If 2007 was the year when international scientific consensus on
climate change became clear, 2008 is the year when it has become a
mainstream consumer issue.
The then Secretary of the Victorian Department of Environment
and Sustainability, Professor Lyndsay Neilson, announced more than
two years ago that government has moved beyond the debate about
global warming and is now concerned with developing appropriate
responses. Whilst debate continues in many circles, mainstream
business and academia has followed the same course, in response to
the weight of public opinion on this issue.
It is difficult to recall a subject that has entered the
mainstream of political, social and commercial thought with the
same impact and increasing momentum as has concern about the
consequences of climate change. Australians have the highest per
capita carbon footprint of any member of the OECD. Emissions are
increasing twice as fast as in the USA and Japan and up to 5 times
as fast as
