Initially the carbon price, being called a carbon tax by its attackers, will apply only to the 500 worse polluters.  It is a bold move for a country which generates 80% of its energy from coal and which is one of the world’s largest coal exporters.

As with similar schemes in Europe, heavy polluters such as steelmakers, coal mines and power generators will be compensated through the transition. The scheme is wrapped in a number of other economic and tax reforms designed to soften the blow for Australian households and industry.

CCS is a rapidly developing sector and involves the capture of CO2 from major emissions sources such as coal and gas fired power generation facilities, LNG and gas processing plants. The resulting CO2 is safely transported and permanently stored deep underground in depleted gas reservoirs or saline aquifers.

As part of the Petrofac group, CO2DeepStore will accelerate its plans for growth and development, while the acquisition represents Petrofac’s first step into the low carbon energy sector. There are many synergies between the CO2 transport and storage business and Petrofac’s Offshore Engineering & Operations and Energy Developments businesses. The combination of the two organisations establishes a leading development capability for CO2 storage projects, providing a complete storage service for power generators and other CO2 emitters.

Robin Pinchbeck, Petrofac’s group director, strategy and corporate development, commented: “The storage of CO2 is an important part of the emerging low carbon energy mix and we are excited about the potential opportunities for our group in this sector. We are very pleased to welcome Alan and his team to Petrofac and look forward to working with them to progress our plans.”

Alan James, managing director, CO2DeepStore said: “The combination of Petrofac’s financial strength and development capability together with our specialist knowledge and experience will help to position CO2DeepStore as the leading CO2 storage project developer in this new sector servicing the requirements of the major emitters who are establishing CCS projects.”

The Australian Rudd Government has announced this morning that from 1 January 2011 the Renewable Energy Target will be separated into two parts and a fixed price of $40 per megawatt hour will be set for small-scale technologies. Renewable energy developments in Australia have been hampered by a plummeting REC price, driven by the inclusion of credits for small-scale systems such as domestic roof mounted solar panel.

This important decision, driven by Minister Penny Wong, will create a more stable environment for investment in large scale renewable projects such as wind farms and utility scale solar. It also increases the net amount of renewable energy which the country targets to generate under its Mandated Renewable Energy Target (MRET) legislation. More details to follow…

The senate eventually voted 41-33 to defeat the government’s climate change scheme despite two key Liberal moderates, Judith Troeth and Sue Boyce, crossing the Senate floor.The ETS would have implemented a ‘cap and trade’ system, providing limits on carbon pollution and allowing polluters to trade permits. Climate Change Minister Penny Wong has described the opposition’s response as “the shallowest of responses to the nation’s deepest problem”.

“You do not tackle climate change unless you change your economy,” Senator Wong told the senate.

If successfully implemented the project could be in operation by 2030 and create more than 50,000 new jobs.

CDP claims this provides a clear message to suppliers to the UK public sector that action on climate change has become a necessary part of business. The public sector has considerable purchasing power. In the UK, public procurement amounts to £150 billion per annum with about £60 billion spent on goods and services by central government and the wider public sector spending a further £90 billion. In the EU as a whole, the public budget amounts to about 16% of total GDP.

Eight organisations including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Office of Government Commerce and the Victoria and Albert Museum received completed climate change reports from 238 suppliers, based largely in the UK. This information enables public sector organisations to start to quantify emissions generated by suppliers, to better understand the associated risks and opportunities and to build a robust and resilient supply chain.

Lord Hunt, Minister of State for Sustainable Development at Defra: “The CDP’s public procurement project has been an important step for both public sector organisations and their suppliers. It has not only helped us to understand how our suppliers are reducing their carbon emissions, but also how they are dealing with the risks posed by climate change.  I am really pleased that Defra has such a high rate of suppliers who provided the information. It has shown that we can have a real impact on global emissions levels by using low carbon suppliers. This will help us to make procurement choices in future which will help fight damaging climate change.”

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said: ‘‘This report shows there are massive opportunities in London to reduce food waste helping to both save ourselves money by throwing away less food and cut climate change emissions.’

The report shows London’s schools and hospitals serve around 110 million meals a year, and that the capital boasts 1,200 restaurants (most of which are independently owned), 6,000 cafes and more than 5,000 pubs and bars. There are 36,000 allotments in London producing an equivalent two million meals but long waiting lists show many more Londoners would like to grow their own.

The report findings included:

Across all 6 greenhouse gases total emissions from the food eaten and grown in London is estimated at the equivalent of nearly 19 million tonnes of CO2 per year

Carbon dioxide emissions from London’s food consumption are just over 10 million tonnes

The report concludes that the majority of food related emissions comes from the production of food, accounting for 44 per cent. Much of this occurs outside of London.

Within London, the majority of emissions are from the preparation and storage of food

It is estimated that we throw away a third of the food we buy: London’s food waste therefore represents 6.3 million tonnes of greenhouse gases.

Source The Mayor of London’s official website.

At the event a £10,000 prize will be awarded to the most innovative project as decided by the audience. A maximum of four shortlisted project groups will present their idea to the delegates. For details of how to apply to the competition, please see the Carbon Connections website.The line up includes Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Bob Watson and government advisor on green policy, Jonathon Porritt and the event will also offer a high level of interactivity with each delegate able to offer opinion, suggestions and comments through a wireless handset. This will also ensure immediate feedback following each presentation.