Wednesday 13 October, 2010

The Plenary session this morning ‘Australia & the Asian ‘Green Revolution’ – issues and opportunities for interacting with Asia as the region transitions to a low-carbon economy’ was chaired by Anthony Hobley, Global Head Climate Change & Carbon Finance, Norton Rose.

Its focus was on Asian economies who have for some time been active in generating emissions reductions from clean development projects that have been ‘exported’ to developed countries. Now these economies have made their own international commitments in the Copenhagen Accord and are becoming increasingly active in pursuing their own emissions reduction strategies and developing their own clean technologies.

The keynote speaker was Dr Hu Tao, Senior Environmental Economist, Policy Research Centre, Ministry of Environmental Protection, People’s Republic of China; Member, China Carbon Forum Advisory Board provided a resume of China’s low carbon economy plan.

He commenced his presentation with some bad news having come from Tianjin and the final pre COP16 meeting before the COP in Cancun, Mexico. “There will be no international deal at COP16”. The good news he stated was “China is and will continue to take action on climate change”. The numbers are impressive and….and one stands out - $1 trillion USD per annum invested in the low carbon economy.

In the final year of the 11^th Five Year Plan (2006-2010) there have been success and almost success across a range of indicators related to climate change including a reduction in energy intensity  by 15.6% (the target was 20%); and energy mix of 10% renewables (target 10%). The 12^th Five Year Plan (2011 – 2015) will set new targets for energy intensity (between 15-20%) and a renewables target (between 10-15%) building towards a 40-45% target by 2020. Over the past few years China has phased out the equivalent of 70 GW of coal fired power equivalent to Britain’s total peak energy demand.

The Chinese Government, Dr Tao stated, will achieve its targets through ‘moral education; public expenditures and market incentives including both taxes and trading mechanisms'.

Monday 6 September 2010

Kaohsiung, a city with a population of 1.5 million, is a member of ICLEI.

In the process of rapid urban development, Kaohsiung became a city with high concentration of carbon dioxide emissions, at one point averaging 33 tones per person per year.

However, in recent years, the City has sought to shift its profile of a high carbon city to a low-carbon sustainable-development city.

The conference I will be attending this week and providing a presentation on behalf of ICLEI has been organised by the Kaohsiung City Government with its theme "Promoting renewable energy and sustainable urban development."

Thursday 5 August, 2010

This morning at the WALGA Convention in Perth we recognised the achievements of councils participating in the ICLEI Water Campaign and the Western Australian Government's Waterwise Council Program.

The partnership between the State Government, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability has underpinned the work of local councils and is an example of what can be achieved when partnership and not partisanship provides the basis of responding to the barometer of climate change, water .

Here in Western Australia ICLEI Oceania has been in partnership with the State Government over successive governments and ministers and just as climate change does not negotiate nor does water so it is imperative that we partner rather than compete.

The partnership therefore between the Department of Water, Water Corporation and ICLEI has been able to drive water action through the ICLEI Water Campaign and the State Government’s Waterwise Council Program, a partnership that has delivered substantial outputs and learnings built upon policy commitments to achieve sustainable water practices.

Thursday 29 July, 2010

Wednesday 16 June, 2010

The 2010 ‘Speak Up!’ ICLEI Oceania Recognition Awards and Briefing Breakfast was certainly a full breakfast with over 90 in attendance to hear from Cr Geoff Lake, President, Australian Local Government Association Geoffrey Rutledge, ACT Government’s Department of the Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Water and Dr Cathy Oke, City of Melbourne Councillor Chair, ICLEI Oceania Board and Member ICLEI Executive and Bill Forrest, CEO and Regional Director, ICLEI Oceania.

We also recognised the membership and partnership of councils from across Australia who are supporting the movement of local governments for sustainability locally, nationally and internationally. The importance of partnership for a not for profit organization such as ICLEI is integral to our role. The journey we have been on for more than a decade has been a strong and proud one and we recognise the political commitment and determination, the professionalism and passion that your council brings to achieving a more sustainable planet. Councils were awarded for their ICLEI Membership and participation as a Cities for Climate Protection Partner\ and in the Cities for Safe and Healthy Communities Program and Water Campaign™.

It is clearly evident that the climate change political pendulum has moved considerably over the past 12 months. At the 2009 ICLEI Oceania Recognition and Briefing Breakfast we called on local governments to “Step Up” following the decision of the Australian Government not to continue to invest in the Cities for Climate Protection program as a consequence of the proposed roll out of the CPRS!  So it was fitting that at this year’s event we called on local governments to “Speak Up” as the climate change agenda wallows in hyperbole, cynicism and scepticism and community support falters.

The challenge is for local governments to step up, speak up and be counted against the politics of dissension and opposition. There is an urgent need to maintain the bi-partisanship in our Council Chambers on taking action on a global issue. It has been a no brainer for local councils to recognise that whilst global warming is an issue needing to be addressed by national governments, local councils together with their communities have a vital role to play in leading and leveraging action.

Fortunately many local councils continue to prioritise climate action despite the lack of clear national policy directions and support and an increasingly confusing number of methodologies, frameworks and tools now cluttering the sector.  The white noise is deafening when added to the national legislative and regulatory requirements for reporting and the uncertainty surrounding a carbon price. The pervasive partisanship that our state and federal parliaments bring to the debate on climate change does however undermine our effort to build local support and political commitment. 

Many local councils are also mindful of global trends to 2050 that indicate increasing climate change impacts, population growth in developing economies and the consequent increased demand for energy, concerns over peak oil, energy security and prices and the unsustainable use and exploitation of natural resources. Whilst these trends do not easily spring to the local government sector’s mind they must in time change the nature of inter-governmental relations and the respective roles of federal, state and local government if we are to deal with the causes and impacts of these trends.

And if we in local government are to respond to such trends the adage ‘local government is closet to the people’ needs to be re-stated as ‘close to the people’ placing the onus not on a comparative assessment but a challenge that requires us to develop strategies for community engagement and participation. Our focus in local government needs to be on robust and informed community debate on the challenges and opportunities that will transform our communities from one of energy, water and food centralised dependence to one of de-centralised inter-independence and our residents from passive consumers to consumers and producers. The municipality as a ‘catchment’ for energy, water and food is a concept that needs to become a reality if we are to achieve a low carbon economy.

It’s certainly time to “Speak Up”.

Tuesday 18 May, 2009

Setting the ICLEI Oceania Breakfast Table – LGMA National Congress

"Responding to the challenge – has a complex matrix of knowns and unknowns. However what we do know is: climate change does not negotiate nor does it have 3 year terms or a Senate and national governments do not negotiate an international climate agreement unless they have electorate consensus.

And therein lies the challenge and the opportunity for local government. We in local government are at the coalface, and I use that word advisedly, of the cause and impact of climate change. So we need to respond by adapting to impacts and adopting measures that deliver a low carbon community. The Cities for Climate Protection - Integrated Action (CCP IA) campaign builds on a decade of investment in mitigation; an investment made by your council in partnership with the Australian Government. CCP IA responds to the need to twin mitigation and adaptation actions and outcomes.

We have offered the program to councils across Australia, large small and very small. The aim is to roll out a climate action-reaction infrastructure program that will accelerate our efforts to reduce our corporate and community emissions in energy, transport and waste and build our capacity to adapt and be resilient to climate change.

And the canary in the room? Yes we are seeking financial assistance from the Federal Government as a contribution to the roll out. Now is the time for accelerating action on climate change and we in local government are ready willing and able to be part of that action. ICLEI holds to the view that effective national climate change action must involve local government.

The track record of ICLEI Oceania’s work with local councils across Australia has been recognised internationally and provides evidence that a relatively small investment by local, state and federal governments brings substantial rewards including emission reductions, savings and investments and political and community support. We need to continue to build political will, management expertise and community partnership and bridge the alarming gulf between talk and walk." Martin Brennan.

Friday 14 May, 2010

The Berri Resort Hotel in South Australia was the venue for the South Australian Water Recognition event. The South Australian Murray Darling Basin (SAMDB) NRM Board one-day forum was the occasion for the event - Water Campaign Delivers.

The flight to Mildura and a 2 hour drive crossing the Victorian and South Australian border gave a bird’s eye view and then an on the ground view of the impact of the impact of a prolonged drought and the need to improve river flows and buy back water rights. The patch work of farmland is broken by expanses of brown earth where farmers have stripped their crops.

The event was attended by Mayors, councillors, managers  and officers and staff of the NRM Board form across the 10 local government making up the region.

Water is certainly the barometer of climate change. In the driest continent in the driest state, in the driest or at least the most vulnerable region in the country it is no wonder that the cause and effect of climate change is better understood and the need for action more urgent than in the SAMDB!

There is no getting away from the fact that we in local government especially in rural and regional Australia wear the brunt of an expanding urban population, the vagaries of rainfall and the impact of weather and ultimately climate on our regions. In fact the first councils to join our climate change action program, Cities for Climate Protection, were in South Australia, and that in rural and regional Australia the impact of weather and the changing climate had more traction than in many metropolitan municipalities.

That is no doubt why of the 240 councils who joined CCP a quarter were rural and regional councils. It is also why the Water Campaign launched in 2001 reached120 councils with a large number of rural and regional council participants. The withdrawal of Australian Government funding in 2008 halved the number of participants. The funding support provided by the NRM Boards in South Australia, the  Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Northern and Yorke and of course the SAMDB has been critical to maintaining a presence in South Australia..

And whilst we are disappointed that the SAMDB is unable to continue the work beyond August this year we recognise the partnership and the work undertaken by councils in the region together with our SA Water Campaign staff and especially the work of Alex Hammett.

Highlights of this work has been:

- 10 councils in the  SAMDB region joined the Water Campaign and are currently working on various milestones - these councils represent over 100 000 people in the SAMDB region. Across SA 31 councils have joined the Water Campaign
 
- held a highly successful Water Sensitive Urban Design Forum in 2008, in partnership with SAMDB NRM board.  Over 100 people attended and received practical information about the fundamentals of WSUD as well as an overview of several projects

- establishment of baseline water consumption profiles for councils and their community.  This information can be used ( and has been ) beyond the Water Campaign as a basis for grant applications, or in the case of the Riverland councils - forming the basis of their water conservation plans.

- Water Values Recognition and networking event held in June - overview of what councils were currently working on, information on IPOS program, LGA involvement with councils and the roles of the NRM Boards and the Murray Darling Basin Commission

- publications - action profiles/ action reports/ inventory reports have been developed over the past few years, profiling the work of Australian councils to achieve sustainable water management

Speakers at the event included Bill Paterson, Presiding Member for the SAMDB , Mayor Kevin Burdett, District Council of Karoonda East Murray and
Graham Webster, General Manager, Strategy, Environment and Economic Development, Alexandrina Council.

Monday 22 March, 2010

First there was one ….and then there were around 401 who turned up at Federation Square, Melbourne on Friday morning for the launch of the ClimateWorks Australia, ‘Low Carbon Growth Plan for Australia’. Introduced by Chair, John Thwaites and followed up skillfully and expertly with the key approaches, findings and recommendations arising from the Report was Executive Director, Anna Skarbeck. It was an almost who’s who of the climate action network and heralded in what I believe is a truly significant report for those of us working to get back on the front foot given the damage done both internationally and nationally to our roadmap toward a low carbon future. This is not to infer that the road has been without its bumps and humps over the past decade but as we are nearing the crash through or out point on the climate change ticking clock, action is needed on a wide variety and cross sectoral fronts.

So herein lies the value of the ClimateWorks Report in identifying a total of 54 opportunities across power, forestry, industry, agriculture buildings and transport sectors that can reduce emissions by 249 MtCO2e by 2020. The Report is readable and should inform government and non government alike of what is possible, what is needed and what are the benefits of action now!  The Report itemises the savings, the investments, the paybacks  and the costs across a range of actions that governments, business, industry and residents can take up to be part of the solution. ‘There is not silver bullet’, stated Anna Skarebck, ‘but rather a portfolio of actions’, a portfolio that together will deliver the transformation of economy, society and environment needed for us individually and collectively to be sustainable.     

Thursday 18 March, 2010

This week’s visit to Canberra to provide both a ministerial and departmental briefing on the CCP Integrated Action program was full of those ‘national capital’ highlights. From a Question Time that put on display the gestures, the stances, the hyperbole, the wit and the banal, to the expectant school groups of all ages snaking through the corridors of power in awesome order and decorum (one group actually had as its tour leader the Speaker of the House, Harry Jenkins, who I am sure found the childrens’ behavior somewhat a relief from what he had experienced in Question Time in the House), the Hill is the place to be! The meanderings of visitors, cameras at the ready and intent on photographing the moving politician as well as the nor moving portrait politicians results in numerous flashes of light glistening off the marble columns and floors from all parts of the Parliament.

The long queue I joined for Question Time underscored what has become a political game of point scoring and the setting no doubt of the tone and demeanor of those who represent and report for us the rest of the day. A quick look at a television screen of happenings in the House following QT (maybe the title of a new ABC program live to air) revealed the loss of a quorum, evident form a glance at both sides of the House and a near deserted Public Gallery. There is clearly a reluctance to actually engage in debate on the issues confronting the nation. This would be done in the ‘other place’ in Committee or at doorstop interviews.

The taxi drivers are the most informed and positive as they courier their fares between the Parliament and respective Departments and Restaurants and do considerable trade. ‘I take the short trips; said the driver I managed to flag down in a city that seems to have a supply and demand mismatch. It makes for a more interesting (get to talk politics) and even profitable (aggregate fares) day if I do the small jobs he told me.

The meetings with the ministerial and departmental representatives over I returned to the café I had frequented before gearing for the day on the Hill and then on to the airport for the flight home. Despite it being the last flight out it was packed with Parliamentary day trippers! Canberra attracts when the Parliament sits.

Tuesday 9 March 2010

The structure of ICLEI as a federated body of regional and national offices needs to provide the local to global thinking and action that drives the local government sector toward sustainability. There have been spaghetti diagrams now we have flying saucers! The structure of the World Secretariat, presented by Secretary General, Konrad Otto-Zimmerman, provided an insight into the emerging and changing needs of local governments in a world that is struggling to find a united front on climate change action. There is a need therefore to ensure that the ICLEI World Secretariat addresses climate action (Cities Climate Centre), knowledge management (Capacity and Knowledge Centre) and communications.

The day concluded with a dinner reception provided by the Lord Mayor Bonn. As the host city for ICLEI it was an opportunity for the Mayor to be introduced to regional and national offices around the world. The setting was a typical German restaurant with the ubiquitous images of Beethoven. Also at the reception was a delegation from Incheon City, Korea who would present to the IOMC tomorrow on their program proposal for the Special World Congress to be held in October this year. The Mayor’s gift to the delegates was a Beethoven CD…not only the images but now the music!

Tuesday 9 March 2010

Bonn is a city of some 300,000 people with a capital city air, though no longer with that status. Today it is a city with grand state buildings, pedestrianised streets and laneways, markets, offices and a lifestyle that must be the envy of other German cities. The IOMC meeting is being held at the Gustav Stresemann Institute a short six stop tram ride from the city centre. The meeting reflects the global nature of ICLEI many accents, faces and views are brought to the table to discuss and resolve the range of issues and opportunities that face the organisation internationally, regionally and nationally.

The IOMC kicked off with reports from all regional and national offices indicating achievements, status, challenges and aspirations. A discussion of ICLEI’s program portfolio for inclusion in the Strategic Plan 2010–15 identified the value, strengths and weaknesses of our methodology, tools, brands, expertise and experience. The discussion highlighted the range of roles and functioning that ICLEI plays as a global organisation, a federated body of regional offices or a franchise!

There were a range of views and opinions expressed regarding each of the components of the program portfolio – the framework, the business resourcing, program modules each received a thorough going over. The need to have a language that can apply across regions and countries plus a framework and methodology was resolved in favour of a simplified and concise set of themes and program modules. 

Saturday 6 March 2010

This morning at 5am I touched down in Frankfurt, Germany, from Melbourne via Singapore on my way to Bonn, the new headquarters of the ICLEI World Secretariat. The arrival at Frankfurt airport was on time and my progress through immigration and customs, together with the bus to the train station and the train and tram to downtown Bonn was achieved in a blur of whiteness and fog. I am here in Bonn to attend a 4-day meeting of the International Officers Managers Committee (IOMC) that will have in attendance the CEOs and Regional Directors from regional and national offices from around the world.

The meeting will provide an opportunity to review our programs and services in the light of the outcomes of the World Congress held in Edmonton, Canada, 2009 and develop a program framework for the increasing number of programs and services being offered by offices around the world. These include the Cities for Safe and Healthy Communities (Oceania), Food Sustainability Program (Oceania), Climate Change and Health (Oceania), Climate Resilient Communities (USA), Star Community Index (USA), Sustainability Planning (USA), Smart SPP (Europe), Sustainable NOW (Europe), SCI Network (Europe), Service Level Benchmarking of Cities (India), City Level Carbon Emissions Reduction (India), Realizing DReAMS Development of Resources and Access to Municipal Services (South and Southeast Asia), ACCESSanitation (Southeast Asia), Five City Network to Pioneer Climate Adaptation (Africa), and Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) for Africa. 

The outcome of these discussions will inform our work with Members and participants, the appropriate business models and knowledge management systems we will need now and into the future to ensure better program coordination and access. We will also discuss the outcomes of the COP15 and the Local Government Road Map and consider our role in COP16 to be held in Mexico City in December.