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Carbon: Global Cycle to Regional Budget
14–15 April, National Library, Wellington
The challenge of ‘decarbonisation’ – or carbon constraint – following an era of cheap fossil fuel energy is undoubtedly the largest single environmental issue of the 21st century. It will require major shifts in energy sourcing and a significant change in the day-to-day functioning of commerce and society.Internationally, policy is looking ahead to a framework for comprehensive global agreement following the first commitment period (2008–2012) of the Kyoto Protocol. Domestically, policy is centred on the development of an all-sector Emissions Trading Scheme.
In order to accurately predict the future greenhouse effect, we must first understand the relationship between emissions and atmospheric concentration, or the ‘airborne fraction’. And to predict this fraction, we must understand how the global carboncycle functions, including its response to anthropogenic change and potential feedbacks with global climate change. Two major concerns are the current trend of increasing atmospheric CO2 (which goes hand-in-hand with current global trends of increasing carbon emissions) and the increase in carbon intensity of economic activity (which can be seen as the amount of carbon consumed per unit of Gross World Product).
This workshop focused regionally on New Zealand, Australia, and the Southern Ocean. It brought together about 100 researchers and policy analysts to review and look ahead at future needs for carbon-cycle research and policy development.
There were two keynote speakers. Dr Pep Canadell summarised the work of the Global Carbon Project, which was established in 2001 as a framework for integrated study of human, economic, and biogeochemical aspects of carbon. Dr Martin Manning, Victoria University of Wellington, looked ahead at the emerging nexus between science and policy in understanding and managing carbon emissions. The papers and posters that followed addressed three main topics:
- Global/marine/carbon capture
- Terrestrial research
- Policy-related research, including the development ofintegrated economic/biophysical models.
The meeting was testimony to the high degree of crossdisciplinary interaction and cooperation that characterise the New Zealand (and wider Australasian) science and policy communities. The meeting was jointly sponsored by NIWA, GNS Science, Landcare Research, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry for the Environment, and the Royal Society of New Zealand International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme (IGBP) committee.
Work presented at the workshop will be published in a special issue of the journal Biogeochemistry under the guidance of guest editors Martin Manning and Troy Baisden (GNS). The RSNZ IGBP committee will facilitate development of further educational resources.
For further information, contact: Dr Mike Harvey, 0-4-386 0308, [email protected]
Useful links The workshop programme and presentations are available at: www.rsnz.org/advisory/igbp/carbon Global Carbon Project: www.globalcarbonproject.org
Training at NIWA
NIWA offers courses on a range of topics. They are presented at a number of venues according to need and level of interest, and in some instances can include in-house training at your premises. Though the schedule for 2008/09 has not yet been confirmed or posted online, there are two electric fishing courses planned for September:
Electric fishing for machine operators, 9–10 September, Christchurch
If you are interested in booking a training course for yourself or your team, keep an eye on www.niwascience.co.nz/edu/training or contact: NIWA Training Coordinator phone 0800 RING NIWA (0800 746 464) or email [email protected]