The failure of the EU Parliament to reach agreement this week on changes to the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that aimed to resuscitate the price of EU carbon emission permits will have implications for Australian emitters and farm businesses contemplating getting involved in the carbon market, whichever political party wins government after the September federal elections. View the rest of the post here

In official greenhouse emission accounting terms (using the Kyoto Protocol standards), the global warming potential of 1 kilogram of nitrous oxide (N2O) is equivalent to the warming potential of 298 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2). Given that nitrous oxide emissions are the second biggest source of agricultural emissions (around 15 million tonnes out of total agricultural emissions of almost 90 million tonnes), and that there is such a high multiplier factor associated with calculating the warming effect of nitrous oxide emissions, it is obviously critical that any estimates of the sources of nitrous oxide are accurate. However, the Australian statistics that are relied on to calculate this estimate in Australia’s national emission accounts don’t provide a great deal of confidence that we really know how much of these emissions are produced in Australia. View the rest of the post here

Animals Australia has launched a campaign based around Australia Day, aiming to counter the successful promotion of lamb  which the Australian meat industry has cleverly linked to the celebrations. The errors, false claims and distortions used to justify the Animal Australia campaign make it almost as funny as Sam Kekovich. View the rest of the post here

One of the starkest differences between Australia and the USA becomes evident during the Thanksgiving holiday period in the USA, when US citizens and organisations express great pride in the USA and all that the nation has achieved.   View the rest of the post here

Attendance at two conferences during the past few weeks has highlighted the stark differences between economists and agricultural scientists on future greenhouse emissions policies for agriculture, and in particular whether or not the agriculture sector should bear a direct cost for its emissions. View the rest of the post here

The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency has just released its latest quarterly National Greenhouse Accounts for Australia. These accounts are the basis for policy decisions, including the price and volume of emission permits that will be made available by the Government, so therefore have real national economic and financial significance. They are also the process by which Australia reports on its progress in limiting greenhouse emissions to the international community. Given this, it would be expected that they are calculated on a robust and comprehensive basis. This is certainly NOT the case for emissions associated with agriculture. View the rest of the post here

A new report released by the EU Commission has questioned the sustainability of first-generation biofuels, arguing that a full account of the energy and emissions associated with the production and use of the fuel shows that the cost of biofuels far exceeds their benefits, and would mean an effective carbon cost of between 100 and 300 euros for each tonne of greenhouse emission abatement achieved. View the rest of the post here

In 2006, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN published a report called Livestock's Long Shadow which concluded that emissions from livestock production make up 18% of global man-made greenhouse emissions, which is more significant that the emissions associated with fossil fuel use in transport. Despite the authors of that report subsequently admitting there was a major flaw in the methodology used, the 'number' has persisted, and continues to appear - even in papers recently published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. View the rest of the post here

There has been further discussion about the Henbury Station carbon farming project, under which the Australian and Northern Territory Governments are working with a commercial organisation to run a business that generates income from carbon sequestration. Unfortunately, the discussion has not helped to clarify some of the key questions associated with the project. View the rest of the post here

Amid all the debate currently underway about the US Farm Bill, the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, and a future food policy in Australia, there is frequent reference to the benefits of consuming food produced 'locally' or 'sustainably'. Exactly what these terms mean and why they might be a benefit is very unclear, and highlights how little objective data is available about these issues.  View the rest of the post here