This week, the United Nations Environment Program drew the world’s attention to the issue during this year’s Word Environment Day celebrations with its support for the ‘Think.Eat.Save’ campaign, encouraging everyone to reduce food waste and their ‘foodprint’.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted, the equivalent to the food produced in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa.

In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture took the opportunity to launch the US Food Waste Challenge.

‘Food waste is the single largest type of waste entering our landfills – Americans throw away up to 40% of their food’ said Bob Perciasepe, Acting Administrator at the US EPA.

“Addressing this issue helps to combat hunger and save money while also combatting climate change. Food waste in landfills decomposes to create potent greenhouse gases, and by reducing this waste we can in turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

So what is happening in Australia?

It is estimated that Australians waste more than $5.2 billion worth of food every year (Australian Institute 2009). And it is not just the food that is wasted; it is all the resources that went into producing that food from the labour water through to transport and packaging.

Almost 50% of the waste going to landfill is food and green organic waste, which breaks down and produces methane. Currently, the waste sector produces around 15 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year, equivalent to 3% of Australia’s emissions.

The Climate Commission is commonly asked by people – what can I do about climate change? Reducing food waste is something that everyone can do, and it also has the benefit of reducing household costs.

Victoria’s SecondBite organisation has been rescuing food that would have gone to waste and redistributed it since 2005. To date, Secondbite has rescued over 7 million kilograms of food, which they estimate as saving over 2 million kilograms of CO2 equivalent or taking 550 cars off the road.

SecondBite and Love Food Hate Waste websites  give some good ideas on how to reduce your food waste such as planning your weekly meals, bulk cooking and freezing (saves time too), and getting a worm farm or compost bin.

 Image: Carol Moshier/Flikr

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The discussion followed the findings of a recent survey that were published in the Journal of Environmental Research Letters by Cook and a team of researchers. The survey reviewed over 12,000 peer-reviewed climate change papers published between 1991 and 2011. Of the 4,000 papers where authors expressed an opinion on the cause of climate change, over 97% agreed that it is primarily caused by human activity.

Cook drew attention to the importance of communicating this high level of consensus and the hundreds of media stories that have documented the survey results certainly support his assertion.

The survey has been discussed all over the world including on Al Jazeera, CNN and ABC. US President Obama even tweeted about it to his 31 million followers.

Cook refers to surveys that suggest only 45% of the US public think that there is scientific agreement on global warming. He then points to research that indicates perception of consensus is linked to support for climate policy.

The survey by Cook and team builds on research carried out by Naomi Oreskes. The 2004 survey of 928 peer-reviewed climate research papers, published between 1993 and 2003, found that none rejected the human cause of global warming.

Image source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

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The first will take place in Canberra on Monday, 17 June and the second will be held on the Gold Coast in Queensland on Wednesday, 19 June. The Gold Coast forum will be our 21st public forum held across Australia.

At the forums the Climate Commissioners will provide information about the latest science on climate change, the risks to our communities and the responses needed to avoid significant harm. There will be an opportunity to ask lots of questions as well.

If you live in these areas, mark your diary now – everyone welcome. We will publish details of the venues and times on our website shortly.

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This week, world leading scientists at the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC – a collaboration between the CSIRO, Melbourne University, Monash University, and industry partners) produced the largest flexible, plastic solar cells in Australia, thanks to a new solar cell printer.

Researchers can now print organic solar cells the size of an A3 sheet of paper, 10 times the size of those what they could previously produce. The scientists envisage that the technology could be used to power lights, in advertising signage or even embedded into laptop cases to provide backup power for the machine inside.

Using semiconducting inks, the researchers print the solar cells straight onto paper-thin flexible plastic or steel. As the researchers continue to scale up their equipment, the possibilities will become even greater, such as laminating windows on skyscrapers or embedding cells onto roofing materials.

The scientists predict that the future energy mix for the world, including Australia, will rely on many non-traditional energy sources and that we need to be at the forefront of developing new technologies.

Last week, solar engineers at the University of NSW (UNSW) announced their success in dramatically improving the efficiency of solar panel technology.

The UNSW team has developed a new way to use low-grade silicon – the most expensive component in solar panels.

By improving the performance of low-quality silicon, the team has dramatically reduced the cost of solar panels, and also expects improvements in efficiency. Standard commercial silicon cells currently have a maximum efficiency of around 19%. The new technique is expected to produce efficiencies to between 21 and 23%.

The UNSW team currently has eight industry partners interested in commercialising the technology, and is also working with manufacturing equipment companies to implement the new approach.

Feature image: Flickr/JWong

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• In January we published a brief paper, Off the Charts, in response to the record-breaking heatwave that affected 70% of Australia in late 2012 and early 2013.
• In February we released a second brief paper The Earth continues to warm that corrects confusion and misinformation about rising global temperatures and confirms that the Earth is continuing to warm at an alarming rate.
• Following further extreme weather events over summer, in March we published a short report titled The Angry Summer. The Angry Summer provided a summary of the extreme weather of the 2012/13 summer and the influence of climate change on these events.
• And in April, we released The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather to unpack current knowledge about different types of extreme weather events (extreme temperatures, rainfall, drought, bushfires, storm surges, cyclones and storms), and the influence of climate change on these events.

If you haven’t already read these reports, take a look. The Climate Commission works hard to produce reports that are written in plain English and present sometimes complex information in an accessible way.  At the same time, the reports are thoroughly researched and referenced and present a very accurate picture of climate change science. The reports are also peer-reviewed by many scientists and experts in particular fields.

We’ve worked on presenting information in different visual formats (infographics) that can be easily shared. One of the infographics from The Angry Summer which illustrates the summer’s records report appeared in social media around the world. We also produced a short animation to explain the link between climate change and extreme weather – take a look if you haven’t already seen it and share it with your friends.

Commissioners have also been speaking with many people across Australia, in particular to discuss our recent reports on extreme weather events. Some of our activities are listed below.

• Commissioners Will Steffen and Lesley Hughes recently spoke with a number of community groups in Western Sydney.
• Will Steffen and I met with health professionals and community representatives in Brisbane last month, and local council and community groups in Melbourne last week. I also spoke at the Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch) annual conference in Melbourne and with emergency services managers from around Australia.
• Veena Sahjawalla spoke  with tertiary education facilities managers, while Lesley Hughes spoke to a large community meeting in Bega, New South Wales.
• Roger Beale and others met with the Vice-Chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the equivalent of Australia’s Climate Change Minister, during his recent visit.

In the coming months the Climate Commission will be presenting new information on a range of climate change issues.

Tim Flannery

The post Three months in the Climate Commission appeared first on Climate Commission.

Many households have a range of equipment for outdoor living, including swimming pools and spas, barbeques, lawn and garden equipment, and power tools and machinery. These all add to your household’s energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and costs.

For example, maintaining an in-ground pool could add up to 30 per cent to your household’s energy use.

We can all play our part in tackling climate change by reducing emissions from our outdoor living activities.

A pool pump can be the largest user of electricity in your home and its smart management can reduce your household’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Choose the most energy-efficient pump for your pool or spa’s needs and once installed use it efficiently. Minimise energy use by not running your pool pump unnecessarily, but keep to the manufacturer’s instructions and meet all health requirements. Other ideas include minimising evaporation and heat loss by using a pool cover, and using energy-efficient lighting for pool areas.

Barbecues are another area of outdoor living where we can reduce emissions. Buy a barbecue suited to your needs and consider what features you will actually use. Keep the hood down when grilling to maintain the right temperature and save energy.

For more ideas LivingGreener’s Eco ideas for outdoor living is a comprehensive guide to reducing waste and saving energy, water and money in your outdoor area.

Tim Flannery

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This milestone was exceeded in March, according to data released today by the Clean Energy Regulator. There are now 1,000,643 households equipped with solar panels.

It wasn’t that long ago the one million mark seemed like a dream – in 2001 only 118 Australian homes had solar panels installed. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, the number of households with solar power systems rose to 85,550 in 2009, then increased to 639,803 two years later. The number steadily grew and by 31 January this year the number of small rooftop solar power systems in the country had increased to 956,000.

The latest data shows Queensland has the highest number of solar systems installed at 304,000. New South Wales follows with 227,663, and then Victoria with 177,851.

Calculating the number of solar panel installations is based on analysis of the number of Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) that are created for renewable energy systems. The number of certificates created is based on the amount of renewable electricity the system produces or the amount of electricity consumption it reduces, and where it’s installed. Not only do household solar systems increase the uptake of renewable energy in Australia, they also allow householders to reduce electricity bills.

The potential for future solar generation is immense, Australia has the highest average solar radiation of any country in the world. Even with the huge increase in solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, the technology still produces only a small proportion of Australia’s electricity needs – around 1.2%. Australia has a unique opportunity to harness this renewable resource and continue to increase the amount of solar generation.

Achievements such as Australia’s one millionth solar panel installation are a great sign of positive action in our communities. It’s helping us to transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Featured Image: Wikimedia Commons

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Over the next few months I’ll be providing some ideas on the sorts of actions everyone can be involved in. For my first blog on this theme, I will be looking at food waste.

We can all play our part in tackling climate change by simply wasting less food.

It is estimated that an average household in New South Wales wastes 20% of the food purchased. One shopping bag in five is obviously a waste of money, but what has wasting food got to do with climate change?

Firstly, by throwing away food the resources and energy used during the supply chain are lost. Energy and resources go into the growing, harvesting, transportation, processing, packaging, distribution and marketing of our food. Throughout the food supply chain substantial amounts greenhouse gases are released.

Food waste also contributes to climate change in another way. Food thrown away and broken down in landfill generates methane – a greenhouse gas 21 times stronger than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Additionally the breakdown of food in landfill releases nutrients which can migrate out of landfill and pollute groundwater and waterways.

One way that you can take action on climate change is by wasting less food.

There are numerous ways to reduce food waste including cooking to a menu plan, writing a shopping list, storing food correctly and eating leftovers. 1MillionWomen and Love Food Hate Waste have some great ideas how to reduce food waste.

If you live in Western Sydney and would like to learn more about how to reduce food waste, on 8 April 2013 1MillionWomen will host a free food waste event in Parramatta featuring some of Australia’s favourite food personalities to share ideas for avoiding waste and cooking sustainably. Take a look at the 1MillionWomen website for details of the event.

Tim Flannery

Feature photo source: Flickr/Snap

The post Food for thought appeared first on Climate Commission.

The World Bank recently released a report – Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be Avoided – that directly addresses those implications. Written by scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the report pulls together the latest research from experts around the world to profile the impacts and risks associated with a 4°C temperature rise within this century. It is a sobering read.

Where are we now?

Before we dive into the 4°C world, though, let’s take stock of where we are at the beginning of 2013. The atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is 391 parts per million (ppm), the highest for the last 15 million years. The global average temperature has risen by 0.8°C compared to the pre-industrial level. The sea level has risen 15-20 cm over the past century, and is now rising at an average of about 3 mm per year.

Extreme climatic events are also changing, most notably heat waves. Since 1950 there has been a 10-fold increase in the land areas affected by extreme heat; the chance that such an increase would occur naturally, without any influence of human-induced climate change, is only 1-in-500. In some regions, extreme droughts and flooding may also have been exacerbated by climate change.

Coral reefs are vulnerable to increasing ocean temperatures and ocean acidification.

What would a 4°C world by the end of this century look like?

To put such a remarkable climatic shift in perspective, it is useful to examine the geological past. A 4°C temperature rise would approach the total temperature difference between an ice age and a warm period. While the Earth took at least 5,000 years to transition out of the last ice age, allowing ecosystems time to adapt, the projected 4°C world would be upon us in only 100 years!

A 4°C average temperature rise means even hotter conditions over the land, up to 6°C over widespread areas. Today’s most extreme weather would become the “new normal”, with large increases in the risks of heat-related deaths, intense bushfires and crop harvest losses.

Ocean acidification would lead to the extinction of many of the world’s coral reefs. A 4°C world corresponds to a carbon dioxide concentration of around 800 ppm, and a 150% increase in ocean acidity compared to pre-industrial. Coral growth virtually stops at 450 ppm CO₂ and hard coral structures start to dissolve at 550 ppm.

Sea level is set to rise by a further 0.5 to 1 m by 2100, but a 4°C temperature rise this century would push the odds towards the upper end of that range. Sea-level rise will continue for many centuries after 2100, given the thermal inertia in the oceans and large polar ice sheets. Evidence from climate shifts in Earth’s past shows that a 1.5°C global temperature rise would mean an eventual 5-10 m sea level rise, while a sustained 4°C world would commit us to significantly larger rises. The most vulnerable areas to even modest levels of sea-level rise are many of the small island states and coastal cities in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The implications for human support systems – food, water and ecosystem health – are severe. There is some evidence that wheat and maize production may have been reduced since the 1980s compared to an environment without climate change. Many areas of the world are projected to become significantly drier in a 4°C world; these include southern Europe, much of Africa, parts of North and South America, and southwest and southeast Australia. Ironically, the risk of both extended and severe droughts and severe flooding is likely to increase. The rapidly changing climate that a 4°C world implies will lead to accelerating disruption to ecosystems and increase the probability of a mass extinction event this century.

Many abrupt, irreversible or surprising changes in the global environment are much more likely to occur with a 4°C rise this century compared to 2°C or less. Such changes include large-scale population displacements as rainfall patterns change; the triggering of “tipping elements” such as destabilization of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets and loss of large amounts of methane, a strong greenhouse gas, from melting permafrost; and complex, cascading impacts such as the 2007-08 food crisis.

The implications for food production are severe as large areas of the world are projected to become drier.

Where are we heading?

The report concluded that “…there is a strong possibility that humanity cannot adapt to a 4°C world.” Yet, current policies, trends and emission reduction commitments have us on track for just such a world.

Although the situation appears bleak, and there is a growing sense of panic in those who really understand what a 4°C world might be like, the report also gives some hope, “But with action, a 4°C world can be avoided and we can likely hold warming below 2°C.”

The time for that action, however, is rapidly running out.

The post Avoiding the Unadaptable: A 4°C World appeared first on Climate Commission.

The good news is that there’s a wealth of ways that individuals and communities can take part in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That’s why I’m pleased to support the work of the Sustainable Living Festival that’s taking place across Victoria this month. The festival is a great example of the community in action, raising awareness of the challenges we face as a society and sharing ideas and solutions for making changes to the way we live. I am heartened to see Victorians coming together to work collectively and share ideas about living more sustainably and inspiring others. One of the highlights will be the festival’s Big Weekend in Melbourne from 15-17 February.

The urgency to take action against climate change has been illustrated clearly in recent months. In December and January, large areas of Australia have witnessed extreme heat over a sustained period. In fact, the length, extent and severity of the heatwave were unprecedented in Australia’s measurement record. Many areas have been subject to intense rainfall and flooding. Climate change is contributing to making events such as these worse.

It’s hugely important for the community to understand the link between climate change and extreme weather, as the efforts we make now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will influence how severe these events are in the future. This is a topic the Climate Commission reported on recently in Off the charts: Extreme Australian summer heat.

It’s also important to realise the effect that extreme heat has on human health. Heat really is a silent killer as even small changes in our environment can have dramatic effects on the human body – and the most vulnerable members of our community are likely to be the one most affected.

Professor David Karoly will be speaking at ‘The Heat is On’ Saturday, 16 February

These links – between climate change, extreme heat and human health – will be the subject of a panel discussion as part of the Sustainable Living Festival on Saturday, 16 February. The heat is on – climate change, extreme heat and human health is a free event and will be an opportunity to learn more about the health impacts of heatwaves and extreme weather and how we can deal with these events. One of the Climate Commission’s scientific advisors, Professor David Karoly, will join other experts in this discussion.

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