The Millennium Drought across Australia during the 2000s placed cities under pressure in providing urban water security. In Sydney, Australia’s largest city, a comprehensive water demand programme triggered a significant reduction in per capita water consumption. The water demand programme included incentives for the installation of rainwater tanks.

Home renovations demonstrate the interplay between economic transactions and cultural values that shape consumption practice and consumer markets. The academic disciplines of environmental and social sciences and spheres of environmental policy and practice have taken interest in renovations because of their implications for improved environmental outcomes. However, a considerable blind spot in this work has been an out-of-step, largely one-dimensional, or peripheral engagement with media.

This paper seeks to uncover a diversity of economic practices and engagement by home renovators, predominantly homeowners. In particular, the authors explore how different forms of media consumption and production intertwine to shape home renovation projects.

Executive summary
A growing body of research shows that healthy watersheds are a vital component of a well-functioning water supply infrastructure system. When green infrastructure is used to complement, substitute, or safeguard traditional gray infrastructure, it can achieve optimal service delivery and save water suppliers (and water customers) money. The strategic protection, management, and restoration of natural systems within watersheds (often referred to as green infrastructure) can, for example:

This Expert Group Report provides recommendations on how to perform studies of wind and solar PV integration. It is based on more than 10 years of work within the International Energy Agency Wind Technology Collaboration Programme (IEA Wind TCP) Task 25: Design and Operation of Power Systems with Large Amounts of Wind Power and the IEA Photovoltaic Power System Programme (PVPS) TCP Task 14: High Penetration of PV Systems in Electricity Grids.

This report presents a summary of the findings and activities of Stage 3 of the LCL-CRC research project RP 1033 “High Performance Commercial Building HVAC”.

Highlights
Low Carbon Readiness Index (LCRI) is a three-item measure of low carbon strivings.
LCRI predicts reported low carbon behaviours, and reduction in actual energy use.
LCRI can be used to develop low carbon policies and monitor their implementation.
Abstract

In this report we compare the cost of power outages with the associated economic value of electric reliability. We explain the benefits of affordable microgrid services using natural gas as fuel, and we detail how microgrids can leverage wholesale power markets during normal operations, enhancing their value proposition and strengthening the broader electric grid.

In October 2018, IGCC convened a workshop in Auckland to look at how to invest in climate solutions in New Zealand. This report captures the current climate finance landscape in New Zealand, some of the key insights to emerge from the workshop discussion and recommendations for next steps which IGCC will take forward.

In this report the effects of PV integration into diesel driven micro-grids was investigated. The focus was set to the fuel saving potential due to the PV integration and the resulting economics for the system.
The report starts with a summary of the most relevant technical aspects that need to be considered for the integration of PV in a diesel driven micro-grid.

Uber supports congestion pricing as a solution to urban traffic and so sponsored this white paper to explore the potential impacts of one approach to introducing tolls in Seattle. This analysis uses the best available information on regional travel patterns and the Seattle road network from local planning agencies and Uber’s own operations. While the results offer considerable insight into how congestion pricing could work in Seattle, additional analysis would help validate and extend these findings.

This document is a component of the CRC for Low Carbon Living Closing the Loop project. It provides an overview of existing data around building energy performance in Australia to guide the selection of building typologies to be included into the research. This document also outlines key stakeholders in the property sector, and major trends amongst owners and tenants.