Barriers inhibiting the transition to sustainability within the Australian construction industry: An investigation of technical and social interactions

Research concedes that the building industry in Australia has fallen short of satisfying sustainability requirements. Currently, the responsibility for transitioning the building industry into one that is sustainable is laid largely at the feet of low-carbon governance instruments such as mandatory codes and sustainability rating tools. The behavior of groups, interactions of individual actors, relationship between actors' and group level behaviors that affect implementation of these instruments have, however, received only cursory attention. This study therefore seeks to move beyond the instruments debate and identify a broader range of factors inhibiting the transition to sustainability within the Australian building industry. It draws on focus group discussions held with 26 leading sustainability experts and practitioners from around the country. Whereas, earlier work on impediments to sustainability pre-identify potential causal factors, this study, with Sustainability Transition as the theoretical lens, allowing for new and as yet unidentified impediments to emerge. Indeed, while findings confirm a range of technical shortcomings hindering sustainability transition, the deeper barrier is shown to be the prevalence of a dysfunctional sustainability ecosystem where siloed vested interest groups exploit Australia's ineffective transition regimes for their own gain. The practical implication is that current efforts to refine rating tools and modify building practices – remedies identified in earlier research – will not be enough to effect meaningful transition, as long as end-users remain disenfranchised, confused and unpersuaded of the benefits of sustainable buildings

Low carbon growth plan for Australia 2011

This report finds that the amount of domestic greenhouse gas emissions cut by the Government\u27s carbon price package could be double that predicted by Treasury. This flows not just from the carbon price itself, but from the impact of the full suite of complementary measures  outlined in the package.It is based on the current default settings for the carbon price (cap set for a 5% target).  If implemented optimally, the Federal Government’s carbon price package could take Australia 83% of the way towards achieving its international commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5% below 2000 levels by 2020 through domestic emissions reductions alone. This would enable Australia to reverse its growth in domestic emissions to 2000 levels. These domestic abatement opportunities are in addition to internationally sourced abatement opportunities. This provides solid evidence for increasing Australia’s 2020 pollution cap, to be considered by the independent Climate Change Authority. &nbsp

Pour un développement intelligent face au climat : additionner les effets positifs des mesures qui contribuent à assurer la prospérité, mettre un terme à la pauvreté et faire face au changement climatique Desenvolvimento climático inteligente : aumentando os benefícios das acções que ajudam a construir a prosperidade, exterminar a pobreza e combater a mudança climática El desarrollo adaptado al cambio climático : la suma de los beneficios derivados de las medidas que contribuyen a generar prosperidad, poner fin a la pobreza y combatir el cambio climático

This report describes efforts by the ClimateWorks Foundation and the World Bank to quantify the multiple economic, social, and environmental benefits associated with policies and projects to reduce emissions in select sectors and regions. The report has three objectives: 1) to develop a holistic, adaptable framework to capture and measure the multiple benefits of reducing emissions of several pollutants; 2) to demonstrate how local and national policymakers, members of the international development community, and others can use this framework to design and analyze policies and projects; and 3) to contribute a compelling rationale for effectively combining climate action with sustainable development and green growth worldwide. By using a systems approach to analyze policies and projects, this work illustrates ways to capitalize on synergies between efforts to reduce emissions and spur development, minimize costs, and maximize societal benefits. This report uses several case studies to demonstrate how to apply the analytical framework. Three simulated case studies analyzed the effects of key sector policies to determine the benefits realized in the United States, China, the European Union, India, Mexico, and Brazil. The sector policies include regulations, taxes, and incentives to stimulate a shift to clean transport, improved industrial energy efficiency, and more energy efficient buildings and appliances. Also presented are results of four simulated case studies that analyzed several sub-national development projects, scaled up to the national level, to determine the additional benefits over the life of each project, generally 20 years. By applying the framework to analyze both types of interventions, this report demonstrates the efficacy of this approach for national and local policymakers, international finance organizations, and others. These case studies show that climate change mitigation and air quality protection can be integral to effective development efforts and can provide a net economic benefit. Quantifying the benefits of climate action can facilitate support from constituencies interested in public health and food and energy security; it can also advance the international discussion of effective ways to address climate change while pursuing green growth. In this report, the chapter 1 provides background information on the pollutants covered in this report and identifies opportunities to achieve both local socioeconomic and global climate objectives by reducing emissions. It also introduces new modeling tools that enable broader economic analysis of emissions-reduction programs. Chapter 2 explains how these tools can be combined to develop an effective framework to analyze policies and projects. Chapter 3 demonstrates the framework, using several policy- and project-based case studies to estimate the multiple benefits of emissions reductions from a regional or national level. Finally, Chapter 4 explores the challenges to operationalizing the framework and presents conclusions from the study.El cambio climático plantea un grave riesgo para la estabilidad económica mundial. En este informe se proporcionan datos concluyentes que respaldan que es posible reducir emisiones y crear oportunidades laborales y económicas, al mismo tiempo que se recortan costos relacionados con la atención de la salud y a la energía. Contiene soluciones de desarrollo ampliables y se basa en las investigaciones para cuantificar los beneficios sociales de la acción en materia climática. En el informe se simulan estudios de casos sobre políticas que podrían dar lugar a la disminución de las emisiones en tres sectores: transporte, industria y eficiencia energética en edificios. Asimismo, se describe el impacto a nivel nacional que se derivaría de la ampliación de las soluciones de desarrollo en cinco países grandes y en la Unión Europea. También se analizan cuatro proyectos específicos de los respectivos países y el impacto que tendrían si se ampliaran a nivel nacional. En sus conclusiones se demuestra claramente que un desarrollo logrado de manera adecuada también genera grandes beneficios climáticos.Les responsables de l’économie d’un pays ont pour principal souci la création d’emplois, la stimulation de la croissance économique et la promotion de la compétitivité. Ils s’inquiètent aussi des effets que le changement climatique aura sur l’avenir économique de leur pays. Ces responsables veulent de plus en plus savoir s’il est des investissements et des efforts qui peuvent être entrepris pour réaliser les priorités urgentes sur le plan du développement et, dans le même temps, relever les défis d’une planète dont le réchauffement s’accélère. Grâce à un corpus de recherches qui se développe rapidement, il est désormais évident qu’un développement intelligent face au climat peut doper l’emploi et sauver des millions de vies. Des politiques et projets de développement intelligents peuvent aussi faire ralentir les effets néfastes du changement climatique. À la lumière de ces nouveaux éléments scientifiques, et avec l’élaboration de nouveaux outils de modélisation économique permettant de quantifier ces effets positifs, il va de soi que les objectifs de développement économique et de protection contre les aléas climatiques peuvent être complémentaires. Le présent rapport a recours à de nouveaux outils de modé- lisation pour examiner toute la panoplie des avantages que des politiques d’atténuation des effets du changement climatique peuvent procurer dans les secteurs des transports, de l’industrie et du bâtiment aux États-Unis, en Chine, au sein de l’Union européenne, en Inde, au Mexique et au Brésil. Il décrit également les nombreux effets positifs de quatre projets de développement simulés à l’échelle nationale

Service innovation and disruption in the australian contestable retail market

Australia’s electricity system is undergoing a significant transformation. The once linear supply chain, where electricity generated by large power stations is transported across the high-voltage transmission network and through the low-voltage distribution network into homes and businesses, is becoming increasingly decentralized and bidirectional. In this chapter, the Australian energy market transformation is through the customer lens, with exploration of customer drivers, service innovation, and disruption trends. Consideration is given to how traditional energy retailers are responding to this transformation, and how new service entrants and business models are emerging and responding to consumer preferences, as well as policy reforms that are needed to enable a sustainable and affordable energy future in Australia.No Full Tex