Climate Change. What next

Climate Change- So who is qualified to tackle climate change? Just on two years ago, more than 100 heads of state and leaders of governments, including President Obama, joined the United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen hoping to write a new, legally binding climate treaty . That assignment proved too much, and the meeting collapsed in acrimony and finger-pointing. Few leaders have shown up at the two subsequent meetings, in Cancún, Mexico, in 2010 and in Durban this year. The agenda has narrowed and expectations have shrunk, yet the ship sails grimly on.

In recent times the idea of carbon sequestration has taken off as a way in which the effects of carbon emission may be nullified. As well there is a growing though somewhat pessimistic view in various quarters about establishing 'clean' coal technology as a broad wholesale practice to reduce carbon emissions. At this stage there is a lot of theories but no substantial evidence about clean coal technology. From a common sense point of t view the whole ideas is an oxymoron.

Globally, soils are estimated to contain approximately 1,500 gigatons of organic carbon, more than the total of carbon in vegetation and the atmosphere.

Many of the carbon reduction techniques used in other industries are also applicable to agriculture. Also, any increases in the efficiency of farming methods which result in higher yields will generally result in reduced emissions as well, since more food is being produced for the same or less effort. This includes more accurate use of fertilizers, better irrigation, and the use of higher yield crop strains such as those bred for locally-beneficial traits and those which have been selected for increased yields.

At a recent environment forum hosted by Queensland University of Queensland Faculty of Law School Penny Wong addressed large and eager crowd wondering where the government was and the political wind that climate change abatement projects were taking. Naturally enough the Environment Minister attacked the newly installed Opposition Leader Tony Abbott for his stance on climate change saying he was much more than a sceptic but rather a climate change denier and was thwarting the governments attempts at addressing climate change by not passing action in the Senate to give industry much needed certainty in investing in future power stations.

On the 12th of of April, 2010 Penny Wong Federal Minister for Climate Change & Water gave a lecture at QUT on the latest developments following the climate change summit last December in Copenhagen. Her lecture was very informative giving a detailed response to audience questions in relation to where the current negotiations are as to the CPRS Accord signed in Copenhagen as well as the Federal Governments multi-million dollar strategy for pollution abatement programs.

Interestingly lots of important questions from the educated audience related to the governments stand on a few issues. One that stood out was the governments continued investment of so called investment in clean coal technology

In my the whole notion is an oxymoron how the hell can you create clean coal at a cost that would be either too prohibitive and not worth the effort that is put in. I goes against what I would call the common sense test. What would you have to do with coal to make it clean. Spend a whole lot of money time and energy to make something that we have known for a long long time 200 years+ is a dirty polluting product. When there are cleaner methods of energy or power production why persist only to maintain the status quo?

Secondly the dismissive attitude to 4th Generation nuclear power which this blog has examined before in some detail.

Rather than give a detailed explanation as to why 4th Generation Nuclear power is not feasible because of the long lag time associated with the getting up and running a new nuclear plant and or the fear syndrome of people not wanting a Nuclear plant near their respective backyards.