Australia to sign up to new Kyoto Treaty (in a rather cautious way)
Australia ready to join ‘Kyoto 2’ climate agreement, Tom Arup Nov 09, 2012. The Age AUSTRALIA will sign up to a second round of the Kyoto Protocol, joining the European Union and just a handful of other major
greenhouse gas emitters in recommitting to the world’s only climate treaty.
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet will announce the decision on Friday in Melbourne, saying there has been sufficient progress in international talks to make the commitment, with some conditions.
It is understood he will also say the decision ensures business has access to cheap international offset credits (mainly created through clean energy projects in developing countries) to help meet domestic greenhouse targets.
The Kyoto Protocol was first negotiated by countries in 1997 and required wealthy nations to limit their emission of greenhouse gases. It is due to expire at the end of this year. Through UN climate change negotiations, countries have agreed to work on a replacement treaty. If successful, it would be agreed by 2015 and take effect in 2020. Unlike Kyoto, it would include emissions targets for wealthy nations and developing nations such as China and India.
At climate negotiations in South Africa last year, countries also agreed to a second round of the Kyoto Protocol until a new treaty takes effect. The European Union and a handful of small wealthy countries have committed to a second Kyoto, but some major wealthy nations including the US, Russia and Japan are refusing to sign
on…..
Australia’s support for a second Kyoto round comes with conditions, including progress on a post-2020 deal and a desire that the second round last until 2020, rather than 2017 as some developing nations proposed.
Canberra also wants rules letting it carry over some or all of about 80 million tonnes of surplus carbon permits under the protocol’s first round, which let it increase emissions by 8 per cent between 1990 and 2012. The carry-over permits could then count towards Australia’s 2020 emissions target.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/australia-ready-to-join-kyoto-2-climate-agreement-20121108-290×6.html#ixzz2Bkm3ObOr
Australia’s energy white paper- there will be no nuclear power here for next two decades
Meltdown fears crush case for nuclear power, The Age November 7, 2012 Lenore Taylor National Affairs Correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald THE Fukushima nuclear accident has quashed consideration of nuclear power in Australia, with the government’s energy white paper arguing there is no compelling economic case for it and insufficient community acceptance.
And the Coalition won’t contest the conclusion when the long-awaited white paper is released on Thursday to set policy directions for the next two decades. The bipartisan reluctance to debate nuclear power comes despite the fact that some senior Labor and Coalition figures privately support the idea.
Resources Minister Martin Ferguson has said it should remain ”a live debate”. Foreign Minister Bob Carr said 
before he re-entered politics: ”I support nuclear power because I take global warming so very seriously … [it] should certainly play a role in Australia’s future mix of energy sources.”
Deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop has said it should be considered ”in the mix” and Senator Barnaby Joyce has said: ”If we are fair dinkum about reducing carbon emissions … then uranium is where it’s going to be.”
But Labor and the Coalition are formally opposed to domestic use of nuclear power, and the Fukushima accident has reinforced that political judgment. The Greens are opposed to nuclear power and uranium mining. Continue reading
Cowardly backdown by Northern Territory Chief Minister, on nuclear waste dump
“Terry Mills is rolling over to Canberra and not standing up for territorians who have great concerns about the impact a nuclear waste dump will have for generations,”
Mills slammed over NT dump comments http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/mills-slammed-over-nt-dump-comments/story-fn3dxiwe-1226511626127 AAP November 06, 2012 ENVIRONMENTALISTS and opposition politicians are criticising the Northern Territory government after Chief Minister Terry Mills appeared to accept a nuclear waste dump would be built in the jurisdiction.
“I accept the premise of this, that there needs to be a site,” Mr Mills has told ABC radio. Continue reading
Queensland Premier Newman announces his Uranium Mining Cheer Squad
Uranium Implementation Committee announced The Premier Campbell Newman has announced the membership of the Uranium Implementation Committee which will establish a best-practice framework for the recommencement of uranium mining in Queensland. “Uranium exports will earn Queensland tens of billions of dollars over the next two decades, providing thousands of jobs across rural and regional areas,” Mr Newman said.
“The State Government has established an Implementation Committee to look at the orderly development and operation of a recommenced uranium mining and export industry in Queensland.”
The Implementation Committee will be chaired by Central Highlands Councillor, Paul Bell AM, who has just retired after serving eight years as President of the Local Government Association of Queensland.
“Cr Bell has spent decades representing the mining communities of Central Queensland and understands what it takes to build a successful resources industry which benefits everybody” Mr Newman said.
Other members of the Uranium Implementation Committee will be:
· Noeline Ikin, CEO Northern Gulf Resource Management Group
· Frances Hayter, Environment Director, Queensland Resources Council
· Dr Geoff Garrett, Queensland Government Chief Scientist and
· Dan Hunt, Acting Director- General, Department of Natural
Resources and Mines
· Indigenous leader, Warren Mundine, Director of the Australian Uranium Association and a former ALP National President (subject to final confirmation).
Mr Newman also released the Terms of Reference of the Uranium Implementation Committee which will be available on the Department of Natural Resources and Mines website.
tatements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2012/10/30/uranium-implementation-committee-announced
Climate Change Authority’s disturbing idea to hold back commercial solar energy
Commercial solar – putting solar panels on the roofs of shopping centers and factories – currently represents just 3 per cent of the total solar industry.
SunWiz and Solar Business Services found the unintended consequences of tinkering with the SRES and LRET were likely to greatly outweigh any benefits.
Commercial solar should be encouraged, not discouraged, and the embedded barriers to greater commercial take up should be addressed. Rather than jumping at shadows and trying to fix a non-existent commercial solar boom, it would be better if the CCA helped us to get off the ‘solar-coaster’ and provide the stable policy footing for solar the industry and public so desperately want.
Putting the brakes on commercial solar? http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/putting-brakes-commercial-solar, 7 Nov 2012 John Grimes One of the more peculiar proposals that has surfaced in the Climate Change Authority’s review of the renewable energy target is the suggestion of reducing the size of solar systems covered by the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.This was a thought bubble in search of a home – neither a specific recommendation nor a detailed proposal.
It is the sort of tinkering that has dogged the renewable energy target since it was first established in 2001, and it is making
Australia’s solar industry nervous.
The Climate Change Authority explicitly recommended against merging the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme and the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target.
They also recommended that the SRES structure should remain largely unchanged.
However, the CCA went on to float the idea of a half-way house that would see smaller commercial PV systems placed into the large-scale scheme as a way of reducing the cost of the SRES. The CCA’s Discussion Paper states, “the Authority is continuing to consider whether the threshold for a small-scale solar PV system should be reduced below its current 100 kW limit to for example 10 kW.”
This would be an uncertain solution to a non-existent problem. Continue reading
Western Australian govt making some strangely anti-commercial decisions on energy
Dumb and dumber energy choices in the wild West, REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson on 7 November 2012 The Western Australia energy system can proudly lay claim to some notable firsts for Australia. In 1986, it opened the nation’s first commercial wind energy plant near Esperance. Just last month, the state government formally opened the nation’s first utility-scale solar farm near Geraldton.
Now it may have a new but less admired “first” – a power plant that is built, but doesn’t operate, and is paid for by a state-sponsored tariff imposed on consumers. The Perth-based company Merredin Energy is in the throes of completing an 82MW peaking plant near the wheat-belt town of the same name. It is being built at an estimated cost of $95 million and proposes to use expensive and highly polluting diesel fuel, but it may never be switched on.
And if it isn’t, its owners might not care – under WA’s capacity payments system, they’ll likely make enough money simply for being there – around $15 million in its first year. In fact, they might prefer if the plant wasn’t used. Some analysts suggest it would difficult to run the diesel plant at a profit – even during critical peak periods – given the sky-high cost of diesel and the fact that WA power prices rarely jump to more than $300/MWh. Continue reading
Australia assisting Ghana in solar energy development
Leading Australian Professor on Environment visits Ghana Accra, Nov. 6, GNA – Professor Ray Wills, Australia Clean Energy Expert and one of the top 100 Global Sustainable Energy experts is in Ghana to participate in a three-day West Africa Clean Energy and Environment Conference (WACEE) in Accra. Continue reading
Uranium One’s CEO gives “Yes – But” statement on future prospects, following latest loss
Uranium One’s CEO Discusses Q3 2012 Results – Earnings Call Transcript Seeking Alpha November 6, 2012 “…..This upcoming discussion does contain certain forward-looking information with respect to Uranium One’s operations and financial results. Actual future results may differ from expected results for a variety of reasons which are described in the cautionary statements regarding forward-looking information in our press release..
… during the quarter, we did determine that it would not be economical to mine, the South Zarechnoye satellite deposit due to lower uranium prices following the Fukushima incident together with a decrease in the resource base
resulting from recent exploration work.
As a result, we incurred non-cash expenses $79 million by writing down the carrying value of South Zarechnoye. This resulted in a net loss for the quarter of $61.6 million or $0.06 per share…… Uranium One now owns 100% of the Honeymoon mine
How embarassing for Australia’s politicians! Solar power will influence election results
Solar’s irresistible political spell, CLIMATE SPECTATOR: Tristan Edis, 6 Nov 2012 “….. the seats 
most likely to influence who takes the reins of government. Not all the seats have high solar PV penetration, (indeed it seems some of the highest solar PV penetration is in safe regional Liberal and National Party seats). But as an overall average, around one in 10 households have a solar PV system. Even in Victoria, where solar PV tends to be less popular than the sunnier states, all the marginal seats have at least one in 20 households with solar PV. Continue reading
Aboriginal traditional owners kept in the dark about a plan to change proposed nuclear waste dump site
NLC in talks about alternate nuclear waste site, ABC News By Michael Coggan, 6 Nov 12 :
The Northern Land Council has confirmed it is about to start formal talks about a new site for a 
proposed nuclear waste facility in the Northern Territory. The Federal Government is planning to build a national nuclear waste dump in the Territory.
The only site nominated is on Aboriginal land at Muckaty Station, about 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek.
That nomination is being challenged in the Federal Court by local land owners opposed to the dump.
NLC chairman Wali Wunungmurra has confirmed that formal consultations will begin this week about a proposed second site on a different section of land on Muckaty Station. The consultation process is expected to continue into next year.
Chief Minister Terry Mills says he will talk with the Northern Land Council about the move.
He says there needs to be an alternative site for a national waste dump if the legal challenge is successful……
Opponents of any nuclear waste facility being built in the Territory say Aboriginal traditional owners have not been told about a meeting to discuss a new site.
Natalie Wasley from the Beyond Nuclear Alliance says more people should’ve been told about the consultations.
“It is disappointing that, once again, the Northern Land Council does not seem to be very broadly notifying people about this meeting,” she said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-06/nlc-nuclear-wastle-dump-talks-muckaty-station/4355986?section=nt
Australia is way behind on centralised solar energy – lack of political vision
Solar Insights: How Australia trails the world in big solar REneweconomy By Giles Parkinson 6 November 2012 How is it that the Energy Minister in London, who possibly spends much of his time dressed in Wellington Boots and a sou’wester, should articulate a solar vision for the UK vastly more ambitious than anything expressed by a government minister in Australia? Continue reading
Danger to Townsville’s water supply, if Ben Lomond uranium mine is re-opened
Labor raises concern over north Qld uranium mine
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-06/labor-concern-over-north-qld-uranium-mine/4356092?section=business By Megan Woodward, 6 Nov 12 The Queensland Opposition has warned any resumption of uranium mining near Townsville in the state’s north risked contaminating the city’s water supply.
The State Government recently announced plans to resume uranium mining across Queensland.
The Ben Lomond uranium mine, 50 kilometres west of Townsville, closed more than 20 years ago amid serious environmental concerns. The mine is in the Thuringowa electorate of Liberal National Party (LNP) MP Sam Cox.
Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mulherin today called on Mr Cox to become more involved in any proposals to reopen the mine. Mr Mulherin says nearby residents needed a guarantee environmental concerns do not still exist.
“The concerns related to the tail dams, cyclonic rain events and the impact the heavy metals and radioactive materials,” he said. Mr Mulherin says when the mine was closed there was concern radioactive tailings would reach the Burdekin River, which supplies water to the Townsville region.
The ABC has approached Mr Cox for comment.
Australia’s solar voters: a new phenomenon challenging politicians
The leading electorate with the most rooftop solar systems is Wright in south-east Queensland, held by the Liberal National Party’s Scott Buchholz. In second place — for both PV and hot water systems — is Lalor, the seat held by Prime Minister Julia Gillard (25,829 systems)..
The rise of the solar voter — they’re not where you think Crikey, GILES PARKINSON | NOV 05, 2012 Analysis shows where Australia’s solar panels are — and it’s not in the inner-city latte set. Some politicians may need to rethink their view on support for solar, writes Giles Parkinson of RenewEconomy. For years, some politicians have wanted to dismiss rooftop solar PV (and other renewables), as a middle-class fetish for wanting to be green. The last thing they would have expected was solar emerging as a political issue, not just on the state and national scale, but in their own electorates.
They were mistaken. Continue reading
Uranium One – posts market loss
Uranium One posts 3Q loss despite production increase 11/5/2012 Stockhouse Editorial Uranium One Inc. (TSX: T.UUU, Stock Forum) announced its third quarter financial results on Monday and said total production rose 23% to 3.1 million pounds from 2.5 million pounds in the year earlier period.
Uranium One is a Toronto-based company with assets in Kazakhstan, the United States and Australia…..
The company posted a net loss of $61.6 million or 6 cents a share in the quarter. That compared to a net profit of $45.8 million or 5 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue in the quarter was $142.6 million, down from $157.7 million in the year ago period.
Down 1% Monday to $2, Uranium One has a market cap of $1.9 billion, based on 957.2 million shares outstanding. The 52-week range is $3.45 and $1.98. http://www.stockhouse.com/natural-resources-news/2012/nov/5/uranium-one-posts-3q-loss-despite-production-incre.aspx#uEqGXOEW55vDjfL4.99
Australian Solar Council Releases RET Recommendations Analysis,by Energy Matters, 6 Nov 12 The Australian Solar Council has released a detailed analysis by industry experts of the Climate Change Authority’s (CCA) draft recommendations for the Renewable Energy Target.
The Council recently expressed serious concerns relating to the Climate Change Authority’s (CCA) recommendations to slash incentives for residential solar power past what is already set to occur, i.e. the final phase-out of the Solar Credits multiplier next year.
Particularly troubling was the suggestion of introducing a “solar divider” if the cost of solar panel systems fell in the previous year; if the payback period for solar customers was less than 10 years; or if the scheme made up more than 1.5% of electricity bills…….. The full report can be viewed here. http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3452
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