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	<title>Paul Gilding</title>
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		<title>Why I don&#8217;t believe in the climate science</title>
		<link>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20100901beliefclimatescience.html</link>
		<comments>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20100901beliefclimatescience.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:41:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Gilding</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cockatoo Chronicles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paulgilding.com/?p=263</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s time for a true confession. I don’t believe in climate science.

That’s because I’m a rational person. Belief is important in my life and I apply the term to things involving faith. Faith is how we believe when there is no rational basis for a decision – which doesn’t mean its irrational or wrong, just that there is no evidence to support the view taken. Faith and belief often apply to matters of the spiritual realm. But they also apply to matters of a more worldly nature, where the capacity for faith and belief has framed many positive developments in humanity over history. Despite the lack of supporting evidence, Churchill believed the allies would win WWII and Mandela believed majority rule would come, relatively peacefully, to South Africa. Faith is a powerful driver of human behaviour.

However, I don’t “believe” in climate science because it’s not a religious or a faith question.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20100901beliefclimatescience.html/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>42</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A high-stakes game; China, democracy and the climate.</title>
		<link>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/chinaanddemocracy.html</link>
		<comments>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/chinaanddemocracy.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Aug 2010 01:13:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Gilding</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cockatoo Chronicles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paulgilding.com/?p=257</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Much has been written lately about the emerging battle between China and the United States in the race to a low-carbon future. While the US clearly has considerable advantage with its history of success in innovation and technology, its lack of responsiveness, to date, is seeing the advantage steadily move to China.

There is great irony in this. For decades, many western companies have argued against stronger environmental policies on the grounds of loss of competitiveness to China and the developing world – so-called carbon leakage. The argument has been that if western countries made their companies behave more cleanly, Chinese companies would be able to out-compete them because they could pollute freely and therefore have lower costs.

What’s been happening while the west has been delaying action, partly in response to this argument, is that China has caught up and is now seriously pursuing a low-carbon economy. Do they want to save the world? No, they want to own it. ]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A climate storm for investors</title>
		<link>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20090712climatestorminvestors.html</link>
		<comments>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20090712climatestorminvestors.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Jul 2010 01:41:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Gilding</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cockatoo Chronicles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paulgilding.com/?p=251</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Beware the coming climate storm. A moment is approaching when science and markets will collide, but then merge, with chilling consequences for investors who miss the moment, and great excitement for those who are well prepared.

The signs are all around us now. Signs that a storm of climate action will soon rage through the economy, sweeping away denial and, along with it, those companies, politicians, investors and industries that aren’t ready.

Signs like our past two opposition leaders and Prime Ministers being removed with climate change a central issue in their downfalls. Signs like 2008 being the first year when the money invested in new renewable energy generation projects was greater than that invested in new fossil fuel energy generation. Signs like the last decade being the hottest on record, as of course each decade has been since 1980. Signs like the first new car company IPO in the USA for half a century being a disruptive electric car company.

There is great investment and excitement now in renewables, with over $100 billion invested in 2008 and the same in 2009, despite the uncertain financial climate. Yet we see growth in coalmines, new coal export facilities and a lack of action in politics in Australia and the US. What is an investor to do with such confusing signals?]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20090712climatestorminvestors.html/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Could the global community simply remove BP from the economy?</title>
		<link>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc100621removebp.html</link>
		<comments>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc100621removebp.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Jun 2010 03:11:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Gilding</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cockatoo Chronicles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paulgilding.com/?p=244</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For over a decade I have gone out of my way to buy fuel from BP. They’ve always seemed the best of the bad, with their solar business, climate policy leadership and forward thinking culture and people. The other day I couldn’t bring myself to do it. In fact I doubt I’ll ever drive into a BP station again.

Although BP has rather bigger problems on its mind than whose fuel I buy in Australia, while driving past I started considering a potential development that would certainly get their attention. It all starts with BP’s CEO Tony Hayward now famous approach to leadership on environmental questions. He proudly explained his views in a frank speech at Stanford University last year. He said too many BP people were “working to save the world” whereas they should focus on making money because BP’s “primary purpose in life is to create value for shareholders.”

I understand quite a bit about saving the world and about creating value for shareholders. I’ve spent roughly half my working life as an environmental campaigner, including as global head of Greenpeace, and the other half as a business owner and corporate advisor working with the CEOs of a number of the world’s largest companies. The former taught me how people think and act on environmental issues, the latter taught me about the relationship between profits and good corporate citizenship. BP’s Deep Horizon disaster may bring these two issues together in ways that I never expected. As a result Tony Hayward may, ironically and unintentionally, do more to “save the world” than anyone before him at BP. Here’s why.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc100621removebp.html/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>31</slash:comments>
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		<title>Why higher taxes on mining and resources are good economic policy</title>
		<link>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20100521miningtaxes.html</link>
		<comments>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20100521miningtaxes.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 May 2010 04:29:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Gilding</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cockatoo Chronicles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paulgilding.com/?p=239</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Amongst all the focus on carbon trading around the world, the power and simplicity of taxes has taken a bit of a back seat. This may be changing with new moves in China and Australia, along with renewed debate elsewhere, to use direct taxes and charges to drive social and environmental objectives.

With trading schemes struggling to get up in democracies like Australia and the US, and governments everywhere facing huge mountains of debt, taxes may start to make a comeback. China is reported to be considering a carbon tax from 2012 and is also directly targeting high-energy users like aluminium by dramatically increasing their electricity charges as reported here. In Australia, where the government has shelved plans for carbon trading until 2013 after it failed to get the legislation through the Senate and decided the issue was politically unappealing, there is now a proposal for a mining “super profits tax”.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20100521miningtaxes.html/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why melting glaciers means cleaner, cheaper cars</title>
		<link>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20100302cleanercars.html</link>
		<comments>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20100302cleanercars.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:00:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Gilding</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cockatoo Chronicles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paulgilding.com/?p=230</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When we focus on news that reinforces our environmental challenges, of which there’s no shortage, we forget just how exciting the opportunities in fixing them are and how fast these solutions are now accelerating. Every story about melting icecaps or raging floods brings a smarter, cleaner world closer. My favourite example at the moment is electric cars. While they had a bad start, we are now on the verge of the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for, with around 30 models coming into the market from the major car companies and new start-ups over the next 3 years.

If we get this right, it’s hard to overstate the significance of the upside. This is a real game changer for our transport and energy systems. Forget any old ideas you have about niche markets, limited range and slow cars. There are some very exciting cars on the way and some business concepts that could change not just personal transport but the whole electricity sector. How will this unfold?]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20100302cleanercars.html/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>14</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The World After Copenhagen – A Return to the Rational?</title>
		<link>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20091221aftercopenhagen.html</link>
		<comments>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20091221aftercopenhagen.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:54:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Gilding</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cockatoo Chronicles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paulgilding.com/?p=223</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Throughout my 35 years in sustainability it has always seemed odd that while so-called economic rationalism reigned over our political, economic and business worlds, rational thought wasn’t applied to issues like climate change. The risks were always clear, as defined by rational science, while a logical analysis of the economics showed acting early was cheaper than acting late. Yet a strange kind of religious and ideological zealotry took hold, as otherwise sensible, educated people ignored rational thought. It was a failure of reason.

While Copenhagen failed to deliver any agreement however, it may well mark a return to rational thought and with it some profound shifts in markets, politics and our approach to sustainability. Perhaps historians will mark this point and refer to the world BC and AC - Before Copenhagen and After Copenhagen.

What will historians say changed at the end of 2009? And if we could read their conclusions now, would it change our present responses - not as historians but as the creators of that history? Perhaps they will write something like this:]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20091221aftercopenhagen.html/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>15</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why Copenhagen will fail and why that doesn’t matter</title>
		<link>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20091217copenhagenfailure.html</link>
		<comments>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20091217copenhagenfailure.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:38:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Gilding</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cockatoo Chronicles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paulgilding.com/?p=210</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There will probably be some kind of agreement at Copenhagen. It’s hard to imagine all those world leaders walking away without one. However I’m not spending any time at all wondering what the result will be. Why? Because it just doesn’t matter.

You see we’re not ready to fix climate change, not yet. We have not accepted the scale of the problem. Nor have we established the political conditions necessary to fix the problem when we do. However Copenhagen does signify the shift between two eras and if you watch carefully you can see the new world emerging. That is the interesting thing happening at Copenhagen.

But before I move on to that, let me go back, because most of you are probably stuck on my statement that the result at Copenhagen doesn’t matter. Isn’t this the most important meeting in history? Surely failure here will set us back a decade? Surely having a global agreement of any type would be an important first step? No, no and no. Here’s why.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20091217copenhagenfailure.html/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>42</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Time to prepare for The One Degree War</title>
		<link>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20091106-odw-launch.html</link>
		<comments>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20091106-odw-launch.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:46:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Gilding</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cockatoo Chronicles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paulgilding.com/?p=207</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Amidst the noise of the day-to-day debates, we have lost sight of the simple logic of the advice coming from the world’s top climate scientists. Despite the uncertainties in the details, the science carries one underlying message from which we can draw only one rational conclusion.

It is time to declare a global emergency and mobilise all available resources, political will and human ingenuity towards one task – to reduce the risk of catastrophic climate change to an acceptable level.

Today, we are releasing a paper detailing our response to this conclusion. ‘The One Degree War Plan’ began to take form a few years ago, the product of a challenging conversation between myself and Professor Jorgen Randers. Jorgen, a lifelong advocate for action on sustainability, rose to prominence in 1972 as one of the original authors of the Club of Rome’s famous “Limits to Growth”, the bestselling environmental book of all time - over 30 million copies in 37 different languages.

Jorgen and I had both accepted the scientific reality and were discussing the question it posed - what would a rational response to the climate science look like? If you stripped away all the politics and debate and took a fresh look, what would be the logical action plan?]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20091106-odw-launch.html/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>20</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>The climate giant awakes. Have we turned a corner?</title>
		<link>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20091008climategiantawakes.html</link>
		<comments>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20091008climategiantawakes.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:04:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Gilding</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cockatoo Chronicles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://paulgilding.com/?p=201</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Regular readers may be a little surprised by this column. I am regularly arguing that the science shows we are inevitably approaching, or may have past, a tipping point where widespread, rolling ecological and economic crises take hold.

But there’s another critical tipping point, of a very different character – where the world’s political and business leaders turn firmly towards action. Here’s the surprise – I think we may be at this tipping point already.

Scientists have become increasingly alarmed in recent years, as climate change reality has raced ahead of the political response. They point to countless examples of accelerating feedbacks, such as the reduction in the ocean’s ability to absorb CO2 and rapid Arctic melting. While they regularly point these out to our political masters, many of them express despair at the slow response.

So on what basis do I think the global political system has started to turn?]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://paulgilding.com/cockatoo-chronicles/cc20091008climategiantawakes.html/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>15</slash:comments>
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