The Week That Was - November 26 2012

Climate talks begin in Doha

The Doha talks are off and running and Australia reveals its Kyoto 2 commitments, we are told solar is a real option to overtake coal in Australia, and more.

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''We saw more money invested in 2011 in clean technologies than in fossil fuel … we've crossed the threshold. We need to prepare ourselves for a very different energy grid in future.''
- Climate Commissioner Professor Tim Flannery

The Herald Sun’s take on the climate talks in Doha spell out the usual enthusiasm around these events. Day one at the international negotiations went off with its usual bang, while the Green’s tell us what they think about Australia’s Kyoto 2 targets.

The pundits writing for The Conversation ask us to think differently about the process, and our friends at The Guardian spell out where we are at globally with our Kyoto commitments to date.

Across the ditch New Zealand tells us they are not going to sign up to Kyoto 2. And that they would rule out a ban on fracking. What is going on? The Kiwi’s are always happy to out-compete us Australians, not least of which environmentally. Are they beached as?

Here in Australia, the Climate Commission has released a report telling us that renewables are vastly under-utilized. Report co-author Tim Flannery tells us that Australia install more solar last year than any other country and renewable power could soon be cheaper than coal. Prof Flannery is still optimistic about our solar success, despite the conspicuous lack of subsidy around now.

We are reminded about why we are doing this work, with CSIRO updating its Q&As around the science of climate change, and The Age runs an exclusive piece on Arctic permafrost and explains how close we are to a tipping point.

Will Steffen co-authored a piece in The Canberra Times which tells us that Sandy was the most intense cyclone ever to hit the States and it should serve as a warning to the business community about what they face if we do not act on climate change. And yet the UN tells us the gap is vast in terms of controlling global emissions – and that this has subsequent consequences.

Back at home, King Island may soon be the site of Australia’s largest wind farm, and the solar farm at Royalla is on track and Macquarie Bank shining star Oliver Yates has been appointed to head the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

A new poll tells us more people support the carbon price than oppose it - in fact it’s more popular than Tony Abbott!

Virtual mapping shows us that Freemantle in West Australia looks likely to be overwhelmed by the issue of climate change. And our own Paul Daastor is closer to having his solar paint ready and waiting to help solve the problem.

Children at the Bentleigh Secondary School here in Victoria have won a globally prestigious sustainability award by reducing their water consumption from 14 million litres to – one million. Amazing! And George Monbiot reminds us why we should all take a walk on the wild side.  See you next week!