Industry group queries 'misleading' NSW NOx claim
ACT emission goals out of reach without new measures
NZ Prime Minister launches greenhouse and agriculture alliance
Industry group queries 'misleading' NSW NOx claim
Claims in the 2009 NSW State of the Environment report that NOx emissions from industry increased 49% from 2003 to 2008 are "misleading", according to an industry group.
In correspondence to the director-general of the NSW environment department, Lisa Corbyn, the Australian Sustainable Business Group (ASBG) says the claim is based on a comparison of "two different data sets".
Based on NPI data, the actual increase is more like 5%, says the letter from ASBG national director Andrew Doig.
Doig says the department should correct its "flawed conclusion" on industry's NOx performance.
The letter also questions claims in the SoE report that motor vehicle NOx emissions have fallen over the same period.
A spokeswoman for the department told CE Daily the estimate was "based on growth factors using the best available information at the time and representing best practice for forecasting emissions".
The increase in industrial NOx emissions in Sydney between 2003 and 2008 was largely due to a "predicted increase in power generation from the biogas sector", she said.
"Any updates to these estimates will be incorporated into the next DECCW air emissions inventory, which is currently being undertaken and will be finalised later this year."
The department will provide a detailed response to the ASBG, she said.
ACT emission goals out of reach without new measures
Without additional policies, ACT emissions reduction goals will be unattainable, indicates a study commissioned by the Territory Government.
The study by Heuris Partners estimates likely ACT emissions until 2050 on the basis of existing Territory and Federal policies.
In 2009, the ACT Legislative Assembly climate committee recommended a 2020 target of a 40% reduction below 1990 levels. The ACT Government has a 2050 target of a 60% reduction and has backed a long-term goal of zero net emissions.
But existing policies will result in an increase from about 4.2 million tonnes of CO2e in 2007 to between 4.7 million tonnes and 4.9 million tonnes in 2020, the study concludes.
By 2050, total emissions are projected to grow to between 5.6 million tonnes and 6.5 million tonnes.
ACT climate change minister Simon Corbell said the report showed "significant work" will be required to meet the Government's goals.
The Government is developing a second iteration of an action plan under its Weathering the Change strategy and is developing a draft sustainable energy policy and a proposed expanded feed-in tariff regime, he said.
DNV issues CCS guideline
International risk management and verification consultancy DNV has released a guideline for carbon capture and storage projects, developed in consultation with industry and government agencies, that sets out best practice and aims to standardise site selection and management procedures.
The guideline deals with all aspects of geological storage, from site screening and selection through to site closure.
NZ Prime Minister launches greenhouse and agriculture alliance
Feeding the world's growing population while at the same time limiting greenhouse gases will be one of the "defining challenges of the early 21st century", New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said today.
Key was speaking at the inaugural conference of officials representing the 28 member nations of the NZ-based Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases.
"The mission and purpose of the Global Research Alliance is clear: to allow more food to be produced while reducing the emissions intensity of that process," Key told the conference in Wellington.
Australia is a member of the alliance, along with nations including Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, the U.S., Uruguay and Vietnam.
