encourage business to play this role."

Our focus over the past few months has been to look at what can be achieved by governments coming together to solve the climate crisis. And in some ways, this was a positive step, but mostly, it was a planetary talk fest.

Truman rightly points out that developed countries are unlikely to hand over the sums of money being sought by developing nations, and companies with existing or new IP are not going to give away that technology. So the outcomes being sought were not feasible in the current global political space.

To achieve the vision, the goals of a new energy economy, and to fast track this, business people must step in and drive the agenda. This is already happening in China, India and the US as BLWB's (business leaders without borders) see opportunities for major industries developing in water, waste and energy management. Many corporate partnerships across nations are already in place and more are on the drawing board.

Old money is blocking some of these initiatives, and it's time for them to change direction, or get out of the way. And for governments to support local initiatives that will best meet the needs of this new economy.

In Truman's words: "It is critical that the business community educate governments on the role that they can play and sell them on the enabling policies and financial mechanisms that are needed. "

Copenhagen over, now let's get on with what needs to be done.

Directionally challenged

As planetary people, we are hurtling through space and time, and our individual lives are wrapped around the circumstances that we find ourselves. And annually, by our measure of time, I find it useful to take some moments to review and look ahead.

With all the challenges that drive us daily, it is sometimes difficult to fully comprehend facts and figures that point to an uncertain future for many species, including us. How then, do we look forward positively, and enliven others around us for the changes that are unfolding?

Looking back, those who inspired us in the past, did so by their positive words. Words such as, “I have a dream….” and, “we will fight them on the beaches…”, and NOT, “I have a nightmare...” or “they are so powerful against us...”. Warnings are useful, but like this sign, give us no information about where we should go. This next year, 2010, is a year to inspire more people to become involved in the transition, and to draw more pictures of our common future, while still actively challenging short-term and factional thinking.

My picture of our future is of a stable number of people on this planet living in diverse, sustainable communities, each having access to water and food, and to life enhancing energy from renewable sources. My vision is of a sustainable global society powered by renewable energy.

What is your dream, your planetary picture, your vision of the future, one you use to engage those around you?

(and I took the picture above in Ireland/West Coast)

A Six-Pack of Coal

This week, Science Alert includes a commentary by Kjell Aleklett called Economy and Climate on the path down from the Peak of Oil and Gas. In that article, Kjell, who is Professor in Physics, Uppsala Hydrocarbon Depletion Study Group, at Uppsala University, Sweden, writes.....

"Many are convinced that the future use of coal will determine the outcome for the world’s climate. If we study the world’s coal reserves we find that 80 per cent exists in only six nations; the USA, Russia, China, India, Australia and South Africa. The greatest proportion of the coal that is consumed globally is in these six nations. It is incorrect to assert that carbon dioxide emissions from coal are an international problem.
They are fundamentally a national problem. The international problem is that the rest of the world is affected by the emissions from these six nations."

Thought-provoking words for us Aussies surfing and sitting on our beaches, watching ships queue up to export tons of the stuff!

pic ex Flickr Happychopper's Photostream with comment "Newcastle - check the massive ships in the distance carrying coal... there were hundreds of them out there! "

100 percent renewable by 2030

Mark Jacobsen of Stanford and Mark Delucchi of University of California have produced a paper which confirms what some of us have suspected, that it is possible to shift the world's energy production to 100 percent renewable by 2030. Their article is the cover story of the November Scientific American and their formula is a combination of wind, marine and solar energy. They point out that using renewables to generate power automatically provides significant efficiency because much less energy is wasted as heat such as in the combustion processes of traditional power generation.

The article addresses the "hour by hour" power demand and the need to significantly upgrade the transmission infrastructure. According to them, 100 percent renewable by 2030 is possible, it's feasible, but whether it's achievable may depend on how we support our renewable businesses and entrepreneurs, and what we say to our politicians and to our law makers.

There are competing elements in this new era, but change will happen. The question is, will it be done in time, and achieve our 100 percent renewable world by 2030?

TCKTCKTCK to the future

Maintaining the Status Quo - when we have achieved some semblance of "the good life", our priority is then to maintain that lifestyle, not to see it eroded, to keep things the way they currently are. But that mindset comes with a big price tag for the planet.

This week, I observed a considerable degree of that urge to maintain the status quo, with farmers in the UK rejecting wind farms which might change their view, Australians in a debate about how our lifestyles could change unless we tighten our border security. Others worldwide are concerned about increases in energy cost, and how that could impact them in the short term, while many more see their lifestyles being eroded from lack of water and changing climate. Others just want to avoid any debate and hope that life will continue as "normal" and want their personal status quo maintained.

In some ways, the Copenhagen debate is also one of Status Quo - how to set a course for the future at the same time as providing the economic and political stability to take us there.

So there is no easy answer here, but an absolute need to develop a new paradigm, new values, and a new vision. We have talked a lot about the pain of this transition and that surely will happen, but it's also time to talk about a new future which will provide a new status quo. How do we live in this new world? What resources do we need and what can we provide for our children to develop this space?

Copenhagen is one more step in that direction, and an important one. So it's now time for us all to become more active in our communities and to let go of our own personal "status quo" - to become pioneers of this new future, and join those, like Desmond Tutu, in becoming Climate (and planet) Allies.

Savings start at Home

Most Australians, including myself, are fortunate to enjoy a modern lifestyle, accustomed to live well. But that lifestyle has a price, both in dollar terms and in our carbon impact on the planet.

So it's timely that we now have a new book to help us "save energy, save money and reduce our our carbon footprint" and, at the same time, still find ways to live well and enjoy life. That book is The CSIRO Home Energy Savings Handbook, and you can find more about this comprehensive family friendly book here.

So if you want to find out how you, your friends and family can make a difference - which TV to buy, how to cool your house, why recycling aluminium is so important, and whether a diesel car has a lower carbon impact - then find yourself a copy of this highly useful book from your local bookstore or library.

And for those looking for a good idea for Fathers Day next week - instead of that tie or socks for Dad - why not give him a gift that is a real investment and one everyone can share.

MindSet = Dataset

For anyone reviewing what has happened and projecting the future, data is essential, but numbers are sometimes confusing, and its easy to misread a trend. So its a real joy to see the work at gapminder.org where data is represented as coloured bubbles.

It's easier to check it out yourself, go play with data, it's great fun and a mind shift about how we view the world. Or check it out at the latest TED TALK by Hans Rosling.