Sustainability News Snapshot (10th February)

Last week the Australian government threw more money at rebuilding the economy withgreen initiatives being a large component of the spending. Whilst the government was spending money, protesters created a red human chain around Parliament House to express their disappointment with the carbon emissions reduction target.

Overseas, Sweden lifted a 30 year old nuclear power ban, joining several other EU nations who see nuclear as one solution to climate change and energy security.

As the economy continues into recession, more and more money is being injected by the government to stimulate recovery. The Australian reported last week that approximately $15 billion will be spent on green initiatives each year for the next four years. This money will help present business opportunities for green entrepreneurs and keep sustainability professionals employed. (Good news!)

The government’s proposed insulation hand out is under scrutiny for failing to address the problem. Playful named “carbon pollution reallocation scheme” by the Australia Institute's executive director Richard Denniss, he considers the grant counter-productive as it allows households to sell permits to industry. He made the following statement to SBS "The way the Emissions Trading Scheme is designed, every kilogram of emissions saved by a household frees up an extra permit for a big polluter." "So while it's true this scheme will help reduce households' use of energy, it won't reduce Australia's emissions at all.”

Three weeks ago Federal Energy Minister Martin Ferguson re-iterated the Australian Government’s stance on nuclear power, “"The position of the Labor Government is very clear: we will not be embracing a nuclear option. But we also accept that in countries beyond Australia, nuclear power is a fact of life, and we are part of the nuclear cycle because we are a major uranium exporting nation." Meanwhile, Sweden has changed its stance on the issue, lifting a 30 year old nuclear power ban. Leaders of the coalition Government claim that new reactors will prove to be effective in combating climate change and will secure the nation's energy supply. Britain, France and Poland are embarking on the same path.

On the activist front, hundreds of protesters circled Parliament House last week to express their utter frustration with the Rudd government's 5-15% carbon emissions reduction target. The group expressed 5-15% was a pathetic target and that this needs to be brought to public attention and re-addressed. The protest followed a weekend summit on community climate action. Read the SBS news report and newmatilda’s personal account of the event.

At Change2, editor of Eco Investor Victor Bivell contributed a though provoking blog post on using balloon engines to generate solar power. Whilst Terrence Jeyaretnam expressed his admiration for Richard Buckminster in a blog post about his preemptive sustainability vision.

Until next week,

Change2