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Three years of build-up for a national emission trading scheme has collapsed. Global climate negotiations are in disarray. And now it’s an election year for Australia.

Where business had hoped for carbon certainty, it now faces prolonged policy confusion and frustration … all hopes of a bipartisan political solution appear to be lost.

So what happens now? With scientific alarm continuing to sound, public concern still burning, and investors looking desperately for clear signals, doing nothing is not an option!

• Energy costs are going up rapidly even without an ETS or tax to put a price on carbon

• State governments are still driving their own carbon and energy saving regulations and market-based solutions

• Employees still want to work with environmentally and socially responsible companies

• Consumers increasingly want to live and buy more sustainably  

The Total Environment Centre and its corporate sustainability program Green Capital have shaped a special event and IP package to help answer the big carbon challenges for 2010. To be released at the events, our IP includes our latest issues paper, Doing nothing is NOT an option, and results of our own survey of sustainability professionals.

In the opening part of our Sydney and Melbourne events we’ll ask leading business practitioners of energy efficiency, renewable energy and carbon offsetting to tell us their experiences to date, the role their sector can play – and how they assess the challenges now.

Then, in the second half, our panel of engaged experts will debate the political and policy situation; offer their own perspectives on the future for business and the community; and answer questions from the audience.

At the close we’ll present our package of recommendations to help guide you towards practical solutions for your business.

In coal and gas rich Australia, a future where we successfully capture CO₂ emissions from power stations and industrial plants like steel mills and keep them out of the atmosphere is an alluring vision.

The process to do this is called Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), with the aim being to safely sequester vast amounts of CO₂ in the ground … or more exotically diverting it to biological uses such as growing algae for bio-fuels.

If it can work at competitive cost, at large scale and within 10-20 years at most, the economic stakes are huge. The International Energy Agency say that CCS could deliver nearly one-fifth of emission cuts by 2050 and CCS champions insist that fossil fuels can actually help the transformation to a low-carbon economy.

Critics, meanwhile, fear it’s a doomed bid by still powerful vested interests to preserve their pollution-intensive industries. These opponents say CCS is unproven, unsafe and likely to be ruinously expensive – distracting focus and diverting public funding from superior solutions like renewable energy, clean production and energy efficiency.

Join Green Capital for a lunchtime debate with an international line-up to put CCS under the spotlight and probe its economic and environmental policy dimensions and implementation challenges.

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As the nation debates the CPRS and the world heads for the Copenhagen climate summit, leading Australian women will pose a new challenge for policy-makers, business managers and marketers:

• Women are half the electorate
• Women make 70% of purchasing decisions that determine household carbon footprint
• Women answering opinion polls consistently outpoint men in supporting serious action on the environment by governments, business and individuals
• Women bring incredible energy and social networking skills to addressing society’s great challenges

While many now accept the need to drive change in society to effectively tackle the challenge of climate change, how to do it is a hot topic. Hear why understanding the role and power of women in getting there is essential.

So what do women want from our climate policymakers? What are the messages marketers need to hear if they want to reach women consumers on climate and environment? And how can women take a strong leadership role in transforming society as we move to a low-carbon future?

The Women in Climate Change (WICC) series is part of the 1 Million Women campaign, which aims to empower a million Australian women to take practical action on climate change by collectively cutting 1 million tonnes of CO2 pollution in their daily lives, thus driving long-term behaviour change. WICC has been supported by the Australian Government through the Women’s Leadership and Development Program.

The inaugural WICC forums will explore the role of gender for Australia’s climate crisis. In recognising both the need for behaviour change and the power of women in driving demand for solutions-related products, services and programs, these events will consider the issues through the lens of women in society, in the community and in business.

• How do we successfully change deeply embedded behaviour?
• How do we harness the power of women as change agents, to improve the sustainability landscape?
• How can self-empowerment help society find its voice and contribute to the dialogue?
• What tools can we provide so society can just ‘get on with it’?

The WICC events are for everyone - women and men – who need to drive change in their organisations and communities.

The series includes representatives of many Australian women’s organisations, and leading women drawn from politics, business, the public service, faith communities, the arts, science, community, the media and other fields. With great keynote speakers, panel discussions and special entertainment, the WICC forums are a great opportunity to:

• Share in a dynamic and fresh dialogue ahead of the imminent CPRS discussion and the UN Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen this December, and
• Gain tools to empower you and your organisation to take action now

You’ll hear leading Australian women offer their perspectives for climate policy and practical programs and activities that will mobilise women from all backgrounds and cultures to join in cutting CO2 pollution. WICC will empower women to find their voice, take an advocacy role and confront the challenges of achieving long-term behaviour change.

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• Green Depreciation for buildings and equipment?

• Replacement of fuel excise with full-cost recovery 'road pricing'?

• Incentivisation for major new clean technology and infrastructure development?

• Transformation of FBT to drive green vehicles and public transport?

• Right-pricing on natural resources?

Australia's Future Tax System Review, headed by Treasury Secretary Ken Henry, will map out the future for taxation in Australia for the next generation. Environment, climate change and sustainability were key themes in early submissions in 2008 and now the Henry Review is heading into its public consultation phase.

Amidst the current turmoil of the Global Economic Crisis and after the soft start proposed for the CPRS, is tax change a vital new front for attaining the goal of a sustainable society? The objectives of the Henry Review explicitly include considerations of sustainability, climate change and environmental impacts.

Taxation reform may offer the opportunity for ground-breaking change.  As a complement to the CPRS, reform may provide the incentives required to stimulate a green economic recovery, to positively impact the health and well-being of society and to make significant in-roads into addressing these increasingly urgent problems.

How will these changes impact your sector?  How can taxation encourage and support the necessary transition to a greener economy?