Land clearing and Climate Change | The Saturday Paper

There are lies, damned lies and Turnbull government statistics about Australia’s contribution to global climate change.  Take, for example, the figures it provides on greenhouse gas emissions resulting from land clearing. If you believe them, the cutting and burning of native vegetation by farmers and other landholders resulted in 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide being added to the air in 2015-16.

In the same year that the federal government claimed 1.7 million tonnes of carbon emissions for the whole country, Queensland – the state that has both the nation’s worst record for land clearing and the best system for recording it – claimed by itself to have contributed some 26 times that amount.

In 2015-16, recently released data from the Queensland government’s Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) shows, 395,000 hectares of land was cleared, producing 45 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

If you believe the federal government, nationwide carbon pollution from land clearing was down 13 per cent that year, compared with 2014-15. Yet the SLATS numbers show the amount of land cleared in Queensland was up 30 per cent, year on year.

The federal figures show CO2 emissions from land clearing are down about 90 per cent since 2012-13. Yet the SLATS data shows the area of land cleared annually in Queensland has gone up fourfold over the same period. In total, some 1.5 million hectares – an area rather larger than Northern Ireland – was cleared over the five years to 2015-16. And that was just in Queensland.

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Transportation is the Biggest Source of U.S. Emissions | Climate Central

The busiest travel day of the year brings a renewed focus on transportation, and for the first time since the 1970s, U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from transportation have eclipsed emissions from electricity generation as the top source of greenhouse gases.

The change comes as U.S. electricity generation relies less on coal and more on renewables and natural gas (a less carbon-intensive fossil fuel). Transportation emissions have also declined from a peak in 2008 due to steadily improving fuel economies, although there has been a small uptick recently as a result of a drop in gas prices. The projected growth in electric vehicles suggests decreases in CO2 transportation emissions are on the horizon. Even when accounting for how electricity is generated, an electric vehicle emits less carbon dioxide than a comparable gasoline car in a majority of U.S. states. More

A world in transformation: World Energy Outlook 2017 | IEA

The resurgence in oil and gas production from the United States, deep declines in the cost of renewables and growing electrification are changing the face of the global energy system and upending traditional ways of meeting energy demand, according to the World Energy Outlook 2017. A cleaner and more diversified energy mix in China is another major driver of this transformation.

Over the next 25 years, the world’s growing energy needs are met first by renewables and natural gas, as fast-declining costs turn solar power into the cheapest source of new electricity generation. Global energy demand is 30% higher by 2040 – but still half as much as it would have been without efficiency improvements. The boom years for coal are over — in the absence of large-scale carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) — and rising oil demand slows down but is not reversed before 2040 even as electric-car sales rise steeply.

WEO-2017, the International Energy Agency’s flagship publication, finds that over the next two decades the global energy system is being reshaped by four major forces: the United States is set to become the undisputed global oil and gas leader; renewables are being deployed rapidly thanks to falling costs; the share of electricity in the energy mix is growing; and China’s new economic strategy takes it on a cleaner growth mode, with implications for global energy markets.  More

ASX top 20 companies for climate change reporting in 2017 | Renew Economy

In this note RE briefly looked at the top 20 companies by market capitalisation listed on the ASX to see what they actually said in their latest annual report. Mostly this is 2017 but in some cases it's still 2016. Each company was rated out of 5 on disclosure.  

Climate and energy – appeasement does not work | Renew Economy

The current chaos around climate and energy policy brings to mind George Santayana’s caution that: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. That is exactly what we are witnessing, albeit with far more profound implications even than the advent of the Second World War.  More

Winning Slowly Is the Same as Losing | Bill McKibben

If we don't win very quickly on climate change, then we will never win. That's the core truth about global warming. It's what makes it different from every other problem our political systems have faced.  More

Banks Realise climate change is a banking issue | ANZ and Paul Fisher

Banks around the world are slowly beginning to realise the financial risks associated with climate change and sustainable lending, according to Paul Fisher, a former senior executive at the Bank of England who had direct involvement in the Financial Stability Board’s Taskforce on Climate-related Finance Disclosures (TCFD).

Speaking to (ANZ) bluenotes on video and podcast, Dr Fisher – Senior Associate of the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership and representative at the European Commission’s High-level Experts Group on Sustainable Finance – said the next step for banks was determining the extent of their own risk. Read more

Climate-related risks will jeopardise stability of banks, insurers: APRA | ABC

Banks and insurers are jeopardising their futures if they fail to prepare for climate-related risks, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has warned.

The stark advice from the industry watchdog was delivered during a speech last night to the Centre for Policy Development in Sydney.

APRA said it had a duty to warn the institutions that it regulates, like banks, superannuation funds and insurers, if it identified a risk that could threaten their stability.

Actuaries reminded of legal duty to recognise climate-related risks | The Actuary

It is increasingly likely that actuaries and investment consultants could face legal action should they fail to recognise the financial implications of climate risks.  That is the warning from environmental lawyers at ClientEarth, which argue that pension scheme advisors are delaying effective action and proper risk management in relation to the impact of climate change on investments.  Read more

Will 2017 be last stand of clean energy technology deniers? | Renew Economy

Keep it in the ground: five trillion reasons to be happy | The Guardian

Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures report

The report outlines a set of recommendations for voluntary, decision-useful, climate-related disclosures to be made as part of mainstream financial filings. The recommendations will help organisations identify and disclose information needed by investors, lenders, and insurance underwriters to appropriately assess and price climate-related risks and opportunities.

The recommendations are issued for public consultation which is open until February 12, 2017.

The Task Force developed four widely adoptable recommendations on climate-related financial disclosures that are applicable to organisations across sectors and jurisdictions. Importantly, the Task Force’s recommendations apply to financial-sector organisations, including banks, insurance companies, asset managers, and asset owners. Large asset owners and asset managers sit at the top of the investment chain and, therefore, have an important role to play in influencing the organisations in which they invest to provide better climate-related financial disclosures.

The Task Force structured its recommendations around four thematic areas that represent core elements of how organisations operate: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.

The four overarching recommendations are supported by recommended disclosures that build out the framework with information that will help investors and others understand how reporting organisations think about and assess climate-related risks and opportunities. In addition, there is guidance to support all organisations in developing climate-related financial disclosures consistent with the recommendations and recommended disclosures. The guidance assists preparers by providing context and suggestions for implementing the recommended disclosures. 

Click here to download the full report. The TCFD website has additional reports relating to the project: Public Consultation, Implementing the Recommendations and a Technical Supplement.

AEMO’s defence of “we didn’t know” underscores case for change | Renew Economy

The Australian Energy Market Operator insists it was completely unaware about the nature of the fault ride-through settings on wind farms in Australia, even though the issue had been addressed and resolved in Europe a decade ago.

In the third, and most detailed, report into South Australia’s state-wide blackout in September, AEMO says it did not know that wind farms built in Australia had limits on their “fault-ride through” settings, which govern whether a wind farm can continue operating with multiple network faults of the type that occurred when tornadoes tore down three major transmission lines.

Pension trustees could face legal challenge for ignoring climate risk – leading QC confirms | ClientEarth

In a hugely important development for the pensions industry, two leading independent UK barristers, including pensions expert Keith Bryant QC, have confirmed that pension fund trustees who fail to consider climate risk could be exposing themselves to legal challenge.

The opinion concludes that where climate risks carry material financial implications for fund performance, trustees must take those risks into account in investment decisions. Its authors state that this is “beyond reasonable argument” and that failing to do this “would not be a proper exercise of [trustees’] powers.”

You can read the opinion here.

For a summary of the opinion and what it means for pension fund trustees and pension fund members, please see ClientEarth’s briefing here.

Launch of Trillion-Dollar Transformation Initiative, Focusing on Pensions and Climate Risk | Mercer and CIEL

Trillion Dollar Transformation, a collaborative initiative by Mercer Investment Consulting (Mercer) and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), is designed to educate pension fund fiduciaries on the challenges and opportunities presented by climate change.

Two cutting edge reports have been released detailing the financial and legal challenges climate change presents for pension fund trustees.  The key findings and recommendations have been summarised in this 2 page document.

Climate Change Investment Risk Management for US Public Defined Benefit Plan Trustees is a financial analysis by Mercer, identifying the various approaches trustees can use when considering investment risks from climate change. Mercer’s findings demonstrate that the average US public pension is markedly exposed to the potential for billions in lost asset value under a Transformation scenario, which is aligned with a 2oC global temperature increase outcome, the baseline goal of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

In its companion legal analysis, Trillion Dollar Transformation: Fiduciary Duty, Divestment and Fossil Fuels in an Era of Climate Risk, CIEL reviews how climate change may affect the fiduciary obligations of pension fund trustees and concludes that a failure to acknowledge and respond to these financial risks may constitute breaches of trustees’ fiduciary duties.

FUTURE SECURITY OF THE NATIONAL ELECTRICITY MARKET | Australia's Chief Scientist

Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel presented the Preliminary Report of the National Electricity Market (NEM) Security Review to COAG Leaders in Canberra last Friday.  The Preliminary Report identifies the forces of change confronting the NEM and key questions to guide consultations on the development of a blueprint for our nation’s electricity future.

“The blackout in South Australia reminds us that our national electricity grid is under pressure and in need of urgent attention,” said Dr Finkel, Chair of the Review.

“We now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the electricity sector to maximise its resilience in the face of rapid market changes.

“The goal is to ensure we have a secure electricity supply, at an affordable price for all Australian consumers, while meeting our international obligations to lower emissions.”

You can download the report here.

Which countries are doing the most to stop dangerous global warming? | The Guardian

UN Climate Conference 2015: Bloomberg to lead new global taskforce | Financial Review

Corporate Governance and Climate Change: Making the Connection | CERES

This report is the first comprehensive examination of how 100 of the world’s largest corporations are positioning themselves to compete in a carbon-constrained world. With the launch of the Kyoto Protocol1 in 2005, managing greenhouse gas emissions is now a routine part of doing business in key global trading markets. As the United States moves to join the international effort to combat global warming, climate governance practices will assume an increasingly central role in corporate and investment planning. Eventually, nothing short of an energy and technology revolution will be needed to stem rising greenhouse gas emissions across the globe.

Author: Douglas G. Cogan