Preconditions for an Organic Future: Stop Global Warming!

It is becoming increasingly clear that current government policies and corporate "business as usual" are leading us straight toward ecological disaster and climate chaos. The inconvenient truth is that there will be no organic or sustainable future unless health-minded consumers and farmers all over the world take up the banner.

As nearly all of the world's scientists are now warning us, in order to avoid catastrophic global changes, we must keep atmospheric greenhouse gas (primarily CO2) pollution below 450 parts per million and launch a trillion dollar program of greening the global economy - including making local and regional based organic food and farming the norm - and reducing greenhouse gases by at least 10% in 2010, and 90% by 2050.

We must end our addiction to fossil fuels. We must go green and promote environmental and organic justice with new jobs and a new food and farming system in a clean energy economy.

Kyoto non-ratification is costing Australia billions

New research released by the Australian Conservation Foundation shows Australia is losing a staggering $3.8 billion per year in investment opportunities as a result of the Government’s failure to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
 
“Australia continues to miss out on business opportunities worth billions of dollars by refusing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, because Australian businesses cannot gain credits under the Protocol’s carbon trading mechanisms,” said ACF executive director Don Henry.

The Kyoto Protocol’s Joint Implementation (JI) and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) would allow Australian companies to gain credits from investing in low-emission and renewable energy projects here and overseas.

The new study, conducted for ACF by sustainability consultancy Cambiar, concludes Australia’s failure to ratify Kyoto means:

• Australian companies are missing out on $2.4 billion every year in credits from carbon reduction projects through the CDM, because of the immense hurdles facing most Australian companies interested in participating in such projects.
• Australian companies involved in carbon reduction projects in Australia are not realising the full value of those projects, because they cannot generate offset credits that could be sold on the JI or EU carbon trading markets. This results in an estimated loss of $1.2 billion per year.
• As a major existing financial hub for the Asia-Pacific region, Australia is a natural centre for a regional carbon trading hub. But this cannot happen without Kyoto ratification. The loss of trading revenue and associated legal, accounting and other services to Australia is estimated at $180 million per year.

“By ratifying the Kyoto Protocol Prime Minister Howard could achieve a great practical economic result from APEC – boosting Australian investments in renewable energy and efficiency measures and helping reduce emissions in other APEC economies,” Mr Henry said.