Prospects for Meeting Australia’s 2020 Carbon Targets, given a Growing Economy, Uncertain International Carbon Markets and the Slow Emergence of Renewable Energies

The carbon emissions of Australia’s future energy consumption are compared with the emissions targets implied by the cuts in carbon emissions committed to by the Australian government for 2020 and 2050. Analysis shows that even the seemingly modest cut of 5% of carbon emissions by 2020 cannot be met without substantial contributions by low carbon sources that are in addition to the contribution of 20% of electricity supply mandated by the government. The choices in renewable energy are constrained by the need for base-load power to constitute a large proportion of energy supply but the short lead time to 2020 precludes sources that require more development or lengthy planning processes. The official forecasts of energy generation assume a large proportion of Australia’s emissions will be offset through international emission trading. However the prospects for the development of international carbon market are presently poor. The conclusion is that, even with a domestic price on carbon, the Australian government’s 2020 targets for carbon emission reductions are unlikely to be met and should be revised downwards.carbon targets; carbon intensity; energy mix; energy growth; renewable energy

Efficient and Equitable Forest Rent Capture in Three Pacific Island Nations: Opportunities and Impediments in Forest Policy Reform

Various contrasts may be observed in the way three Pacific island countries - Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands and Vanuatu - exploit their natural forest endowments. The modes of exploitation, the efficiency of forest revenue systems and the sustainability of forest allocation mechanisms are analysed. It is argued that equity issues are also important in forest policy given that forests in all three countries are under customary tenure. The forest revenue system in PNG is criticised for being inefficient and inequitable. In the Solomons the rate of logging is found to be unsustainable, being linked to the country's economic crisis. In Vanuatu a logging ban has stimulated timber processing, but probably at a cost to the economy, and has failed to confer sustainability on the industry. Changes to forest revenue systems and forest allocation procedures that would enhance efficiency, equity, sustainability and conservation are identified, along with impediments to these changes

Food Superstores, Food Deserts and Traffic Generation in the UK: A Semi-Parametric Regression Approach

This study contributes another route towards explaining and tackling ‘food desert’ effects. It features the estimation of a (semi-parametric) trip attraction model for food superstores in the UK using a composite dataset. The data comprises information from the UK Census of Population, the NOMIS (National Online Manpower Information System) archive and traffic and site-specific data from the TRICS (Trip Rate Information Computer System) databases. The results indicate that traffic to a given food superstore, ceteris paribus, increases with household car ownership, store parking provision, site size (floor space), and distance to the nearest competitor. Furthermore, increases in public transport provision are shown to be associated with increasing car trips. This latter effect is discussed in the light of planning policy for development control purposes and a role linked to the reinforcement of ‘food deserts’. The results also reveal activity-specific household economies of scope and scale. It is suggested how these may also further perpetuate unsustainable development and ‘food desert’ characteristics.Traffic Generation, Food Superstores, Food Deserts, Activity Based Travel, Sustainable Development, Modelling

National Renewal and Strategic Change -First lessons from an Early-Mover in Deregulation

The scope and pace of economic liberalisation in New Zealand have been judged by the OECD as the most extensive of any undertaken in a developed economy during the past decade. This paper reports on a project aimed at determining how and at what rate New Zealand businesses have adapted to this major deregulation of their commercial environment. We first describe the nature of reform in New Zealand, and then we develop a qualitative model of the adjustment processes set in motion by deregulation. The process of strategic adaptation is represented as a continuum comprising four stages: stability, survival, sharpbending and sustained adaptation. This model is embellished with evidence on actual changes that have been observed in New Zealand business since deregulation. We conclude that, after eight years of substantial economic reform, the majority of businesses have not fully adapted to the new environment

Economic instruments for environmental and natural resource conservation and management in the South Pacific

Trends in natural resource exploitation and consumption patterns have increased the need for resource conservation and pollution control in the South Pacific. The need for greater government resources, implied by the intensification of environmental management, has coincided with budgetary restraints in the South Pacific that have often been severe. Economic (as opposed to command and control) instruments are of increasing interest because they possess the potential to shift from government to producers or consumers the onus to comply with environmental measures. In this paper, argument about the applicability of economic intruments in conservation and management in developing countries in general and the South Pacific in particular, is prefaced by a brief exposition of the theory and a description of the types of instruments. (The typology follows Panayotou (1995).) An analysis of some twenty case studies in the South Pacific enables some conclusions to be drawn about the conditions necessary for the application of economic instruments and enables some recommendations to be made about their adoption. The paper reports on work in progress and as such acknowledges gaps. Meanwhile comments are welcomed by the author

Layering in peralkaline magmas, Ilímaussaq Complex, S Greenland

EJH acknowledges funding from a NERC PhD studentship and the work was completed at the University of St Andrews, UK.The peralkaline to agpaitic Ilímaussaq Complex, S. Greenland, displays spectacular macrorhythmic (> 5 m) layering via the kakortokite (agpaitic nepheline syenite), which outcrops as the lowest exposed rocks in the complex. This study applies crystal size distribution (CSD) analyses and eudialyte-group mineral chemical compositions to study the marker horizon, Unit 0, and the contact to the underlying Unit − 1. Unit 0 is the best-developed unit in the kakortokites and as such is ideal for gaining insight into processes of crystal formation and growth within the layered kakortokite. The findings are consistent with a model whereby the bulk of the black and red layers developed through in situ crystallisation at the crystal mush–magma interface, whereas the white layer developed through a range of processes operating throughout the magma chamber, including density segregation (gravitational settling and flotation). Primary textures were modified through late-stage textural coarsening via grain overgrowth. An open-system model is proposed, where varying concentrations of halogens, in combination with undercooling, controlled crystal nucleation and growth to form Unit 0. Our observations suggest that the model is applicable more widely to the layering throughout the kakortokite series and potentially other layered peralkaline/agpaitic rocks around the world.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe