NEG: a bipartisan agreement to disagree?

Energy investment is a long-term game. Energy infrastructure lasts 20, 30, 40 years. It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about powerlines, fossil power stations or solar farms.

Energy infrastructure is a long-term investment.

So certainty about government policy is absolutely critical.

When you’re investing in the energy sector you need to know what the targets are going to be for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Australian government’s National Energy Guarantee (NEG), as revised late last week, is making good progress but currently still could lock in uncertainty unless both major parties act in our national interest.

“Read the coment by Oliver Yates from today’s Age - “NEG: a bipartisan agreement to disagree?”

America Crowns a New Pollution King

For the first time in 40 years, power plants are no longer the biggest source of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution. That dubious distinction now belongs to the transport sector: cars, trucks, planes, trains and boats.  

The big reversal didn’t happen because transportation emissions have been increasing. In fact, since 2000 the U.S. has experienced the flattest stretch of transportation-related pollution in modern record keeping, according to data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The big change has come from the cleanup of America’s electric grid. 

The chart below shows carbon dioxide emissions from transportation exceeding those from electricity production in 2016 for the first time since 1978. The pollution gap has continued to widen further in 2017, according to a Bloomberg analysis.

Read the Bloomberg story by Tom Randall - “America Crowns a New Pollution King.”

NSW farmers urged to plan for dry season as lack of rain increases pressure on landholders

A sheep and cattle farmer from the New South Wales Hunter Valley says conditions in the region have not been as dry as they currently are in almost 40 years.

Large parts of NSW are in desperate need of rain.

The observation came as farmers were urged to plan for the warmer months in a bid to mitigate the effects of the harsh conditions.

Ian MacCallum has worked the land around Moonan Flat in the Upper Hunter for 60 years.

"For the cattle industry, it is particularly bad because our cows have just calved, and we've got young calves on the ground which are this coming year's income.

Read the ABC News story - “NSW farmers urged to plan for dry season as lack of rain increases pressure on landholders.”