Investing in Climate
- for a Change!
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Express 217 30 September 2016
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Send in your articles, announcements, releases, ideas, innovations and projects.
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Change is in the air and on the ground!
For a change - a big change - there's some serious action taking place around the world. In the skies and on the ground. Unthinkable ten years ago, the world has finally come to grips with a changing climate: accepting that man and machines got us into this state. The industrial revolution and what fueled it started us on the "burning pathway", damaging the atmosphere, the oceans and the earth almost beyond recognition. Hopefully, we're not to late to change our ways. The "New Energy Revolution" is well on its way. For the first time in history, a global industry is collaborating
 to mend its ways. Nations and airlines are expected to agree any time soon to a "reach for the skies" plan to cut aviation emissions. Even though we know it will take some years to take effect, countries committing to the Paris accord and implementing action everywhere, will make a world of difference. It's been scientifically calculated
that the rise in average temperatures of the last decade are a result of what we were thoughtlessly putting into the air in the 1960's. Burning coal and oil to drive industry and transport. Deforestation and land clearing to house more people and grow our urban infrastructure. That's the 40 year cause and effect mechanism. It also means that the true impact of cutting our emissions right now, will not be felt until the 2050 and beyond. Even more reason to act now and fast. No time to lose. Change for good!
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Ken Hickson
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World's Most Ambitious Agreement Ever?
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+ UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, predicts global climate deal will be fully ratified by the end of the year after 31 nations officially signed up in New York to the most ambitious global agreement the world has ever seen.
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Singapore was among those large and small nations who are providing leadership and a nudge to others. Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan was there to do this important  job.
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Missing in action/inaction was Australia. Giles Parkinson in RenewEconomy says the country will now be locked into significantly more ambitious climate policies by the end of the year.
+ Fearing what might happen if Donald Trump  gets elected as US President, 375 members of the National Academy of Sciences published an open letter drawing
attention to the serious risks of climate change.
Read more
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Global Aviation Emissions Plan Take-off?
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 airlines are still actively working on jet bio fuels as a means to cut
 emissions. US carrier
Jet Blue announces its plans to green its flights, while
Virgin Atlantic comes up with an even more promising "fuel from waste" partnership.
Read More
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Asia Investors: Bank on Clean Energy
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+ Between 2014 and 2035, US$7.7 trillion is needed for renewable
 energy and energy efficiency to meet the demands of China, India, Japan, and South-East Asia if the world is to meet a 2C warming target. This from Emma Herd at the launch of the Asia Investor Group of Climate change earlier this month. Read the
Business Green report.
+ The financial industry in Asia has a long way to go to address climate change but there
 are signs that this is changing, said two recent reports and climate-finance experts.
The Straits Times drew attention to a report by the Asia Investor Group which reviewed 88 Asian financial institutions. Only 31% said they factored climate change into their financial operations, while 61% of the 36 banks polled stated that they had green finance solutions, and 28% referred to climate-change factors as a reason to limit financing.
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The World Energy Council stressing the importance of government policies in the global shift to low-carbon energy, notes in this special report that renewable energy sources, including hydro, now account for more than 30% of the total global installed power generation capacity and 23% of total global electricity production, after charting "explosive average annual growth" over the past decade; including 23% for wind and 50% for solar PV.
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Breakthrough on Sustainable Development, Ozone Layer, Energy Efficiency & Behaviour Change
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Extending an old treaty that saved the ozone layer could improve cooling technology - and slow global warming.
The Economist says that the Montreal deal to tackle HFCs could now be the catalyst for a much-needed energy efficiency drive. Without it, if global warming continues unabated, rising demand for fans, refrigeration and air-conditioning could increase electricity usage by four-fifths globally between 2010 and 2100. Pictured at left, a Singapore street scene dominated by air conditioning units.
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What happens when you apply an exponential lens to the sustainable business agenda? How can
 we in the sustainability industry disrupt ourselves? What are the technologies, business models and mindsets needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030?
Project Breakthrough
- a collaboration between Volans and the UN Global Compact (UNGC) - has the answers, says John Elkington( on right).
+ A key psychological barrier hindering sustainability actions is the belief that  environmental problems are too uncertain, likely to happen in distant places and times, and to other people. Three strategies to change that: 1. The provision of information that makes the problem less distant and more tangible. 2. Engaging future thinking that inspires action. 3. The use of normative appeals that highlight what other people typically do and typically approve. This from Taciano Milfont (at left) at an
Environment Institute of Australia & New Zealand event in Wellington, plus more on the EIANZ international conference in brisbane in November.
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Food & Agriculture Alliances Drive Responsible Business
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Thirty-six leading agri-business companies got together to launch the
Global Agri-business Alliance (GAA) in Singapore. Their aim is to collectively tackle the major environmental and social challenges
 facing agricultural supply chains and rural communities across the world. Announced at the Building Sustainable Futures Forum, sponsored by Olam International, the newly-formed GAA is a CEO-led private
 sector initiative seeking to contribute significantly to the delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
Meanwhile, Sime Darby, one of South East Asia's largest conglommerates, has come up with its own
Responsible Agriculture Charter (RAC)
reflects its commitment to best practice and continuous improvement. It embodies the company's values of sustainable development o consistently deliver sustainable returns without compromising the needs of our people, planet and prosperity.
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Sparks Fly: Musk Powerpacks the California Grid & Tesla is challenged by Chevy
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 Tesla just won a bid to supply
grid-scale power in Southern California to help prevent electricity shortages following the biggest natural gas leak in US history. The Powerpacks, worth tens of millions of dollars, will be operational in record time-by the end of this year. But Mr Musk's Tesla EV business is being challenged at home and abroad.
After months of promises by General Motors executives that the new Chevy Bolt will change the perception - and appeal - of electric cars, the company says the Bolt is ready to deliver.
The automaker says the  2017 Bolt EV will have an EPA-estimated range of 238 miles on a full charge. Meanwhile, Singapore will have a fleet of electric taxis in a matter of weeks, one of the first significant moves to electrify road traffic in a city state that plans to go car-lite.It already has an efficient and extensive mass rapid transit scheme made up of electric trains running mostly underground.
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Valuing Plastic: Turning polluting waste into something of value
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 While the total costs to the environment and communities caused by plastic pollution are difficult to measure, we should not worry over the exact numbers, for if something is not natural to the environment in the first place, it should not be there. If communities are awash in unrecyclable waste, then there's a leak in the system that must be closed, and systems must be reinvented. This is the message from
Doug Woodring and Marcus Eriksen on "Valuing Plastic", And
 one of the best examples we've come across for a long while is coming out of Australia, where plastic waste is being turned in a
construction material, call NevHouse after its inventor Nev Hyman, for low cost housing in Vanuatu.
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This architect has a dream: "Cities of Love"
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 A lot of very useful and innovative messages and measures came out of the
 Singapore Green Building Conference earlier in the month, but nothing more memorable than the address by Chairman of the
World Green Building Council, Tai Lee Siang. He emphasised that the target is for all member countries - including Singapore - to construct only net-zero carbon new buildings by 2050, buildings that produce as much energy as they use. "We asked ourselves if we should be setting such a high target. We have only one earth, so if we don't seize this chance and make an audacious attempt, then we might not get there." The former President of Singapore Institute of Architects and head of the Singapore Design Chamber, somehow found time to work with his wife Valerie on a book,called "Cities Of Love". He said it aims to showcase how city dwellers can play a part in contributing to the sustainability of cities worldwide.
Read this Straits Times report on the man with a mission and the book that accompanies this architect who dreams of a better world. The book is
published by World Scientific.
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Eco-Tourism: Fostering Innovation - Sustaining Excellence
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Eco-tourism is a force for peace and prosperity, sustainability and healthy lifestyle. This will become clear to all those attending the 24th Eco-Tourism Conference in Tasmania, Australia, 21-23  November.
Camilla Schippa, Director, Institute for Economics and Peace, one of the  keynote speakers at the conference, is responsible for setting the strategy for the global think tank and aligning it with opportunities to advance IEP's global reach and impact. Another speaker is Brett Godfrey, a leading aviation industry figure and founding CEO of Virgin Blue, who will focus on his tourism interests, which includes The Tasmanian Walking Company.
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Singapore, ASEAN & US Connecting on Clean Energy Advance
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The 34th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM), just concluded in Myanmar, with the
theme "Towards a Greener Community with Cleaner Energy", when ministers from the ten ASEAN member states exchanged views on key issues such as sustainable energy development, natural gas and regional cooperation.
Singapore's re-confirmed its commitment to the global effort to mitigate the effects of climate change and welcomed progress on implementing the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2016-2025. On enhancing energy connectivity and international cooperation, there's growing support for the US-ASEAN Energy Connect initiative and the inaugural Energy Access Forum, which will be held during the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2016 next month.
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Last Words: The Personal Touch
#
Green
is attracting a lot of attention even before it happens in Singapore on Saturday October 22. Ken Hickson will moderate a panel discussion on "The 3 P's - people, profit, planet". Two speakers we know are Jason Pomeroy and Jacqui Hocking, then there's also Amanda Blum, Graham Ross, Tjin Lee. But the festival has much much more than people talking green. There's a lot of action, products and people.
# Always on about art and sustainability, aren't we? And bringing it together for us
 earlier this month was the brilliant
Swell Sculpture Festival on Currumbin Beach, Gold Coast, Australia. Thanks to Scoot airlines, we were able to be there to witness the work of 48 artists with works that made a statement, not only making good use of natural and recycled objects, but visually addressing environmental issues and benefits. Pictured at right is Dave Hickson with his "Pigeons for Peace".
Queensland College of Art postgraduate student Alicia Lane scooped the $15,000 top prize at the Festival.
# We were given the chance to say our piece on the importance of human factors for a sustainable built environment at a conference organised by Building and Construction Authority (BCA) in Singapore. If you'd like to see the presentation on the subject, here it is:
"Beyond Green to Blue". The conference was one in a series leading up to the
World Sustainable Built Environment Conference 2017 in Hong Kong 5-7 June next year.
#On the subject of Hong Kong, look out for the
ECO Expo Asia, an international
 trading platform showcasing the latest innovations in environmental protection industries from around the world. Aurora Sustainability will be represented there, as part of the Scottish Enterprise delegation, to demonstrate its sustainable innovations, including its amazing
Mushroom from waste coffee grounds, which is a finalist in the European clean tech awards.
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Six Books You Should Have in Your Collection!
People keep asking me "where can I get hold of your books?" Here's the full range and all can be found in libraries somewhere in the world - most likely in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. Some you will find in bookstores, too. Just ask and name the author and title. Most are available from various online sources, new and used, mostly in print, some as e-books: Try
Amazon,
Abe Books,
World Scientific,
Book Depository or even
Books Kinokuniya. We are even in the process of setting up a online book selection and distribution service ourselves. For these books and, in time, many more, go to our dedicated websites:
or
www.fifthavenue.asia
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Ken Hickson
Managing Editor,
abc carbon express & the avenue for creative arts
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airline industry - and member nations of ICAO - began complex negotiations to implement a scheme to reduce its carbon footprint. But as we went to press the final approval to the global plan was still awaited.
optimism for an agreement on a Carbon Offset and Re
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important decision, even though it is very active in international aviation, with its airlines 
