Increasing urbanisation and climate change are two of the great challenges of the 21st century. In response, the Low Carbon Future Cities (LCFC) project was initiated to develop a low carbon, adaptation and circular economy strategy to address the large mitigation potential in urban areas by and through engaging cities and stakeholders in both China and Germany in an integrative approach. The project will scientifically explore the Low Carbon Future City concept in two case studies: the German region of Düsseldorf+ and the Chinese city of Wuxi.
The Hunter and Central Coast Regional Environmental Management Strategy (HCCREMS) team and the councils of the region invite you to participate in the Alternative Futures Conference. Convened over three days in Newcastle NSW, the conference will deliver an exciting multidisciplinary event addressing sustainability, climate and risk, land use planning, biodiversity conservation, liveable communities and urban design.
What happens when you consider multiple threats on our declining biodiversity together? New research is suggesting the devil is in the synergy. Biodiversity is being crucified by habitat loss and there are dire predictions of the impacts from climate change. But what is the result when you look at climate change and habitat loss together? Find out in the March issue of Decision Point where you’ll find an excellent range of stories.
“But what can one person do?”, perhaps said with a worried look or a small apologetic smile, is a fairly common reaction to warnings about climate change. The One Person Can project began as one person’s attempt to change that. This project provides mechanisms for giving a high degree of visibility to the safe-climate actions that all sorts of individuals are already taking, so that we need never again think that one person’s actions don’t count.
Held each year at 8:30pm on the last Saturday in March, Earth Hour is a WWF initiative which symbolises the collective power of individuals, businesses and governments to reduce our environmental impact on this one and only planet we call home. From it’s beginnings in one city in one country – Sydney – Earth Hour has grown to millions of people in over 5000 cities across 135 countries.
For Earth Hour 2012, you can bring your community together to host an Earth Hour Unplugged fundraising event that is all about unplugged entertainment (that means no electricity!), and there are also the 2012 WWF Earth Hour Awards which are now in their second year.
In November 2011 the Australian Government announced funding of almost $148 million for world-class collaborative research and innovation under the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) program. The funding includes $30 million for the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities and $28 million for the CRC for Low Carbon Living.
The CRC for Water Sensitive Cities will deliver the socio-technical urban water management solutions, education and training programs, and industry engagement required to make Australian towns and cities water sensitive.
The CRC for Low Carbon Living brings together key property, planning and policy organisations with leading Australian researchers to develop new social, technological and policy tools for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment.
Bushland and Urban Biodiversity Management in a Changing Climate is the final report of the investigation that looked into the current understanding of the impacts of climate change on local governments ability to manage their biodiversity and bushland assets. The report has been prepared by the Eastern Alliance for Greenhouse Action (EAGA) which was established in 2008 to provide a regional framework for local stakeholders to work together on climate change and greenhouse gas projects in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria.
The Science Alert article Urban estuaries 100-fold weaker as ‘Blue Carbon sinks reports that Australian scientists have found a 100-fold weakening in the ability of coastal ecosystems to sequester carbon since the time of European settlement. Collecting soil cores from sites in and around Botany Bay, the scientists have reconstructed the past six thousand years in estuary sedimentation records and found that changes in plant and algae abundance point to a possible undermining of these natural coastal carbon sinks.