The Australian government released the Climate Change White Paper on 15 December 2008 — Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme: Australia's Low Pollution Future. This follows on from the green paper released in July and is the final design. The design still includes an emission trading mechanism which will start on July 2010 but the emission reduction target has been reduced to an unconditional cut of 5% of 2000 level by 2020. Despite the lower target, generous compensation plans and free pollution permits are being handed out, leaving little money left for energy efficiency measures.

The Southern Ocean slows the rate of greenhouse warming by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in the ocean. But previous studies raised the alarm by suggesting the Southern Ocean carbon sink is now ’saturated‘ and no longer able to keep pace with increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Sims Recycling Solutions has opened what it claims is the first automated e-recycling plant in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Networking solutions company Netgear has launched a new recycling program in Australia that gives its customers a quick and easy way to dispose of their old networking equipment, free of charge.

The idea of mimicking desert plants and animals from around the world and tapping into their secrets to develop a green economy was presented at the Desert Knowledge Symposium in Alice Springs this month.

 Australia’s urban water industry is set to provide an infrastructure boom for the economy over the next decade as the industry completes its $30 billion investment program in new sources of water.

The worldwide steel industry could see waste problems turned into profit using innovative eco-friendly technologies developed by engineers in Australia.
 

Bilexys is the winner of the UQ Business School’s $100,000 Enterprize business plan competition with its invention of a highly efficient wastewater treatment technology that uses bacteria as catalysts to remove dissolved organics from wastewater.

Grundfos pumps used to boost delivery of recycled water in South Australia.

The Carbon Offset Watch program, which was launched in Sydney this week, is designed to provide consumers with an independent ranking of carbon offset providers. Kylie Wilson-Field was at the launch and reports on the details of this program.

The Australian Water Association (AWA) has endorsed the general direction of the government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), urging the government to ensure that the integrity of the scheme is not compromised.

A simple application technology is being used to treat lead-contaminated wastewater on a building maintenance site. The process is resulting in treated water that is free from lead and other contaminants that can be recycled for beneficial use.

Impulse Engine Technology, a small engineering firm located in Sydney, has recently developed two new technologies which are claimed to make all engines, old or new, more powerful, more fuel efficient and cleaner to run, whether the vehicle uses carburetion, gas, fuel injection or diesel.
In a recent interview with Sustainability Matters, managing director Alexander Chabry discusses the technology, how it works and how it could revolutionise the motor vehicle industry.

A study at Griffith University, Nathan Campus, is recruiting earthworms as the latest weapon to resolve waste problems, fight soil contamination and land degradation, and restore fertility without destructive agrochemicals.

As fuel prices spike across the globe, many large transport manufacturers are in the stages of developing alternative fuel sources. According to reports, hydrogen is at the forefront of this development as it is an environmentally cleaner source of energy to end users, particularly in transportation applications, as it does not release pollutants or greenhouse gases. Sustainability Matters talks to a global expert in liquid and compressed hydrogen fuelling systems about the latest developments in hydrogen fuel cells.