University of Melbourne to lead renewable hydrogen research for transport and power generation

University of Melbourne, together with University of New South Wales (UNSW), today announced an $8.6 million research project investigating the performance and value of efficient, heavy duty, reciprocating engines running on renewable hydrogen. The research will be partly funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

The three-and-a-half year project will involve close collaboration with leading industry partners Energy Power Systems Australia, Meridian Energy Australia, Continental and MAN.

Professor Michael Brear is the Director of the Melbourne Energy Institute at the University of Melbourne and said the project will focus on the use of renewable hydrogen to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from power generation and transportation.

Read the press release - “University of Melbourne to lead renewable hydrogen research for transport and power generation.”

'Wisterian' to give his farewell lecture at University of Melbourne

A longtime friend of Beneath the Wisteria will this week give his farewell lecture at the University of Melbourne.

Professor
David Karoly.

Professor David Karoly became a “Wisterian” soon after the group was set up in 2011 and because of that connection has visited and spoken in Shepparton several times. He also spoke at the Tatura Transition Towns first annual film festival.

And only recently he visited and spoke at Beneath the Wisteria.

The climate scientist will soon be leaving the university to take up a position in Melbourne with the CSIRO.

That final lecture, entitled “Reflections on a decade of climate change research” will be held in the Fritz Lowe Theatre at midday on Wednesday, February 14 at the university’s School of Earth Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science.

Professor Karoly said, “I joined the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne in May 2007 as an ARC Federation Fellow, with more research funding, more independence and more opportunities to tackle interesting problems than I’d ever had before.”

Pointing to Wednesday’s lecture he said, “I will reflect on the state of climate change science in 2007, at the time of the release of the IPCC Fourth Assessment. 

“I will then describe outcomes from some of the research projects I undertook with a group of outstanding graduate students and research fellows. These include attribution of extreme weather events, evaluation of impacts of climate change, multi-proxy paleoclimate reconstruction for Australia, and coupled stratospheric chemistry and climate modelling. 

“I will also reflect on developments in global and national climate change policy since 2007, a period of many ups and downs, and describe some of my engagement at the science-policy interface and in the media over the last decade. It certainly hasn’t been boring!” he said.

More information is available from Clair Denby at the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute.

Rather special Beneath the Wisteria on Saturday

A rather special Beneath the Wisteria is coming up this Saturday, November 11.

Professor David Karoly will be with us Beneath the Wisteria on Saturday.

A Professor of Atmospheric Science in the School of Earth Sciences and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science at the University of Melbourne, David Karoly, will join us.

Professor Karoly, who will be in Shepparton with his wife, Susan, will be speaking at a special session at the Shepparton U3A late on Friday afternoon (3:35 pm) and then that evening as the after dinner speaker following the “Cooking for a Better Future” at The Connection at the SPC/Ardmona Kids Town.

Then on Saturday morning, he will join us Beneath the Wisteria in Shepparton’s Maude St Mall at 11:00 am, where he will talk about the climate change discussion and answer questions.

Professor Karoly is an internationally recognised expert in climate change and climate variability, including greenhouse climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion and interannual climate variations due to El Niño-Southern Oscillation. 

He was heavily involved in the preparation of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released in 2007, in several different roles, and was a Review Editor of the chapter 'Australasia' in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report released in 2014.

Professor Karoly has supported Beneath the Wisteria since it was established in the last week of 2011, but this will be his first visit.

Some public seating is available for this free event, but those joining us, are encouraged to bring a folding chair. More details from the convenor, Robert McLean on 0400 502 199.

Climate Change Authority loses last climate scientist

Imagine, if you will, a government board to champion Australian arts without any artists on it, or an agency to advise on medical research without any medical researchers.

Professors David Karoly and Clive Hamilton at a 2012
Climate Change Authority media conference.

Or perhaps even, imagine a government authority set up to provide expertise on climate policy without any actual climate scientists.

Well you don’t have to imagine that last one, because that’s what we now have – the government’s Climate Change Authority is now sans climate scientist.

Prof David Karoly, of the University of Melbourne, has just finished his term on the authority’s board – the only member to stick it out for the full five years.

Read The Guardian story by Graham Readfearn - “Climate Change Authority loses last climate scientist.”

The exciting future of light energy

In a world of growing energy needs, and a global imperative to halt carbon emissions, a tiny ‘quasiparticle’ called an exciton could provide the answer to our problems.

Excitons are the reason we see light and colour. 

Excitons are formed when light is absorbed by molecules or crystals. But they can also emit light, after they are created electrically in things like light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

Although we’re just beginning to understand their potential, excitons could help us harness solar energy more efficiently, and drastically reduce the energy and environmental cost of lighting.

By name and by nature, it truly is exciting.

Read the Pursuit story by Julia Cleghorn from the University of Melbourne - “The exciting future of light energy.”

Australian climate extremes at 1.5°C and 2°C degrees of global warming

David Karoly.

A friend of Beneath the Wisteria is one of three authors responsible for an article published in the May edition Nature Climate Change.

An earth scientist from the University of Melbourne, Professor David Karoly, has worked with compatriots Andrew D. King and Benjamin J. Henley to produce the article - “Australian climate extremes at 1.5°C and 2°C degrees of global warming.”

Why apartments are failing the heat stress test

People lounge in the fountain of the
Trocadero in front of the Eiffel Tower
during a heatwave in 2015 in Paris.
France introduced “summer comfort”
building standards following its
2003 heatwave. 

If a heatwave hit Melbourne and the power blacked out, most apartment buildings would bake, with indoor temperatures exceeding international health standards, according to a new analysis that calls for Australia to adopt standards to protect occupants against heat stress.

Researchers at the University of Melbourne modelled six common apartment designs in the city and all six failed standards for new buildings set in France, the UK, Germany and the US. There are no health standards to ensure against heat stress in the Building Code of Australia.

Lead researcher and construction scientist Mr Chris Jensen, from the Melbourne School of Design, said the results are a wake-up call given the risk of heatwaves. He says it’s time Australia catches up with other countries to adopt similar standards for new buildings, and he says action is needed to encourage the retrofitting of existing buildings.

Read the Pursuit story by Andrew Trounson, University of Melbourne - “Why apartments are failing the heat stress test.”

Australia positioned to be renewable energy superpower

Illustration: Glen Le Lievre.

The old joke says the questions in economics exams don't change from year to year, but the answers do. Welcome to the economics of energy and climate change, which has changed a lot without many people noticing - including Malcolm Turnbull and his climate-change denying mates.

They've missed that the economics has shifted decisively in favour of renewable energy, as Professor Ross Garnaut , of the University of Melbourne, pointed out at an energy summit in Adelaide last October.

Read Ross Gittins’ story in The Sydney Morning Herald - “Australia positioned to be renewable energy superpower.”

Australia needs stricter rules to curb air pollution, but there’s a lot we could all do now

We can all play a part in easing
air pollution problems.

Have you ever left your car running as you wait for a passenger to return from a quick errand? It’s called idling, and while it may feel easier than switching it off and on again, it wastes money and fuel, and dumps pollutants into the air. Vehicle emissions are a very significant contributor to air pollution, which causes health problems.

Few of us would leave the tap running or the fridge door open, and many are diligent about turning off lights. But when it comes to air pollution, many people are wasteful and unaware.

We need major public health campaigns to change people’s beliefs about what they can do to reduce air pollution, similar to the campaigns and enforcement that made our public spaces smoke-free and our schools and beaches sun smart. Australia also needs stronger policy aimed at curbing air pollution.

The Australian government’s fuel efficiency standards and noxious vehicle emission standards review, under way now, offers a chance to do that – but what’s been proposed so far doesn’t go anywhere near far enough.

Read the thoughts of a Senior Lecturer for Climate System Science at the University of Melbourne, Robyn Schofield, and a Professor of Urban Transport and Public Health, also from the University of Melbourne, Mark Stevenson -  “Australia needs stricter rules to curb air pollution, but there’s a lot we could all do now.”

Trump Picks Scott Pruitt, Climate Change Denialist, to Lead E.P.A

Dr Luke Kemp talks today at the University
of Melbourne about Donald Trump.

The idea of “U.S.-proofing the Paris climate agreement” was discussed today at the University of Melbourne.

A lecturer in climate and environmental policy at both the Fenner School of Environment and Society and Crawford School of Public Policy, Dr Luke Kemp, articulated the idea.

He was the special guest at a session staged by the university’s Australian-German Climate and Energy College and about 50 people listened as he explored the implications of Donald Trump being named as the U.S president-elect.

Donald Trump is an outspoken climate change denier who has threatened that upon taking office he will see that America withdraws from the Paris agreement.

Dr. Kemp sees himself as a Donald Trump pessimist and although unwilling to make predictions about what the president-elect might do, he did suggest that  it was not only possible that America could withdraw from the Paris agreement, there is also the potential of it stepping away from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

He explained that under the rules of the Paris agreement, withdrawal could take up to four years, all of Mr. Trump’s first term in office.

Ideally, Dr. Kemp preferred to see the U.S. withdraw completely from the agreement as it would not longer be able to disrupt negotiations from the inside, but once outside the formal structure could find itself facing complex trade restrictions from trade groups still working within the agreement.

Read The New York Times story - “Trump Picks Scott Pruitt, Climate Change Denialist, to Lead E.P.A..”

Discussing 'Potential Pathways to Decarbonisation'

Dr Sarah Bice.

“Potential Pathways to Decarbonisation” were discussed at a public session organized on November 10 by the Grattan Institute.

The panel for the Energy Futures Seminar featured Jeremy Bentham, who was the lead on Shell’s recently published plan to achieve net-zero emissions and transform four sectors of the energy system: power, industry, transport and buildings; Ross Garnaut, a Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Australian National University and a Vice-Chancellor's Fellow and Professorial Fellow of Economics at The University of Melbourne; Tony Wood, the Director of the Energy Program at the Grattan Institute; and Dr Sarah Bice from the University of Melbourne’s School of Government.

The global community has committed to deep decarbonisation by mid-century, yet, it is far from clear how we might get there, despite the progress made through last December’s Paris Agreement.

Listen to a recording of this event, including a Q&A with the audience.

Business Briefing: why the future is workless

(Work as it is currently understood and as Tim Dunlop points out, has been enormously beneficial for humanity, and yet as an extractive process has been equally damaging in that it has taken humanity to the edge of the abyss. The processes we have adopted have disrupted Earth’s climate system and the Goldilocks-like conditions we have enjoyed for 10 000 years and allowed us to prosper are, because of our voracious behaviour, quickly being eroded – Robert McLean)



Tim Dunlop's new book,
"Why the future is Workless".

When Tim Dunlop, from the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne, started to research the future of work, his economist friends pointed to all the research showing there will still be jobs.

A few years later and Dunlop isn’t so sure. His book, “Why the Future is Workless”, unpicks the research into everything from machines learning to do our jobs to the idea of governments paying us all a universal basic income.

Listen to Tim Dunlop - “Business Briefing: why the future is workless.”

UoM study observes unsual warming for Australasian region

A study led by UoM researchers
has defined 1000 year warming.

Warming observed in the Australasian region between 1985-2014 is unusual in the context of the past 1000 years, a landmark study has reported.

The study, led by University of Melbourne researchers and published on Monday, July 11, in the Journal of Climate, is the most comprehensive, long-term temperature reconstruction for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands region.

It shows that anthropogenic greenhouse gases are required to produce the rate and magnitude of post-1950 warming observed in the Australasian region, strongly pointing towards human influence in rising temperatures.

Climate scientists used natural climate indicators, such as tree rings, corals and cave records, in conjunction with climate modeling to delve a thousand years back into the region's temperature history.

Read Rebecca Scott’s Phys.org story - “Thousand-year study reconfirms recent warming in the Australian region.”

'Cleaner then coal' - the truth of that story is leaking away

Queensland's coal seam gas industry
 now has more than 7000 wells.

Gas has long been touted as cleaner than coal and marketed as a "transition" fuel until the mass take-up of renewable energy becomes viable.

But a growing chorus of voices from Australia and overseas is warning that any perceived benefits could easily be lost with just small leakages.

Professor Peter Rayner from the University of Melbourne says it takes just 1-2 per cent of gas leakage for any advantage to be lost.

Australia's coal seam gas industry claims its leakage is just 0.02 per cent but increased detection of leaks in the US – triggering a flurry of studies – suggest some big changes are in the winds.

Read Peter Hannam’s story in The Sydney Morning Herald – “'Sleeper issue' of leaking coal seam gas fields may blow hole in emissions goals.”

Climate change to take the gloss of Goulburn Valley apples

Climate change will impact on the
Goulburn Valley's apple crop.

Red apples could be a bit less red as temperatures rise due to climate change, Royal Galas are likely to suffer more sun damage, and some fruit growers are likely to rip out trees and opt for different varieties.

The looming impact of climate change on the fruit growing industry is detailed in a new report out of the University of Melbourne, which says climate change could affect what is grown and where in some Australian apple growing regions.

The report concentrates on science, but as climate change affects farmers and the fruit that they grow, a changing climate is likely to have some impact on the apples displayed on the shelves of Australian supermarkets in future years.

Northern Victoria's Goulburn Valley, one of the biggest apple-growing districts in Australia, faces a real threat from a rise in the number of hot days in January that could lead to "sun damage" on Royal Gala apples, the report warns.  

Read Darren Gray’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Climate change to affect how and where fruit is grown.”

Rapid decarbonisation and increased resilience in the face of climate change

Visions and Pathways 2040 (VP2040) is a research and engagement program which develops visions and innovation and policy pathways for transforming Australian cities to achieve rapid decarbonisation and increased resilience in the face of climate change.

The program involves three universities (University of Melbourne, University of NSW and Swinburne) and nine government and industry partners. VP2040 is funded as a four-year project by the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living (CRC LCL).

VP2040 seeks to envision possibilities for the physical form and urban lifestyles of Australian cities in 2040, on the assumption that they achieve at least an 80% reduction target in greenhouse gas emissions and have addressed vulnerabilities that arise with changes in climate and extreme weather events. Since this program commenced (and particularly following the Paris COP 21 in late 2015), the issue of appropriate Australian CO2 targets has become a significant area for policy debate, with past ‘aspirational’ commitments looking increasingly at odds with international thinking. This program’s target of an 80% reduction was set in 2014 after a review of targets set by other cities in OECD countries. The decision was to set a challenging target which was comparable with the upper-end of greenhouse gas emission reduction targets announced by some cities around the world (C40 Cities 2014).

Read – “Results from the second year of Visions and Pathways 2040: Scenarios of Low Carbon Living.”

Cape Grim predecitions confirmed as we pass the 400ppm mark

Baseline measurements from Tasmania's
Cape Grim are headed in just one direction - up!

As we predicted two months ago, the background atmospheric carbon dioxide levels measured at Cape Grim on Tasmania’s northwest coast have officially passed the 400 parts per million (ppm) mark. Our measurements, compiled by our team at CSIRO together with the Bureau of Meteorology, show that the milestone was reached on May 10.

In the past few days, the 400 ppm level has also been breached in Antarctica, where CSIRO’s measurements at Casey Station show the 400 ppm level was exceeded on May 14.

Together, these measurements show that the atmospheric CO₂ concentration of the entire southern hemisphere is now at or above 400 ppm. It is unlikely to dip back below this level for many decades to come.

Read what an Honorary Fellow with the CSIRO, Paul Fraser and 

Research Group Leader, also with the CSIRO, Paul Krummel, had to say on The Conversation - ”Southern hemisphere joins north in breaching carbon dioxide milestone.”

(Just yesterday on the ABC television news, two Australian climate scientists, including Professor David Karoly from the University of Melbourne, were quoted as saying there was nothing of any particular note about the 400ppm mark, and they suggested the 399 or 401ppm measurements were equally significant.

The trend, however, is what is important for as it continues to rise inexorably and as the numbers relating to parts per million get larger, the world’s weather continues to worsen and so become increasingly less predictable – Robert McLean).

A proud Hans sees his eco-socialism essay published

University of Melbourne
anthropologist, Hans Baer.

A smiling Hans Baer thrusts into my hand an essay he had written about eco-socialism being the next world system.

The nearly 30-page document – “Toward democratic eco-socialism as the next world system” – is the articulation of how Hans sees us finding our way through the all-encompassing malaise of climate change.

The University of Melbourne anthropologist can see no way out of humanity’s present predicament until it is able to extricate itself from under the smothering economic web of capitalism.

Hans, who has a reputation of asking the hard question at many of the university’s public forums, was delighted that “The Next System Project” had accepted his essay and published it on its website.

In his essay, Hans writes: “The concept of democratic eco-socialism constitutes a merger of the earlier existing concepts of democratic socialism and eco-socialism. It is imperative that progressives reinvent the notion of socialism by recognizing that we live on a planet with limited resources that must be more or less equitably distributed to provide everyone with enough, but not too much.”

It’s a thoughtful piece worthy of a read and although it may be idealistic, it appears to be founded on established ideals such as “decency, fairness, compassion, and sharing”, many things that the captains of the corporate world claim, but as experience shows, are blatantly “missing in action”.

-      Robert McLean.

Learn about the end of sustainability in just 32 minutes

Prof. Robin Craig.

Environmental legal scholar Professor Robin Craig argues that the doctrine of sustainability in managing our natural resources fails to take into account an emerging age of ecological uncertainty.

Instead, notions of sustainability and sustainable development need to make way for approaches based on resilience thinking, which attempts to factor in and adapt to coming large-scale social and ecological shifts brought about by climate change.

Listen to Professor Robin Clark on the University of Melbourne’s Upclose presented by Eric van Bemmel - “The end of sustainability: Realism and resilience in managing our natural resources.”

Climate justice must be at the heart of Paris agreement: Mary Robinson

Mary Robinson speaking at Tuesday night's
inaugural oration presented by the
Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute.

Mary Robinson, the first female president of Ireland, gave a speech in Melbourne on March 15. Robinson, who served between 1990 and 1997, has since gone on to play an active role in international climate negotiations.

As special envoy on climate change to the UN Secretary-General, Robinson negotiated with world leaders ahead of the successful Paris climate summit in December 2015.

Through her work on climate change Robinson is an active proponent of “climate justice”, which advocates sharing the burden of mitigating and adapting to climate change between all parts of society, and particularly between developed and developing nations.

In Melbourne she addressed the growing role of climate justice in climate talks and in bringing the Paris Agreement into force. The following is a summary of Robinson’s key points.

Read the piece on The Conversation by PhD student from the Australian-German Climate and Energy College at the University of Melbourne,  Anita Talberg - “Mary Robinson: ‘climate justice’ must play a key role in the Paris Agreement.”