New Report: Building the Climate Movement

The Change Agency have just completed and published the results of two year research project: Building the Climate Movement Online (PDF). 200 activists were surveyed and they've just put the report up on their website. This report is a first of its kind, a really useful tool for climate activists.


Building the climate movement | Action research project

Climate change is high on the agenda for most environmental and social justice non-government organisations in Australia. Increasing community awareness and political traction present important opportunities to campaign for impact. What kind of social movement will be necessary to bring about a climate-conscious society and avoid dangerous climate change? How will this movement be built and sustained? What will it take?

Objectives
Our team initiated this action research project in 2006 to:

strengthen the Australian climate movement draw lessons and insights from climate change organising since the 1980s facilitate dialogue, reflection and relationship building
bridge the gaps between grassroots and NGO activists, between environmentalists and other citizens concerned about climate change, and between the rebels, reformers, citizens and change agents in this crucial people's movement.

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Race, Climate Change and Green Jobs

I just recieved an email from Madeline who posts to the itsgettinghotinhere contributors list, so thanks to her for the heads up on a recent report. The post that Madeline instigated at the aforementioned blog is here. The report that she was highlighting is "A Climate of Change
African Americans, Global Warming, and a Just Climate Policy for the U.S."

For my part i am sypathetic with the reports aims, i see the importance of the discussion and i hope people get involved in developing this sythesis of environmental and racial politics. This non-traditional combination reminded me of a recent post of mine addressing a non to uncommon argument about weather climate change is bein hijacked in the UK by idealogues with an agenda or weather real workable solutions require radical political shifts.

I would broaden my approach to climate change if either: 1. It became apparent that my values, the reasons for which i care about climate change, are substantially effected by other issues. A systemic treatment and an approach that resolved both issues would then make sense. 2. It became apparent that dealing with climate change required dealing with a broader set of issues not for reasons of idealogical concistancy but of pragmatism.

A report connecting race and climate change in the US certainly relates to option 1 for me. I look forward to reading the whole report and finding out what it has to say about option 2. Are there solutions to climate change that ignore the race problem?

Here are three of the report findings which give some hint of the answer:

"Sound global warming policy is also economic and racial justice policy. Successfully adopting a sound global warming policy will do as much to strengthen the economies of low-income communities and communities of color as any other currently plausible stride toward economic
justice.

Climate policies that best serve African Americans also best serve a just and strong United States. This paper shows that policies well-designed to benefi t African Americans
also provide the most benefi t to all people in the U.S. Climate policies that best serve African Americans and other disproportionately aff ected communities also best serve global economic and environmental justice.

Domestic reductions in global warming pollution and support for such reductions in developing nations fi nancedby polluter-pays principles provide the greatest benefi toAfrican Americans, the peoples of Africa, and people across the Global South."

One of the key ties between green growth and alleviation of the poverty expierianced by african americans is urban development and in perticular green collar jobs.

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Land rights key to forest challenge: Report

A new report from the Rights and Resources Initiative finds that land rights are central to the challenge of slowing deforestation. This is a welcome development for those of us who worried about the REDDD clause under the UNFCC turning into a carbon trading clause and a way of disempoering native groups.

“The dramatic shifts under way in markets, politics and the planet’s climate create new and very large challenges for achieving peace and prosperity in forest areas,” the report states. It argues the key to balancing local and global needs lies in recognising and strengthening forest peoples’ property rights. This is the only basis for protecting forest people, providing certainty for outside investors and giving social guidance to conservationists.

Report (PDF)

related:

• deforestation

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New Report: Cashing in on Coal

Important new report (source)

From concerns over air pollution and acid rain, to the recent rising awareness of carbon emissions and climate change, coal has been recognised as the dirtiest and most inefficient fossil fuel option.

Despite this, coal is experiencing a global boom, with corporations opening new mines and commissioning new power stations. High street banks are making millions by providing the financial fuel that drives this expansion of coal extraction and combustion. This report examines the role in the last two years of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), HSBC and Barclays in providing and arranging the financial means to the coal industry to extract and burn vast quantities of coal.

Published by BankTrack, Friends of the Earth - Scotland, People & Planet, Scottish Education and Action for Development, Stop Climate Chaos and PLATFORM.

Download the report from here.

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100 Months To Achieve Our Emissions Reductions

At the camp for climate action one idea that was certainly doing the rounds is that we only have 100 months to bring the planets emissions down to a level where they can be absorbed by natural systems. I`ve just traced this idea back to a website called onehunderedmonths.org which basically acts as the home to a new report (PDF) on tackling climate change. Word started to spread about this idea via The Guardian, and is now being helped along by emails and posters--the template for which can be downloaded from the website. Another interesting report (PDF) using the 100 months idea and from the same group of people is by a group calling themselves the Green New Deal Group...a very interesting enterant into the UK climate change arena.

Anyone interested in the science behind these ideas should check out EcoEquity, James Hansen or Malte Meinhausen for starters. I can send pdf's if that would be helpful.

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Breaking the Holding Pattern--A new approach to aviation policy making in the UK

I`ve been busy putting together and Aviation themed day of workshops at the camp for climate action. More on that once it's finalised, at the moment all i can say is that it's on the 7th of August and if you are interested in aviation policy and campaigns with regards the UK you neeed to be there.

One report which has just been published and i hadn't yet heard of --ok it's been out a day!--is by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the Sustainable Development Comission (SDC).

The report came about as the SDC performs a role of govornment advisor and needed a clearer view of the issues :

In 2007 and early 2008, to inform its advice to government, the Sustainable
Development Commission (SDC), with the Institute for Public Policy Research, ran
a stakeholder assessment on aviation. This unlocked a range of views, from
businesses, industry representatives, governments, academia, citizens’ groups
and NGOs. This report presents our observations from the assessment, followed by our recommendations for government.

The full publication and summary can be downloaded for free here.

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Union of Concerned Scientists: Developments in Renewable Portfolio Standards

UCS have just produced a facinating report on the proliferation of RPS's in the US. It's starting to look like, just maybe, a federal system would be easier than the current patchwork? I realise that you Americans loving using the states as 'labs' to test various policies...can we consider the RPS policy tested yet?

• Report (PDF)
• Related: energy and efficiency.

[UPDATE]

LAURENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LAB'S HAVE JUST RELEASED A COMPLIMENTARY REPORT. DOWNLOAD SUMMARY, FULL REPORT.

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Report of the Week (IPPR: The New Front Line--Security in a changing world)

Have you ever noticed that after learning a new word it seems to pop up in all sorts of conversations and contexts? It can be quite hard to believe that you managed for so long without the word in question.

Something similar has happened with the idea of 'climate security' the connection between climate change and conflict seems to be quite a lively topic of discussion that i have largely missed.

Recently IPS and CFR have both released reports on this connection the latest report on the topic that i have found is by the Institute for Public Policy Research.

This paper analyses the key changes taking place in the national and international security landscape and assesses their implications for policy, examining the context within which a national security strategy must now be forged. As a result, it becomes clear that the contemporary security landscape is about much more than terrorism alone.

Related:
Climate Change Action posts on Conflict

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Scientific American: A Solar Grand Plan

Ken Zweibel, James Mason and Vasilis Fthenakis sketch out a grand plan for US energy policy up to 2050 in this weeks Scientific American.

The cost is aptly summed up by Grist:

"A third of our military budget could cure our carbon addiction."

Sounds good to me, a safer world from military agression and climate change. The 'Key Concepts' of this plan include:

• A massive switch from coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power plants to solar power plants could supply 69 percent of the U.S.’s electricity and 35 percent of its total energy by 2050.
  


• A vast area of photovoltaic cells would have to be erected in the Southwest. Excess daytime energy would be stored as compressed air in underground caverns to be tapped during nighttime hours.
  


• Large solar concentrator power plants would be built as well.
  

A new direct-current power transmission backbone would deliver solar electricity across the country.

But $420 billion in subsidies from 2011 to 2050 would be required to fund the infrastructure and make it cost-competitive.

The fact that this plan is out their is, i think, a very good thing. The more people putting forward a bold energy vision the better! We need people who think about energy to be thinking big. This sector has R&D bellow .5% of revenue and has amongst the lowest competition of any sector, every day it is becoming more and more obvious that things are about to change.

Related:

A Grand Solar Plan (PDF)
Climate Change Action energy and efficiency posts.

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Climate Change and National Security (An Agenda for Action)

Joshua Busby of the Council on Foreign Relations authors a November 2007 report about Climate Change and National Security. I`m uncertain at best about how he frames the issues, but if you are interested in how Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize then this is part of your explanation.

Report (PDF), Interview (MP3)


Relavent Links:

• Climate Change Action posts on Conflict.

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Climate change could kill thousands in UK by 2012, says report.

Via The Guardian (article)

Climate change could lead to a heatwave in the south-east of England killing 3,000 people by 2012, a Department of Health report says.

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Subprime Carbon

On Febuary 14th the third gathering of institutional investors took place at UN Headquaters in New York City. The "Investor Summit on Climate Risk" was a joint venture between climate risk investment group CERES , the UN Foundation and the UN Fund for International Partnership.

According to UNFIP:

The Summit will focus on how investors can advance solutions to climate change, with a particular emphasis on the benefits of energy efficiency. The Summit aims to help investors
Examine recent scientific findings on climate risk and technological solution

>>Assess potential capital flows into energy efficiency and clean technologies

>>Learn how treasurers, institutional investors and financial services firms worldwide are factoring climate risk into their policies and strategies

>>Consider prudent steps investors can take to address climate risk and opportunities.

At the confernece around $20 trillion worth of assets where represented. A subsection of the group, with assets valued at 1.75$ Trillion signed up to a Climate Action Plan produced by CERES. There was also growth in the companies who, although dodging the solid commitments of the climate action plan have the Investor Network in Climate Risk now involves companies with $5 trillion of investment.

McKinsey Global also announced a significant report at the conference, highlighting the good
returns possible on investment in the vast qauntity of energy infrastructure expected to be
required over the next 50 years.

Al gore was one of the speakers at the conference and he warned of a Subprime like risk due to carbon--indicating that the financial esposure is currentl underestimated.

"You need to really scrub your investment portfolios, because I guarantee you — as my longtime good redneck friends in Tennessee say, I guarandamntee you — that if you really take a fine-tooth comb and go through your portfolios, many of you are going to find them chock-full of subprime carbon assets,"

Related:

Climate Change Action Business Posts.
Video of the morning session.
Video of the afternoon session.
Conference homepage with agenda and overview.

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Institute of Policy Studies Report: Climate vs Military security spending.

The Institute of Policy Studies has just released a report comparing US expenditure on military and climate defence. Needles to say that the US is spending vast sums on arms and military wages while spending virtually nothing on preventing the destabilisation of the global climate, which promises to cause mass migration, resource conflict and a wide range of other malodies.

"We will devote 50 times as much to arming the rest of the world as to helping it prepare for and avoid global climate catastrophe."

The Budget Compated: Military vs Climate Security (PDF)

(via Grist)

Related: 
Climate Change Action on Conflict and Climate Change.
Celsias Blog reports on senior generals on climate change.
De Smog Blog 'climate change is as dangerous as war'.

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UNDP 2007 Human Development Report

The 2007 Human Development Report made a bigger splash than any other report, bar the IPCC's latest edition. Going into Bali the report was big news, around the world, but perticularly in the nations of the global south. Now UNDP have created a superb video explaining the reports conclusions, it is very compelling viewing, highly reccomended.



Related:

• Summary Report (pdf, 800k)


• Full Report (pdf, 12,200k)
  

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Higher Education in a Warming World - The Business Case for Climate Leadership on Campus

The NWF have just release a new report into the role that students and campus activism have in climate change mitigation.

Via NWF Online

"If any sector of society has the potential to model the transition to a low-carbon future, it is higher education. With their depth of expertise, innovative research and societal influence, colleges and universities have been at the forefront in addressing global warming. As living laboratories, campuses have developed and implemented cutting-edge energy conservation practices and clean power technologies. Of even greater importance, they are educating future generations of engineers, architects, scientists, business leaders, teachers, government officials and citizens to create effective solutions to global warming."

The report in full can be downloaded from here.

"Highlighting the business, educational, and moral arguments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions on campus, with best practices from U.S. colleges and universities"

Related:

• Dispatches from the climate youth movement: It's Getting Hot In Here
• Global Warming solutions for America (Including Teach In): Focus the Nation
• Power Shift 2007 : The event of last year with 6000 students organising on climate change.

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Investment Opportnity? Grid shock absorbers (aka: real time pricing)

This is an example of the sort of technologies which would appear to be no-brainers but for which the current industry setup has thus far failed to provide sufficient incentives. If we had a price for carbon these 'smart grid' technologies would rapidly be deployed.

"A year-long "smart grid" study showed consumers saved 10 percent on power bills and cut power use 15 percent during key peak hours, the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory announced.

The small-scale GridWise Demonstration Project involved 112 homeowners on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Ron Ambrosio of IBM, which participated in the study, said nationwide use of the method could save $120 billion in power plants and transmission lines that won't have to be built."

The sort of technology being used has a very simple principal. Not everything always needs to have access to power. If you are going to make a cup of tea then your kettle will need to respond but if you have an emersion heater that intermitantly turns on to keep your water hot then letting the water cool by a degree or two for 15 minutes would rarely have any consequence, and if you where just about to go in the shower you could temporaraly over ride this. The idea that emersion heaters, fridges, and larger industrial equipment could be intelligently turned off in order to avoid huge peaks such as at the break in sports games or major tv events is known as load shedding.

In it's simplist form load shedding can be carried out by cutting power to whole areas and then you have rolling black outs, this is increasingly an issue in the US, the traditional alternative being to spend billions on infrastructure. The next level of sophistication might have the ability to cut off power to only certain appliances, this would typically be used in conjunction with manual override so that all services are always available but automatic heating, cooling cycles can be marginally delayed. The most interesting development of this technolgy is with real time pricing where you can sign up for a pricing scheme that is dependent on the supply and demand balance; this would be used in conjunction with smart appliances. Using dynamic pricing people can put of doing there washin untill late evening when rates are cheaper, or do the ironing early morning...transparency is introduced and significant saving can be made by the customer whilst also increasing profitability of power companies as they dont need vastly over specified power lines and sub stations to cope with extreme peaks, peaks are radically reduced.

This recent news is from the GridWise project, more on this can be found at:

• Gridwise Project Website


• Project Report 1 (Test for the effectiveness of real time price as means of reducing peaks)


• Project Report 2 (Test for reliability of automatic grid stress detection)

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Ceres: Banks not doing enough on climate change.

Ceres has just released a report on the banking industry and climate change. Ceres descrbies itself as follows:

"Ceres (pronounced “series”) is a national network of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups working with companies and investors to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change."

via WBCSD

"According to a report released Thursday, a handful of banks have developed specific climate-related policies or strategies, while some have created working groups and executive positions to focus on the issue.

Commissioned by Ceres, the report looked at 40 of the world's largest publicly traded banks and financial services companies, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Merrill Lynch & Co Inc and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc .

Slightly more than half of the banks surveyed offer climate-specific funds and similar products, said the report, which was authored by RiskMetrics Group.

Ceres also found a number of banks, including Royal Bank of Canada and Wells Fargo & Co, are formally calculating the risk they take when lending money to companies that could be affected by carbon dioxide regulations.

But the study said banks should explain how they are factoring carbon costs into their financing and investment decisions, especially for energy-intensive projects that pose financial risks as environmental regulation increases."

14593249

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Report of the Week: Climate change--Impacts, vulnerability and adaptation in developing countries

Good judgement is something that we would all wish to have. However, the best decisions don't always come from your own judgement: in the case of climate change it is absurd for the global 'North' to presume to know how to help the south. As Almuth pointed out recently it is only by cooperation and working together with those effected by climate change that we can come to a reasonable idea of the challenges that they face. This week's report of the week comes via the UNFCCC so it is a top down look at issues. It does however give a better idea of what the least developed nations are worried about, and what there key climate agenda is.

The report was formulated as a result of UNFCCC negotiations which required a series of regional workshops to asses the nature and severity of regional climatic impacts and to proffer some solutions.

Climate change: Impacts, vulnerability and adaptation in developing countries.

The book draws heavily on information provided by Parties to the UNFCCC, particularly that provided at three regional workshops held in Africa, Asia and Latin America and one expert meeting held in small island developing States during 2006 – 20071, as mandated by the Buenos Aires programme of work on adaptation and response measures (decision 1/CP.10 of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC)2, as well as information in national communications3 and national adaptation programmes of action4 submitted to the UNFCCC, reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2007)and other sources, as referenced.

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Climate change - everyone's business (CBI)

A traditional enemy of environmental protection and sustainability the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is showing signs of change. There are still tensions, most notably aviation, but the battle has moved on.

They are moving away from there stereotypical stance, perhaps it is no longer viable, whatever the case, British industry are starting to look seriously at there role in reducing emissions.

Climate change - everyone's business (Report of the CBI Climate Change Task Force)

The new task for those who see the threat is to increase the pace of action, for business groups will never move with urgency without a push. We have to move business beyond its comfort zone.

The business community may at best be part of the solution, government and society have to set the framework which enables green decisions to be economically rational across the economy.

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Climate Change 2007: IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4)

'IPCC 4AR Summary for Policy Makers' (PDF) finally released.

Sorry for being a few days late with this one. If, however, you haven't read the entire IPCC report in three volumes then this is where the delay stops. Your excuses are at an end, this summary document is what government ministers and heads of state are expected to read. So if you want to know the basis on which decisions are made at the forthcomming Bali climate talks then this is the place to start. It's only 23 pages so get to it!

The document is introduced and discussed in this webcast (via IPCC.ch)

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