Wiseman and Edwards help us understand the need for urgent transition to a post carbon economy

A more than 130 page report by John Wiseman  and Taegen Edwards helps us understand the urgency of our transition to post carbon economy.

Prof John Wiseman

Professor John Wiseman, currently Professorial Fellow at the Melbourne Sustainable SocietyInstitute and Melbourne School of Population Health, University of Melbourne. He is also a fellow of the Centre for Policy Development.

Taegen Edwards is a Research Fellow at the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, University of Melbourne.

Their report, published in March 2012, is entitled: Post Carbon Pathways: Reviewing post carbon economy transition strategies, underlines the urgency of transition from our present way of life to a “post carbon economy”.

Taegen Edwards

In the introduction to their report, Wiseman and Edward write:

Around the world, detailed policy and research initiatives are demonstrating that a rapid transition to a post carbon economy is both technologically and economically feasible.

However, the latest climate science shows that the window for effective action is rapidly closing. Strategies to reduce emissions at the required scale and speed will need to be implemented in the next five to ten years if they are to

significantly reduce the risk of runaway climate change.

2. A fair and swift transition to a sustainable post carbon economy will require:

 rapid reductions in energy consumption and improvements in energy efficiency;

 rapid replacement of fossil fuels by renewable energy;

 the drawdown and sequestration of carbon into sustainable carbon sinks;

 game changing investment in social and technological innovation;

 economic policies which recognise the full costs of failing to reduce emissions and of the multiple co-benefits of the transition program;

 a significant shift towards economic paradigms and priorities which focus on improving social and ecological wellbeing rather than unconstrained growth in material consumption.

3. The difficulty of securing and sustaining broad social and political support is widely recognised as the greatest barrier to a swift transition to a post carbon economy. The lack of detailed game plans for mobilising the required level of political leadership and public support is the most significant gap in post carbon economy transition strategies.

Discussing emissions reduction, energy demand and energy supply targets, the paper says:

The Australian Government’s current target of reducing GHG emissions by 5 per cent by 2020 on 2000 levels clearly remains far from the speed and scale required, and from the targets being set by a range of comparable industrialised economies. It is unclear how its immediate actions relate to the longer term target of 80 per cent emissions reductions by 2050.

Visit Post Carbon Pathways and where you can download the Briefing, the Summary or the entire Report.