The Daft New Zealand Energy Strategy

Have you seen this chart from James Hansen's website? I have included it in my submission on the National Government's Daft Energy Strategies

Draft Energy Strategies
Ministry of Economic Development,
PO Box 1473
Wellington 6140

Submission on Draft New Zealand Energy Strategy and Draft New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy

Dear Sir/Madam,
Please accept this submission in respect of the Draft New Zealand Energy Strategy and the Draft New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy.
I attach a chart of the trend in historic global fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions and future IPCC emissions scenarios. I obtained it from the website of the NASA climate scientist James Hansen.
I see nothing in either strategy that will help reduce the trend in emissions growth.
I see next to nothing in either strategy that recognises the magnitude of the challenge of anthropogenic climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions (including carbon dioxide from fossil fuels).
Neither strategy even mentions;

• the UNFCCC which NZ has signed,
• the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report,
• the Kyoto Protocol which is binding on NZ,
• NZ's energy intensity,
• NZ's actual emissions.

Therefore, I oppose the adoption of both strategies because they are wholly inadequate in setting out any realistic measures to decarbonise the economy.
I request that there should only be one New Zealand energy strategy, that is directed to decarbonising the economy, and that is focused on efficiency and conservation, as required by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act 2000.

The closing deadline for submissions is 5.00pm, Thursday 2 September 2010.

Biodiversity and energy must-reads

Massey ecologist Mike Joy has written a must-read opinion piece in the Dominion Post on how short-term profit-seeking, economic analysis and the legal system, the Government, the Resource Management Act, and well, all of us, have failed to slow New Zealand's decline in biodiversity. Government failures and ecological apathy bite back.

Joy highlights the role of consultants and lawyers acting for resource developers.

Simply put, it is expensive to limit environmental damage. So predictably the economic incentive for the evasion of the laws that are there for a public good, quickly became a big money-spinner for lawyers and consulting firms.

These law firms and environmental consultancies have been successful at helping their clients evade the RMA. They have increased profits for developers/polluters while undermining the ecosystems that sustain us all; effectively allowing private profit from public loss.

And Claire Browning has a good post on Gerry Brownlee's 'fossilised' 'fuelish' energy strategy Filty rich: our developing energy strategy.

Claire Browning asks:

Can we, in clean green conscience, keep digging for coal and drilling for oil, postponing the inevitable, and increasing the global carbon burden? How do we justify that, to the rest of the world?

No, its insanity.

Impact assessment risk management NZ agriculture

I have just uploaded a new paper to Robin's website. It is:

RWMJ (1992m) 'Impact assessment and risk management in New Zealand agriculture: integrating local, regional and national farm models', In: 'Regional and Catchment Modelling', Agricultural Systems & Information Technology, Vol 4, No 2, November 1992, Bureau of Resources, ACT, Australia.

From the abstract: 'This paper describes methodologies and results achieved with local and regional models for agricultural impact analysis both within the agricultural sector and on other sectors in New Zealand.'

A new post on Worlds Worst ETS

Earlier this evening I wrote a new post on the other blog, The Worlds Worst Emissions Trading Scheme.

It explains that the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme is not a cap and trade scheme as it has no cap.

Yes, really No Cap

Adjustment in agriculture: agribusiness

I have just uploaded a new paper to Robin's website. It is:

Johnson R W M (1988e) Adjustment in agriculture: agribusiness, Discussion Paper 121, Vol 1: 103-112, Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit, Lincoln College, University of Canterbury.

This was a paper presented to the July 1988 annual meeting of the NZ branch of the Australasian Agricultural Economics Society. Here is the abstract.

This paper reviews changes in the agribusiness sector since 1984. Evidence is based on available statistics and some anecdotal information. Considerable changes are identified in factor markets, input markets and service markets. Main features include rapid increases in factor productivity, stabilization of service prices (except interest), a decline in investment and a decline in balance sheet assets. Amalgamation and restructuring has occurred in the input and service industries and surplus capacity still exists at several points. Outputs can only be maintained at current high levels by disinvestment in the capital base. The agribusiness sector is likely to settle down at some new lower level of output and investment with increased levels of productivity in the medium term.