Australia
[Due to the increasing size of the archives, each topic page now contains only the prior 365 days of content. Access to older stories is now solely through the Monthly Archive pages or the site search function.]
Australia Seeks Public Discussion of Measures to Encourage the Adoption of More Fuel-Efficient Vehicles
September 30, 2008
 |
| Projected average CO2 emissions of the Australian LDV fleet under a range of CO2 targets. Fleet-wide improvements take a long time even with aggressive new vehicle targets. Click to enlarge. |
The Australian Transport Council and the Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC) Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Working Group, with support from the Australian Government, have released a public discussion paper on potential measures to increase the adoption of more fuel-efficient, low-carbon emission vehicles.
Among the measures considered are a CO2 emissions standard for new vehicles; standards for non-engine components; and feebate programs. Closing date for public comments is 7 November 2008.
More... | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)
Queensland Premier Puts 20-Year Moratorium on Oil Shale Development
August 24, 2008
Queensland (Australia) Premier Anna Bligh has placed a 20-year moratorium on the development of oil shale in the state. The announcement immediately blocks the further development of a planned demonstration plant over the McFarlane oil shale deposit in the Whitsunday region. Bligh said she would not allow the environment to be put at risk while the technology for extraction of the resource was still not proven.
Currently only one lease exists to mine oil shale, in Gladstone. The Australian state will permit no new oil shale mines, and the state government will begin a two-year review to determine if oil shale deposits can be used in an environmentally acceptable way. The Premier said the decision was effective immediately and would be legislated in the coming months.
More... | Comments (27) | TrackBack (0)
Altona Resources Signs MOU with CNOOC on Arckaringa CTL Project in South Australia
August 19, 2008
 |
| The Arckaringa CTL and cogen project is situated close to a major rail line and highway, and is targeting exports to Asia as well as domestic use. Click to enlarge. |
Altona Resources Plc, an Australia-based energy company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CNOOC (Beijing) Energy Investment Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation, towards the development of the 10 million barrel per year (30,000 barrels per day) coal-to-liquids (CTL) and 560 MW co-generation Arckaringa Project in South Australia. CNOOC is one of the three largest State-owned oil companies in China.
Altona envisions a future expansion of the more than A$3 billion (US$2.6 billion) Arckaringa project to increase production to 45,000 barrels per day and 840 MW of export power as markets develop.
More... | Comments (24) | TrackBack (0)
In the Grip of Drought, Australia Considers A Carbon Market
July 24, 2008
by Jack Rosebro
 |
| Average increase per decade of Australia’s mean temperature, 1950-2007, in degrees C. Click to enlarge. Source: Australia Bureau of Meteorology |
Australia’s Department of Climate Change has published a Green Paper[1], or preliminary proposal, of its plan to limit the amount of carbon dioxide that the country’s major industries will be allowed to produce from 2010 forward, and has invited public comment. A White Paper, which will incorporate those comments, is scheduled to be released by the end of 2008 along with a draft of proposed legislation to enact the plan. A summary of the Green Paper has also been published.[2]
Referred to as the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, the plan largely comprises a national emissions trading system that would require around a thousand Australian companies—those that produce more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year—to purchase permits which would give them the legal right to emit greenhouse gases. Proceeds from the sale of such permits would be distributed to Australian households and small businesses to offset increased costs, as well as invested in renewable and low-carbon energy projects. No proceeds from the sale of permits would be returned to government.
More... | Comments (31) | TrackBack (0)
Jamison Report Calls for Fast-Tracking Development of Electric Vehicles in Australia
July 23, 2008
A report commissioned by Australia’s National Roads and Motorists’ Association (NRMA) calls on the Australian Government to set a target of reducing oil dependence by 20% by 2020; 30% by 2030 and 50% by 2050 and to do all it can to fast-track the development of the electric car in Australia, charged by renewable energy sources such as wind or solar.
The NRMA established the Jamison Group following the company’s Alternative Fuel Summit in 2006. The group, comprising David Lamb, Mark Diesendorf, John Mathews and Graeme Pearman, produced the report: A Road Map for Alternative Fuels in Australia: Ending our Dependence on Oil.
More... | Comments (9) | TrackBack (0)
Report Projects Electricity, LPG and CNG Will Be First Alt Fuels with Expanded Use in Australia If Oil Supply Declines
July 11, 2008
 |
| Transport sector fuel consumption in the scenario of fast decline in oil supply, slow technology response, and a 60% reduction in GHG from 2000 levels. Click to enlarge. |
Australia’s transport fuel mix will substantially change in response to the increasing cost of oil and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report produced by the Future Fuels Forum (FFF) and released today in Melbourne by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency.
Modelling for the report indicated that over the next ten years, electricity (used in all-electric, plug-in hybrid and conventional hybrid vehicles), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas (particularly in freight) will be the first fuels to expand their use, particularly if there is an abrupt decline in the availability of international oil supplies. The modelling found that if oil production peaks, prices could climb as high as A$8 per liter (US$29.26/gallon) by 2018 in the most extreme case.
More... | Comments (19) | TrackBack (0)
Australia Gets Its Own “Stern Review”: Draft of Garnaut Climate Change Review Is Released
July 07, 2008
by Jack Rosebro
 |
| Estimated probability of extreme climate impacts, responses, and threshold excess under each of the four emissions scenarios proffered by the Garnaut Review. Click to enlarge. |
After ten months of research, forums, lectures, consultations, and review of public comment, the Australian government has released a draft[1] of the Garnaut Climate Change Review, a comprehensive economic evaluation on the potential impacts of climate change to Australia’s economy, with recommendations for medium- to long-term policies and policy frameworks that will “improve the prospects of sustainable prosperity” for the country. The report, which follows February’s Interim Report, is named for lead author Dr. Ross Garnaut[2], who is chief climate change advisor to Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as well as a professor of economics at Australian National University.
Garnaut’s report looks at Australia’s future economic prospects as they would be influenced by four climate change mitigation scenarios—two that achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) stabilization by 2100, and two that do not: “ambitious” mitigation (450-500 ppm CO2 equivalent, or CO2e), “strong global” mitigation (550 ppm CO2e), “ad hoc” mitigation (efforts, but no stabilization), and no mitigation at all.
More... | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
First Aussie Plug-in Hybrid Debuts
June 13, 2008
 |
| The new PHEV in front of Szencorp offices, where it will charge. |
Australia’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) was unveiled in Melbourne by the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and green development company Szencorp. The Szencorp/UTS PHEV is based on a 2005 Toyota Prius, fitted with an extra NiMH battery pack from Nilar for greater storage and a power socket to enable it to be charged directly from the power grid.
The conversion was commissioned by Szencorp and undertaken by the University’s Institute for Sustainable Futures (ITS) and Faculty of Engineering with assistance from Sydney technology entrepreneur Stan Baker, according to Chris Dunstan, Project Director from the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures.
More... | Comments (25) | TrackBack (0)
TNT Launches Australia’s First Hybrid Truck Fleet
April 30, 2008
 |
| A Hino hybrid truck. |
TNT Express Australia has put 10 Hino Hybrid trucks into service, becoming the first business in Australia to start operating a fleet of diesel-electric hybrid as replacements for conventionally powered vehicles.
Speaking at the official launch of the hybrid truck fleet in Sydney, TNT Express Australia Managing Director Roger Corcoran said the new vehicles would reduce TNT’s greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,600 kilograms of CO2 a year per vehicle.
