After 20 years of renovating other people’s houses and gardens to demonstrate his sustainable house ideas, Josh Byrne (environmental scientist and well known ABC TV Gardening Australia presenter) is undertaking his most ambitious house project yet – the design and construction of two 10-star energy efficient family homes in the Fremantle suburb of Hilton. Construction started in November 2012 and is scheduled for completion by May 2013. Follow the progress at Josh’s House.
The Energy Efficiency Information Grants Program is a $40 million merit-based, competitive grants program established by the Commonwealth Government to assist industry associations and non-profits provide practical, tailored energy efficiency information to small and medium enterprises and community organisations. Round 2 is currently open with applications closing 20 December 2012.
In an Australian first, the City of Sydney will roll-out new energy-efficient LED street and park lighting, halving electricity use and carbon pollution compared to conventional lights. A consortium of General Electric and UGL were selected after a tender and will replace about 6,450 street and park lights with the new LED lights over the next three years.
The Community Energy Efficiency Program is a merit-based grant program established by the Australian Government to provide matched funding to local councils and non-profit community organisations to undertake energy efficiency upgrades and retrofits to council and community-use buildings, facilities and lighting. The program is part of the government’s plan for a Clean Energy Future. Applications close 5pm AEDST Friday 23 March 2012.
Lasy year’s All-Energy Australia exhibition was a sell out and featured over 230 exhibitors from 13 countries, filling over 3,000+ m2 of floor space. At the conference participants heard about the latest developments in the clean and renewable energy industry and its associated technologies in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The All-Energy Australia 2012 Exhibition and Conference will be held in Melbourne on 10-11 October 2012. The 2012 conference program will include international keynote presentations, case study presentations, technical updates and panel discussions – the call for papers is now open.
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.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made sustainable energy one of his five priorities that will guide his second 5-year term. Specifically, he will direct the United Nations to extend energy’s reach in order to combat endemic poverty. Universal access to energy, improved efficiency and enhanced deployment of renewable sources are ambitious goals, and the Secretary-General is leading a Sustainable Energy for All initiative to make them achievable.
This initiative will call for private sector and national commitments and attract global attention to the importance of energy for development and poverty alleviation. In recognition of the importance of energy access for sustainable economic development and supporting achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations General Assembly has designated 2012 as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All.
The Gwangiu Cities Declaration sets the way forward towards the greening of cities through improved planning and intelligent management. Released at the conclusion of the Summit of the Urban Environmental Accords held in Korea on 11-13 October, the Declaration calls for the development of an Urban Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the UN Convention for Climate Change. It also recommends the development of metrics to measure and report urban sustainability and to encourage the development of policies, regulations and innovative market mechanisms to accelerate the transition towards greener urban development. The Declaration calls for action across five major sectors:
The Green Savings Calculator is a free online tool that helps you work out the cost benefit of sustainable improvements to your home. With methods and data verified by RMIT’s Centre for Design, it covers popular eco-friendly building options including water saving, construction materials and energy efficiency. It can calculate potential dollar savings and carbon savings over one year or ten years, for a typical new or established house.
The Australian Alliance to Save Energy (A2SE) is an independent, not-for-profit, coalition of business, government and environmental leaders formed to drive research and advance the efficient use of energy in Australia. A2SE has appointed a new full time General Manager and established formal links with a growing list of international partners, giving the Alliance enormous reach and enabling it to be an exchange of knowledge and international best practice. A2SE has also strengthened its partnership with the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) at the University of Technology Sydney, and with anchor sponsorship from the Australian Government’s Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency will be hosting the first Australian Summer Study on Energy Efficiency and Decentralised Energy from 29 February to 2 March 2012.