One degree

Investing in the sun can be cost-effective, writes Nhada Larkin

LOWER government subsidies may be causing people to hesitate about investing in solar power, but energy groups say with summer electricity bills likely to cause some nasty shocks, solar is still a smart purchase.
Australian Solar Energy Society chief executive John Grimes says a huge fall in solar panel prices and rising electricity prices mean there has ``never been a better time to buy'' solar panels.
``In the past 18 months prices have dropped by about 80 per cent,'' Grimes says.

The winners of the 2011 Pride of Australia national medal were announced at an
emotional and inspiring black-tie event in Sydney last night.

Cystic fibrosis sufferer Coen Ashton, 14, who travelled 2000km on the Murray River
on a jet ski to raise awareness about organ donation, received thunderous applause
when he was announced the winner of the national Child of Courage medal and the
inaugural Duracell People’s Choice medal.

Coen received his award from Packed to the Rafters star Rebecca Gibney, one of

News Limited is committed to:

º Comply with all applicable environmental laws and, where practical, strive to go beyond environmental regulations.

º Be an environmentally responsible corporate citizen that will conduct operations to minimise environmental impacts, reduce waste, advance recycling and optimise energy and resource efficiency.

º Continue to review operations with the aim of improving environmental performance.

All employees and contractors should understand, respect, implement and promote this policy.

Our bin labelling is almost complete, so I wanted to give you a reminder about our recycling system in Publishing and for the plant.

As you have all seen the Blue 240 and 660 litre bins are for all plastic items; Yellow for paper and Green for cardboard. We also have a 240 litre bin on each line and one at door 53 for any small pieces of timber. There are also 240 litre bins for General Waste, which I have noticed still have a lot of paper in them. Could you please refrain from this as this is paper that can be recycled.

The Australian
Sid Maher

Supporters of a carbon price have started a grassroots campaign to back Labor's carbon tax including releasing a video that has been sent to 3 million members of environmental groups and unions.

A coalition of nine community and union organisations will today launch the campaign called "Say Yes", which will include a "week of action" starting May 30 and involve rallies in all major cities on Sunday, June 5.

The Australian
Andrew Trounson

The president of the Australian Conservation Foundation has attacked the "scientific bastardry" of climate change sceptics amid weakening public consensus that humans are to blame.

Ian Lowe, who is also professor of science, technology and society at Griffith University, lamented the narrowing of the carbon tax debate.

He said it was "naive" to believe putting a price on carbon was the solution to the problem, arguing the carbon price would have to rise to "politically unrealistic" levels if it was to drive the transition away from coal-fired power.

The Australian
George Megalogenis

The reform challenge on climate change was unprecedented because the impetus for action was generated by community concern rather than political leadership, a former key Labor minister has confirmed.

Lindsay Tanner, one of the two cabinet ministers who urged former prime minister Kevin Rudd last year to stick with the emissions trading scheme, has spoken for the first time about the difficulties of making this reform stick.

The Australian
Source: AAP

THE case for compensating big business under Labor's proposed carbon tax is less compelling now than it was a year ago, a leading think tank says.

Analysis by the Grattan Institute suggests there is no evidence to support business claims for more compensation than that offered under Kevin Rudd's doomed carbon pollution reduction scheme.

The institute's chief executive, John Daley, says company profit "will be marginally less but not much changed".

Mr Daley said while the Australia dollar had risen in the past 12 months so too had commodity prices.

The Advertiser
Catherine Hockley

The head of a South Australian union representing workers in carbon intensive industries, says major polluters should be taxed and jailed.

Martin O'Malley, state secretary of of the SA branch of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, made the statement addressing a pro-carbon tax rally in Adelaide last month.

Mr O'Malley told protesters "carbon polluters shouldn't just be taxed they should be jailed".

Yesterday he stood by the comment.

The Australian

Alessandro Torello

Source: The Wall Street Journal

The EU will next week propose taxing transport and heating fuels according to their greenhouse-gas emissions as well as their energy content, introducing a climate-change component in EU tax rules for the first time, after years of negotiations.

The European Commission, which has executive powers in the EU, will propose a minimum rate of E20 ($27) a tonne of CO2 emitted by products such as petrol, diesel, natural gas and coal starting in 2013, a draft document obtained by Dow Jones Newswires shows.

The Australian

Andrew Main

Australia's steelmakers have little to fear from a carbon price if the federal government uses similar methodology to the rejected Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme of 2009, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Tim Jordan.

The Australian
By: Alessandro Torello, Brussels
Source: The Wall Street Journal

The EU will next week propose taxing transport and heating fuels according to their greenhouse-gas emissions as well as their energy content, introducing a climate-change component in EU tax rules for the first time, after years of negotiations.

The European Commission, which has executive powers in the EU, will propose a minimum rate of E20 ($27) a tonne of CO2 emitted by products such as petrol, diesel, natural gas and coal starting in 2013, a draft document obtained by Dow Jones Newswires shows.

The Australian
By: Paul Gilding

The Earth is full. In fact our human society and economy is now so large we have passed the limits of our planet's capacity to support us and it is overflowing.

Our current model of economic growth is driving this system, the one we rely upon for our present and future prosperity, over the cliff.

Australia's failure to adopt energy efficiency projects, on top of a carbon price, is costing families and business, a climate think-tank says.

ClimateWorks Australia has outlined more than 50 practical ways for policy makers to help Australia reach its five per cent emissions reduction target by 2020.

An update of its 2010 Low Carbon Growth Plan for Australia warns the failure to adopt incentives, including tree planting and switching to fuel-efficient cars and appliances, is costing households and business more than $5 million a week.

Two thirds of people support a carbon tax if they are compensated for cost of living rises, according to a new poll.

A Galaxy poll for the Greens found 66 per cent of people supported a price on carbon that taxed the biggest polluting industries and returned all revenue to compensate households and businesses, and provided investment in climate change programs.

Nearly a quarter of the 1036 surveyed opposed a carbon tax, while one in 10 were undecided.

Greens deputy leader Christine Milne said Australians "clearly recognised '' a price on pollution was required.

The Australian
By: Lauren Wilson

Julia Gillard's chief climate change adviser Ross Garnaut has hit back at suggestions that he was writing outside of his brief when he took on electricity pricing in his latest advice to government.

Professor Garnaut yesterday responded to fierce criticism from the electricity sector that his eighth and final climate change update -- which recommends an urgent review of Australia's energy market and regulatory regime -- could undermine investment in the electricity industry.

The Australian
Source: AFP

China leads the world in green energy, Germany has outpaced the US as the number two player, while Italy is fourth and Australia is 12th, a study said.

The survey by the Pew Charitable Trusts found strong growth on a global scale for solar, wind and other renewable energy, although one major exception was Britain, which saw a sharp decline after a new government took charge.

"What we believe it all comes down to, frankly, is policy," said Phyllis Cuttino, director of the Pew Clean Energy Program.

The Advertiser
Source: AAP

Climate change adviser Ross Garnaut says China is experimenting with carbon trading in a number of large cities because it knows that's the cheapest way to reduce emissions.

The economist held talks today with the man responsible for China's climate change policies, Xie Zhenhua, ahead of ministerial-level meetings.

Professor Garnaut said the emerging power was trialling carbon trading in five provinces and three cities - Tianjin, Shanghai and Beijing.

The Australian
By: Graham Lloyd, Environment editor

Tim Flannery's 1000-year carbon concession is a straw man that will no doubt burn brightly throughout the highly contested carbon tax debate.

Asked what impact Australia's carbon tax would have on global temperatures, Professor Flannery said that if the world cut all emissions tomorrow, it would take a millennium for global temperatures to drop because the system is already choked.

The Advertiser
By: Julian Swallow

Adelaide scientist Ian Plimer's support for Cardinal George Pell's climate-change view has sparked a dispute between the priest and the weatherman.

Bureau of Meteorology director Dr Greg Ayers said the country's most senior Catholic had been "misled" in his views, in which he questions the connection between carbon dioxide and rising temperatures, by Professor Plimer's book Heaven and Earth - Global Warming: The Missing Science.

Cardinal Pell reportedly replied that the scientist was a "hot-air specialist".

The Geelong Advertiser
By: Martin Watters

Geelong will swelter under intense heatwaves and the Great Barrier Reef will become a bed of algae should we fail to act on climate change, the Climate Commission warned last night.

A carbon price was also essential for heavy industries, such as Shell's refinery and Alcoa's Point Henry aluminium smelter, the first national public forum heard.

After a week of vitriol over denialist protests in Canberra, chief climate commissioner Professor Tim Flannery led the discussion before more than 300 people in Geelong West.

The Australian
By: Teresa Ooi

The maximum carbon cost for companies is expected to be less than 5 per cent of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, according to a report by Macquarie Economics Research.

Macquarie analyst Aimee Kaye said that at first glance, the carbon cost to companies such as BlueScope, Adelaide-Brighton, AGL Energy, Spark Infrastructure, OneSteel, Virgin Blue, Boral, Iluka Resources and Caltex appeared "staggeringly large", but the outlook changed if you took into account compensation and the passing through of costs.

AdelaideNow

Old televisions and computers will be recycled under a national scheme.

Manufacturers and importers would be required to collect and manage the old goods

The Federal Government has introduced legislation in Parliament which aims to prevent old electrical goods from ending up in landfill.

Collection services will be rolled out by the TV and computer industry and may be extended in the future to include goods such as tyres, batteries and cars.

AdelaideNow

Adelaide City Council will turn off all non-essential lighting on Saturday night for Earth Hour.

Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood is encouraging all businesses and residents to do their bit and help the environment by turning off their lights.

"Come on Adelaide, let's really get behind this and join millions around the world by turning off our lights for Earth Hour," Mr Yarwood said.

"Together we can send a united message that we care about the planet and want to make a difference to our environment."

The lights will be turned off between 8.30 and 9.30pm.

Herald Sun
From: AAP

Voter hostility to tackling climate change with a carbon price has jumped sharply since the Federal Government announced the plan last month.

A Nielsen telephone poll, published in Fairfax newspapers on Tuesday, surveyed 1400 voters last week and shows found 56 per cent were opposed to the introduction of a carbon price, while 35 per cent supported it.

A month earlier, 44 per cent of voters opposed the introduction of a carbon price, compared to 46 per cent which supported it.