South East Queensland Councils will conduct random audits of up to 15% of the region’s largest water users under proposed ‘level 6’ water restrictions that will enter into force in mid-November.
Queensland court fines two for obstructing EPA officer; Export of nuclear waste gets EPBC Act clearance; NSW’s 2% ethanol obligation kicks in; Iluka Resources wins appeal against WA EPA ruling; Victorian Water Smart funding on offer; Victoria invites award nominations
If global greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow quickly, average temperatures in Australia by 2070 are likely to be 2.2°C-5.0°C above 1990 levels, says a report released today by CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology. But if the world adopts a low emissions pathway, the rise could be limited to 1.0°C-2.5°C.
Australia’s greenhouse emissions could be cut to 23% below 2004 levels by 2050 by building 11 nuclear power plants, through energy efficiency measures and by massively boosting the use of renewables, government research agency ABARE says.
The Commonwealth Bank, Macquarie Bank and St George Bank are among a minority of Australia’s largest companies that refused to participate in this year’s international Carbon Disclosure Project, results released yesterday in New York show.
Australia’s Prime Minister John Howard today announced a proposed Clean Energy Target (CET) scheme that would aim to generate an additional 30,000 gigawatt hours of renewable and low emission energy by 2020.
A program that will require about 280 Victorian facilities to develop plans to better manage energy, water and waste is likely to deliver a net economic benefit of about $65.4 million over 10 years, says a regulatory impact statement for the proposal.
Parliament today passed legislation requiring larger greenhouse gas emitters to report their emissions and energy use from mid-2008 – but only after the government toned down a provision that will allow it to override reporting requirements in state and territory laws.
New Zealand will begin phasing-in emissions trading from the start of next year, with all major sectors, including agriculture, progressively included by 2013.