Author: Yongsheng Zhang, DRC
The global financial crisis and the climate crisis are twin concerns: we cannot solve one without solving the other.
Green growth must be recognised as part of the solution to the current global financial crisis. To overcome these dual problems, both developed and developing countries should progress to a greener model of development, and move beyond traditional ways of thinking about these issues. Read more…
Author: Fitrian Ardiansyah, ANU
Agreements achieved in the early morning of 11 December in Durban, South Africa appeared to salvage the UN climate talks — but have also raised questions about the commitment and capability of countries around the world to urgently tackling climate change.
After two weeks of difficult negotiations, governments involved in the 17th session of the Conference of Parties (COP-17) agreed to extend the Kyoto Protocol and negotiate a binding agreement for all countries to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Read more…
Author: Amritha Thiyagarajan, UNSW
Australia has been involved for a number of years in helping developing countries adapt to the devastating effects of climate change.
But while Australia’s recently passed carbon tax has stimulated much debate, there is little to no scrutiny of how Australian money is being allocated throughout adaptation projects at a grassroots level. Read more…
Author: Fitrian Ardiansyah, ANU
The global climate change negotiations — underway from 28 November to 9 December in Durban, South Africa — have people asking once again whether countries around the world will agree on solutions to tackle climate change.
It is also an appropriate event to assess the involvement of developing countries like Indonesia, and particularly to understand whether their involvement in this UN climate conference will significantly contribute to a successful outcome. Read more…
Authors: Stephen Howes and Frank Jotzo, ANU
Global climate policy reached a turning point at the 2009 Copenhagen conference.
Expectations of a binding global climate treaty were dashed; instead, all major countries made unilateral pledges to cut or restrain their greenhouse gas emissions. In reality, that was probably a more significant outcome than a binding, but weak, agreement — what counts is what countries do, not what they sign up to. Read more…
Author: Frank Jotzo, ANU
Indonesia is among the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, and it has committed to cut its carbon footprint.
Can Indonesia achieve its goals, what is its role in the region, and how could developed countries assist? Read more…
Author: Jochen Prantl, Oxford and RSIS
With the wide acceptance of global warming as both real and potentially problematic, geoengineering — defined by the UK’s Royal Society as ‘the deliberate large-scale manipulation of the planetary environment to counteract anthropogenic climate change’ — is currently experiencing a surge of interest.
Despite the differentiated nature of the challenges, the greatest risk and uncertainty for the Asia Pacific region will most likely arise from changes in the frequency of extreme weather events, which are very difficult to manage. Read more…
Author: Frank Jotzo, ANU
Australia is going to put in place carbon pricing at a level on par with the European Union with a design that could make it a solid foundation for long term policy.
It took five years of political struggle to get to this point, and several leaders of government and opposition lost their jobs in the process. Read more…
Author: Haruo Shimada, Chiba University of Commerce
In the wake of Japan’s 11 March disaster, a solar energy economic zone should be constructed along the east coast of the Tohoku region.
The damage to the Tohoku region is extensive and profound in so many areas and aspects. Read more…
Author: Neil Gunningham, ANU
Climate change is widely recognised as the greatest challenge confronting our generation, and one which, if not addressed, may have catastrophic consequences.
Recent science reveals that the window for effective mitigation is short. Read more…
Author: Kazuhiko Takeuchi and Nicholas Turner, UNU-ISP
Two months after the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and tsunami, the full extent of their tragic physical and human consequences is all too clear. But the natural disasters, and the subsequent nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, also have wider implications for Japan’s domestic and foreign policies.
The impact of this ‘triple disaster’ upon Japan’s plans to tackle climate change may be particularly strong. Read more…
Author: Ben Heard, ThinkClimate Consulting
In early 2011, nuclear power was coming back. China and South Korea were undertaking significant expansion, while Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia were en route to embracing nuclear power for the first time. China was determined to develop Generation IV thorium and fast reactors.
The modern reactors were safer, simpler, smaller, cheaper, and more modular than ever before, with Generation IV technology holding the potential for consuming nuclear waste. Then the Fukushima accident reignited our nuclear fears. What will this mean for the future of energy in East Asia? Read more…
Author: Ritu Mathur & Manish Shrivastava, TERI, India
India’s future energy scenario poses increasing challenges on account of energy security as well as environmental considerations.
With an installed generating capacity of less than 150,000 MW and a per capita consumption of a mere 650 units of electricity per annum, India is plagued with huge electricity shortages, estimated at around 11 per cent in energy terms and almost 12 per cent in peak demand in 2008/09. Read more…
Author: Peter Drysdale
The political debate in Australia is currently consumed by a furious stoush over climate change policy.
Sensing sufficient support from the independents and Greens, who hold the balance of power over the minority government, Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard has declared battle once more in the off-again, on-again campaign to introduce a national carbon price (this time via the transition of declaring a price on carbon and later moving to an emissions trading scheme). Read more…
Author: Ross Garnaut, ANU and University of Melbourne
Human induced climate change is a global problem and an effective solution requires large mitigation contributions from all major developed and developing countries, and from the rest of the world too.
The search for effective climate change policy is partly a search for effective cooperation amongst countries of a kind and dimension that has never previously been known on a global scale. Read more…
