Warning we must step up fight against climate change... meet Kirsten Dunlop, head of Climate-KIC

Tackling 'vested interests' and undertaking a complete societal transformation is needed to combat the ravages of climate change and put the world on track for a low-carbon future.

The head of Climate-KIC, Kirsten Dunlop.

The head of Climate-KIC (Knowledge and Innovation Community), Kirsten Dunlop, says the scale of the challenge requires a global effort never seen before in human history, which will require deep transformation, regulation and convincing capital markets to invest in new technologies.

"In terms of self-transformation, we've rarely done that as a species and we've never had to do it at a planetary level. To get on track, we're going to have to do the really difficult stuff which is going to run foul of every vested interest we have out there," she says.

Climate-KIC is the EU's largest public-private partnership, tasked with addressing climate change through innovation by achieving deep decarbonisation across cities, while tackling land use, agriculture and industrial manufacturing, and securing finance.

Read Paul Mella’s story from the Independent - “Warning we must step up fight against climate change... meet Kirsten Dunlop, head of Climate-KIC.”

Companies 'failing' to deal with climate change risk

Too many big Australian companies are failing to reveal plans for tackling climate change or to explain how climate change may impact their businesses, according to new research.

Ruth Williams - Australian companies failing
to reveal plans for tackling climate change.

The report, to be released Wednesday by climate NGO Market Forces, is based on public information from 73 big listed companies operating in sectors considered high-risk on climate change.

It found that 84 per cent of the companies had not released a plan to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, 60 per cent did not have an emissions reduction target, and less than half had identified climate change as a material business risk.

Market Forces is now calling for the disclosure of climate change-related risks to be made mandatory for companies, saying too many were failing to adhere to voluntary standards.

Read the story by Ruth Williams from The Age - “Companies 'failing' to deal with climate change risk.”

Global warming will weaken wind power, study predicts

Wind farms are key to tackling climate change but warming will significantly cut the power of the wind across northern mid-latitudes, including the US, the UK and the Mediterranean, according to new research. However, some places, including eastern Australia, will see winds pick up.

 In central US, the power of the wind could fall by nearly a fifth. 

The research is the first global study to project the impact of temperature rises on wind energy and found big changes by the end of the century in many of the places hosting large numbers of turbines.

Wind farms have grown more than fivefold in the last decade and plunging costs have made them a key way of reducing carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning. But in the central US, for example, the power of the wind could fall by nearly a fifth.

“We found some substantial changes in wind energy,” said Kristopher Karnauskas at the University of Colorado Boulder, US. “But it does not mean we should not invest in wind power.” It does mean such changes need to be taken into account in planning future wind farms, he said, and also in assessing how much wind farms overall can cut global emissions.

Read The Guardian story by Damian Carrington - “Global warming will weaken wind power, study predicts.”