Lethal Heating: 04/14/17

14/04/2017

Government Given 21 Days To Explain Climate Change Failures Or Face Legal Action

The Independent - Ian Johnston

Exclusive: Environmental lawyers at campaign group ClientEarth set deadline amid concern over repeated delays to publication of Government’s key plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

The UK has seen dramatic decreases in emissions from power stations but cuts in transport and heating are proving more difficult. PA

ClientEarth – the team of environmental lawyers that has twice taken Ministers to court and won – has given the Government 21 days to explain why it has failed to produce a plan setting out how the UK will fight climate change as required by law.
Under the terms of Britain’s Climate Change Act, the Government must come up with a way to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 57 per cent by 2032.
According to official figures, the UK’s emissions fell by 33 per cent between 1992 and 2014, largely because of the surge in renewable electricity generation and the switch from coal to gas-fired power stations.

Climate change is altering global air currents, scientists warn

But, with most homes heated by gas and most vehicles still using petrol or diesel, the UK is a long way off meeting the 2032 target.
The Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan is supposed to set out how this will be achieved and was due to be published at the end of last year, but has been repeatedly delayed.
It is thought further significant cuts could involve policies that are too radical for the current Government, particularly during the upheaval caused by Brexit. For example, as part of its efforts, Norway has pledged to ban petrol-powered cars by 2025. Such a move is not considered likely in the UK.
ClientEarth has a track record of forcing the Government to obey the law, twice forcing Ministers to rethink substandard plans to bring air quality to within minimum EU safety standards.
In a letter to Climate Change Minister Nick Hurd seen by The Independent, ClientEarth said it was “increasingly concerned” that the Emissions Reduction Plan had still not been published.
“The strength of the [Climate Change] Act is that it enables long-term advance planning and investment,” the letter said.
“An ambitious plan now will put the UK on the pathway to real emissions reductions and real investment in the 2020s and 2030s.
“Failure now to produce an ambitious plan that will put the UK on track to meet the legally binding fourth and fifth carbon budgets will only compound the earlier failures.”
ClientEarth has warned that it believes the Government could have been in breach of the Climate Change Act for years because its emissions plan for the fourth carbon budget – the target level of emissions for the mid-2020s – does not actually achieve the necessary reductions.
The fifth budget, which runs up to 2032, was set by Ministers last year and requires its own emissions plan.
The letter did not threaten legal action, but said ClientEarth would “appreciate a response within 21 days” spelling out when the plan would be published or reasons for the continued delay.

It also suggested the Government could instead publish a draft plan for consultation “as a matter of urgency” so interested parties could help it produce an effective strategy.

Karla Hill, director of programmes at ClientEarth, told The Independent that if no substantive response was received, it might take the Government to court – but would prefer not to.
“Legal action is an option if we don’t get any firm indication as to what they are planning to do,” she said.
“Our ultimate goal in all of this is for the Government to produce a good plan and we’re not really interested in going to court just to force them to produce a plan they are legally obliged to produce any way.
“Our strong preference is for litigation to be a last resort.”
She spelled out the importance of the plan.
“The Emissions Reduction Plan is critical. It is important because it will send a signal that the Government is serious about the Climate Change Act,” Ms Hill said.
“And it will drive huge amounts of investment into clean infrastructure and technology that will reduce emissions in the UK through the 2020s and into the 2030s.
“Delay and inaction is not really an option under the Climate Change Act or under the international commitments the Government has made.
“They ratified the Paris Agreement late last year, that’s a binding international commitment.
“Delay is what we are seeing at the moment, but inaction is not an option. Delay will make action more costly.”
Speaking to an MPs’ committee hearing earlier this year, Mr Hurd said the plan was so important it was felt the need to get it right was more important than the legal requirement to publish it “as soon as practically possible” after the carbon budget is set.
A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which deals with climate change issues after Theresa May abolished the dedicated department, said: “The Plan is a priority for this Government and our intention is still to publish it as early on in 2017 as possible, so that we can move on to the delivery stage.
“We are undertaking critical preparatory work to ensure we get it right and provide clear guidance on how the Government is planning to reduce emissions through the 2020s.”

Links

Adani Boast Puts $1b Coal Project Loan In Doubt, As New Footage Shows Abbot Point Spill Damage

Fairfax - Heath Aston | Michael Koziol | Amy Remeikis

A potential $1 billion federal government loan to Indian conglomerate Adani for its proposed coal mine has been called into question because comments by the company appear to conflict with infrastructure funding guidelines.
Public finance for Australia's biggest open-cut coal pit has become the latest political battleground, as alarming new footage emerged of the environmental damage done to wetlands bordering Adani's Abbot Point coal terminal in Queensland by cyclone Debbie.

Abbot Point pollution revealed
New aerial photography reveals how far a spill of coal-laden water from the Abbot Point coal terminal has penetrated neighbouring wetlands.

Research by the independent Parliamentary Library, passed to Fairfax Media, found statements by Adani on the financial viability of the Carmichael project in Queensland's Galilee Basin could render it ineligible to accept funding for a mine-to-port rail line from the $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund.
In December, Adani spokesman Ron Watson confidently declared that access to the $1 billion concessional loan through the infrastructure fund was "not make or break" for the $16 billion project moving to production. "It's not critical," Mr Watson said of the loan at the time.
Under the infrastructure fund's investment eligibility criteria three, loans should only be extended if "financial assistance is necessary to enable the project to proceed, or to proceed much earlier than it would otherwise".
According to the Parliamentary Library: "Mr Watson's statement may well have ruled the project ineligible for funding under the NAIF. His statement points to the possibility that criteria three will not be met."
As the political heat over Carmichael rose on Wednesday, Adani shifted position, telling Fairfax Media the loan facility was critical to making the rail line financially feasible because of requests by the Queensland and federal governments that competing coal projects in the Galilee share the line.
"That has increased our costs," Mr Watson said, adding it would require "expansion of line capacity, maybe additional loops and so forth".

Coal dust on the beaches next to the Abbot Point coal loading facility. Photo: Dean Sewell/Oculi

"The cost of providing access to potential other users is significant. I think it requires the NAIF input to make it feasible."
A spokeswoman for the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Matt Canavan, would not comment on whether eligibility criteria could be tweaked to facilitate the loan, which Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has already said should be approved.

A picture of the Abbot Point coal loading facility showing coal water run-off moving north-west into the wetlands and coal dust on the beaches. Photo: Dean Sewell

But she did back the company's stance that the multi-use nature of the 390-kilometre rail line was a significant factor in funding and feasibility.
"Adani has always said the rail line would be open access and the government has always said multi-use access would be a condition of any application being considered," she said.

Malcolm Turnbull meets Gautam Adani in Delhi. Photo: AAP

Mr Joyce sought to ratchet up pressure on Bill Shorten over the loan on Wednesday, claiming the Opposition Leader "no longer seems to believe in blue-collar workers".
"Mr Shorten should start backing in labourers and the union movement who actually want these jobs and the National Party in this instance is standing with the CFMEU and the AWU to try to make sure we get these jobs moving," he said.

An image showing environmental damage to wetlands bordering Adani's Abbot Point coal terminal. Photo: Dean Sewell

Mr Shorten again gave his backing to the Carmichael project, but on the basis that it "stacks up" financially.
"I haven't seen the case made for the taxpayer to underwrite a billion-dollar loan, underwritten by Australian taxpayers, to build a rail line," he said.

GALLERY Abbott Point coal pollution

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who met billionaire Adani Group founder Gautam Adani during his visit to India, has insisted the loan will be "assessed scrupulously independently".
Pictures and video footage taken from a helicopter and a drone above the Abbot Point terminal, which will handle Carmichael's output, has led to renewed warnings by conservationists about destruction of the onshore environment and Great Barrier Reef if the coal expansion goes ahead.
Images show black sludge throughout the wetlands, home to the endangered wading bird the Australian painted snipe, and what appear to be coal lumps on the adjacent beach, a turtle nesting ground.
Australian Conservation Foundation president Geoff Cousins said the area "looks trashed".
"It's a tragic and shocking picture of what the future of the reef coast looks like if we don't stop digging up coal," he said.
"The Adani companies have proven they can't be trusted with the environment and the climate. The idea that we'd spend public money propping up their operations beggars belief."
The Queensland Labor government has been treading a fine line on Carmichael between environmental issues and the need for mining jobs.
Behind the scenes, the pervading belief in Queensland has been that Adani would not get the finance necessary to break ground.
But that belief has started to shift, according to a Queensland government source, who said a "scaled back" project could go ahead.
"If it starts smaller, Adani don't need as much funding to get going ... if the government puts in $1 billion, it is even less and they can still expand it down the track if necessary."

Links

Climate Change Curbs Must Be Central To Foreign Policy, Global Institutions Tell Australia

Fairfax - Fergus Hunter | David Wroe

A group of global institutions, including the World Bank, has told the Turnbull government that containing the effects of climate change must be a central pillar of Australia's new foreign policy.
The group, including the Asian Development Bank, Pacific Islands Forum and Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says mitigation and adaptation will be needed to address the economic and security impacts of widespread environmental upheaval.

Billion dollar reef risk

The impact of climate change and Tropical Cyclone Debbie could cost the Queensland tourism industry $1 billion according to a new report form the Climate Council. Courtesy ABC, the Climate Council.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is looking to establish a new "philosophical framework" to guide Australia's engagement with the world. On top of a public submission process, the government recently summoned all ambassadors home to participate in an unprecedented meeting.
In the newly published submissions to the white paper process, the World Bank said 300 million people in the Asia-Pacific region were in danger of falling into extreme poverty as a result of climate change, natural disasters, disease and economic shocks.
The powerful financial institution asserted that 13 of the 30 countries most vulnerable to the impacts of global warming were in Australia's neighbourhood.
"Environmental sustainability – particularly efforts aimed to mitigate climate change and its effects on water scarcity, natural disasters, and small island states – is also important to Australia's security and wellbeing," it argued.
The Asian Development Bank described climate change as a "growing threat to prosperity and stability in the region". The 67-member development funding body said Asia, with booming and vulnerable populations, faced an $8 trillion infrastructure funding gap, and urged funding for climate change curbs and preparation.
"Huge investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport and smart cities are needed," its submission said. "Countries must also invest in adaption through resilient infrastructure, smart agriculture, and better disaster preparedness."

Julie Bishop is looking to establish a new "philosophical framework" to guide Australia's foreign policy. Photo: Bloomberg

The Settlement Services Advisory Board – appointed by federal government to advise on migrant settlement – warned sea level rises, erosion and more intense natural disasters would result in climate refugees.
Destruction of communities in the low-lying countries of the Asia-Pacific region could unleash a flood of displaced people, destabilising the region. According to projections, a one-metre sea level rise could swallow 20 per cent of Bangladesh and displace 30 million citizens. The Maldives has speculated about buying Australian land to accommodate the country's population in future.

Jackson Kiloe, the Premier of Taro in the Solomon Islands, standing where the shoreline used to be. Photo: Penny Stephens

"In the context of evidence of the impact of climate change on the Asia-Pacific region, it is imperative that Australia is proactive in its commitment to meeting and continually increasing emission reduction targets," the advisory board stated.
"A possible solution to address future migration challenges from climate change would be to build the capacity of populations who are likely to seek refuge in Australia."
Hundreds of submissions to the foreign policy white paper cover a vast array of policies, from navigating the relationships with China and the United States to maintaining free trade and boosting foreign aid spending.
In calling for government policy to protect vulnerable people and the environment, non-government organisations including World Vision, Save the Children, wildlife preservation group WWF and the Australian Council for International Development all touch on climate change as a threat relevant to their work.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said global warming presented a growing risk to Australia's interests, including business.
"Viewed on its own, reducing emissions in Australia will have little impact on global atmospheric [greenhouse gas] concentrations," it wrote. "This is why Australia needs to support economic growth and assist regional partners to develop in a way that limits adverse environment impacts."
The Pacific Islands Forum, a group of 17 states, describe natural disasters and climate change as "major obstacles to future development" and a danger exacerbated by booming populations.
Climate change – which scientific consensus has found to be driven by human-generated greenhouse gas emissions –gradually lifts air and ocean temperatures, making weather patterns more unpredictable, intensifying natural disasters, raising sea levels and undermining critical environmental processes.
United States Secretary of Defence James Mattis recently told Congress that climate change was a driver of instability that had to be considered by the military.
Australia's 2016 Defence white paper labelled it a "major challenge for countries in Australia's immediate region".

Links