Climate change - Australian business continues action where the Australian Government fears to tread

                                                                                                                              Shutterstock

The launch this week of the  Australian chapter of the Climate Governance Initiative Network by the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) continues the now established trend of business action to address climate change. Major corporations, industry peak bodies, central banks, government regulators to name a few, have all accepted the science behind climate change, albeit almost too late. This definitive recognition contrasts with the Australian Government which continues to operate with the ponderously slow objective of reducing carbon emissions by 2050.
 

The Climate Governance Initiative Network has been developed "due to the urgent need to address the climate emergency and requires government and business to accelerate the transition to a new economic model which seeks to limit global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels, consistent with the 2018 recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)" 

The network operates by supporting groups of directors around the world to form networks, known as Chapters. The core mission of these chapters is to promote the implementation of the 'Principles for Effective Climate Governance' published by the World Economic Forum (WEF). 

Information about the network can be found at this link: Climate Governance Initiative Network

The World Economic Forum's (WEF) position is well described in the opening comments in the Forum's guidance to company boards -

"The links between climate change and business are becoming increasingly evident and inextricable. Business decisions and actions will slow or accelerate climate change, and climate change will drive risks and opportunities for business. Increasingly, board directors are expected to ensure that climate-related risks and opportunities are appropriately addressed. However, limited practical guidance is available to help board directors understand their role in addressing these risks and opportunities...  good governance should intrinsically include effective climate governance'

A resource for boards on the Climate Governance Principles by the WEF can be found at this link:

World Economic Forum - Creating effective climate governance on corporate boards

The question immediately arises is to whether this objective is already too little, too late. The newly released report by the IPCC has found climate change is already underway and limiting a temperature increase to below 1.5 degrees Celsius is now impossible. The challenge is now to prevent the situation getting any worse and adapting to the inevitable difficult environmental conditions already evident.

Chocolate - the names that helped forge the tastes

                                                                            Shutterstock

We all have seen the brands but what do we know of the people behind the names ? Did you know for example that Rowntrees and Cadburys were founded by Quakers ? Some of the unusual backgrounds to several of the chocolatiers are shown in the following list -

Baker 

Now owned by conglomerate Kraft Heinz, the company was founded in 1765 by John Hannon, an Irish Chocolatier. It was taken over by his partner Dr James Baker after Hannon never returned from sailing in the Carribean Sea where he had been destined for the West Indies searching for new supplies of cocoa beans.

 

Billy Blue

An English chocolatier, Billy Blue had a colourful and eventful life being variously soldier, chocolatier, convict, boatmaster to name a few occupations. Sentenced to 7 years transportation in Australia for stealing sugar for his chocolate factory, Billy Blue made his fortune in Sydney, NSW Australia but never returned to chocolate making.

John Cadbury

John Cadbury from Birmingham, United Kingdom, started with a tea and coffee shop selling cocoa as a side line. The taste for cocoa however overtook selling tea and coffee thus with his brother, Benjamin, Cadbury Brothers was established in 1824. A Quaker, Cadbury had a strong social conscience, a characteristic shared with other chocolatiers such as Hershey in the United States, Meiner in France and Suchard in Switzerland. 

Hershey

Milton Hershey another Quaker mixed being a chocolatier with being a social reformer. His rich dark Hershey bars dominated American tastes for decades and remain a favourite today. Hershey built a model town for his employees called Hersheyville and notably none of his employees lost their jobs during the Great Depression in the 1930s. Notably he commented ' caramels are a fad, chocolate is permanent'.

 

Lindt

Lindt was an eccentric aristocrat who developed the conching process for chocolate however the Lindt process was purchased by David Sprungli-Schwarz who opened his own chocolate factory in 1899. The Sprungli family have run the business ever since retaining the Lindt name.

  

Mars

Mars is very much a family affair with Forrest Mars following his father's footsteps and travelling to Slough, England to start his chocolate business. His father, Frank C Mars was a Chicago based confectioner who created the Milky Way so Forrest Mars using this recipe created the almost ubiquitous 'Mars Bar' in 1932.

 

Nestle

Milk chocolate originates from completely different purpose. In 1867, Henri Nestle, a chemist, was originally engaged in research for a milk substitute for babies allergic to their mother's milk. The result was sweet condensed milk which garnered the attention of Swiss chocolatier, Daniel Peter. Together with Nestle they developed the first milk chocolate with their respective companies merging in 1879. Nestle is now a global chocolate with a recipe that is adjusted from country to country to suit different tastes.

  

Terry's of York

In 1767 Joseph Terry started producing sugar confectionery during the reign of George III but at this time chocolate tended to be a beverage for drinking rather than eating. When the change came, Terry's pioneered the boxed chocolate assortment. 

Bon appetite ! 

Chocolate - food of the Gods - the basic facts

                                                                                                    Shutterstock

Chocolate - what is it and where does it come from ?  In summary -

• chocolate is derived from the cocoa bean grown on the cocoa tree.
• the cocoa tree requires intense heat and moisture found in climates located around 20 degrees North and South of the Equator. Too much direct sunlight and wind however is detrimental hence a level of shade is also needed for the tree to thrive. This is usually achieved through the use of an umbrella tree or mother tree that is used to provide such cover (Note climate change with increased temperatures may well effect this essential human food luxury).
• there are two basic beans that are cultivated and from which various hybrids are derived: Criollos and Forasteros.
• Criollos are recognised for their concentrated flavour, are thinner skinned and grow predominantly in Java,Samoa, Venezuela, Sri Lanka and Madagascar.
• Forasteros are often used as a base bean mix, have less flavour, grow in thick walled pods and are mainly found in West Africa and Brazil. 
• Cocoa trees produce a waxy pinkish-white blossom which in turn produces pods. During harvesting the pods are cracked open to extract twenty to thirty seeds in a bed of white pulp. 
• A period of fermentation around slightly more than a week, is used to remove the bitter acid taste and the white pulp, followed by drying either through the natural sun or through large scale hot air blowers.
• the beans are then transported for commencement of the manufacturing process -in short order: careful roasting of beans, thence the nibbing machine (breaking the husk off to reveal the 'nib' or raw chocolate), grinding the nib to produce cocoa butter and the a brown powder which is pure cocoa. It is the pure cocoa powder which is the base of chocolate.
• the cocoa butter is then reintroduced in varying levels depending on the product being developed.  Cocoa butter is only used in small amounts for baking chocolate and larger amounts for chocolate for direct human consumption.

From this point onwards the chocolatiers have experimented to provide the many taste sensations which have made this one of the world's arguably most recognised cross cultural, cross border culinary experiences.

A rise of 3 Degrees Celsius - the impact on Australia

In March this year, the Australian Academy of Science issued a stark warning on the future of this country if global warming is not actively slowed and ultimately stopped. The Academy's report charts both proven existing impacts and the effects of modelled temperature increases. The situation could not be more starkly or clearly demonstrated by the findings of the Academy which included -

Temperature rising

• the total emission reduction current pledged by the Australian and international government through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement, even if implemented on time will translate as an average global surface temperatures of 3 degrees Celsius (C) or more.
• the planet is well on its way to devastating climate change with average surface temperatures being at 1.1 degrees C above the pre-industrial period. Australia has had a worse outcome with warming on average by 1.4 degrees C.
• limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius in now virtually impossible.

Ecosystems

• land-based environments have been affected by drought, fire, extreme heatwaves, invasive species and disease, large scale mortality of trees, birds and tree-dwelling mammals
• rising sea levels are amplifying storm impacts damaging coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangrove forests.

Australian agriculture, forestry, fisheries and food security

• reduced water availability and heat stress have contributed to reductions in profitability for broadacre crops such as wheat and barley in the magnitude of up to 22% since 2000.
• heat stress is a significant issue for livestock systems due to impacts on animal welfare, reproduction and production. Projected temperature and humidity changes suggest an increased number of heat stress days per year. 
• forestry is facing growing pressure from a warming and drying climate with increased fire risks, changes in rainfall patterns and species-specific pest impacts.

Australian cities and towns

• with close to 90% of Australians living in cities and towns, climate change experience will be manifested in various ways. 
• extreme heat wave conditions, bushfires and storms already place pressure on power stations and infrastructure while simultaneously increasing demand for energy supply for air conditioning.
• global sea level rises are already occuring and pose a severe risk to properties infrastructure and ecosystems with coastal flooding becoming a more regular feature. 160,000 to 250,000 coastal properties will be at risk with a rise of 1 metre in sea levels. 
• climate sensitive infectious diseases such as Ross River fever and other vector borne diseases shift their geographical distribution and intensity of transmission. This will only increase as climate change increases to above 2 degrees C.

The Academy's report provides sober reading and a reality check for those who believe that its only a question of avoiding a 1.5C temperature impact to avoid climate change. The climate crisis has already commenced - the only viable objective is to prevent it becoming worse.

The full report can be accessed at: Risks to Australia: three degrees Celsius

COP26 Glasgow - ongoing optimism but what's the reality ?

The 26th Meeting of the UN Climate Change Council of the Parties (COP) Conference will be held in Glasgow, Scotland between the 31st October to the 12 November 2021. Co-hosted with Italy, this COP was delayed due to COVID-19. The Conference brings together world leaders and negotiators to monitor progress against the existing Paris Agreement and seek a common way forward with reducing the threat caused by climate change. But how effective will COP26 be, compared to the previous conferences ?

COP26 has 4 stated primary objectives -

1. Secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach
2. Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats
3. Mobilise finance
4. Work together to deliver

Participating countries have been asked to bring forward ambitious 2030 emission targets that align with reaching net zero by around 2050. To reach this outcome, countries are being asked to accelerate the phase out of coal, curtail deforestation, speed up the switch to electric vehicles and encourage investment in renewables. While these are all essential steps to take, several countries will still need time to manage the transition particularly ending reliance on coal and  switching to electric vehicles.

Australia regretably lags well behind on almost all of these actions with the exception of investment in renewable energy generation that has increased over the past few years. Electric vehicle promotion has been largely managed by private organisations rather than government and remains woefully inadequate.

The Conference is also seeking to take steps to enable the protection and restoration of ecosystems affected by climate change; build defences, warning systems; and resilient infrastructure and agriculture. These are tall orders for mitigating the effects of the very drastic weather events now taking place across many parts of the planet. Agriculture, for example, may need to adapt with new food crops such as ancient grains in order to be sustainable.

Developed countries are expected to make good on their promise to mobilise at least $100bn in climate finance per year by 2020. It will be interesting to see if this has occured with the impact of COVID-19 still affecting many parts of the world including the developed countries. COP26 is also seeking to finalise the Paris Rulebook that provides the detailed requirements to make the Paris Agreement operational.

Lofty ideals and good intentions. COP26 has the right messages but with the evidence building that a 1.5C increase in temperature is now inevitable, the actions will need to be faster than the rhetoric.

Link to the website: COP26 Glasgow

The Archibald Prize for portrait painting - 100 years and still going strong

2021 Winner: Guy Warren at 100 painted by Peter Wegner

The perennial public favourite in the visual arts, the Archibald Prize for portrait painting has opened at the Art Gallery Of NSW with the prize itself reaching its 100 year milestone. This year some 52 paintings were selected as finalists from the 938 entries. The 'Árchies' as they are affectionately known, are always perceived as a bit of entertainment as much from seeing which artists are selected to be exhibited as to whom they chose to be the sitters and subjects of their work.

The somewhat sentimental winner is a portrait by Peter Wegner of Guy Warren who turned 100 this year in a coincidental symmetry with the anniversary of the prize. Warren won the 1985 Archibald prize for his portrait of artist/sculptor Bert Flugelman and has been featured seven times in the Archibald exhibition.

This year there are a number of first time finalists as well as many established names such as Kate Beynon, Natasha Bieniek, Jun Chen, Lucy Culliton, Tsering Hannaford, Richard Lewer, Fiona Lowry, Mathew Lynn, Euan Macleod, Thom Roberts, William Mackinnon and Nick Stathopoulos.

The subjects chosen are varied with portraits of artists such as Gareth Sansom, Joe Furlonger and Del Kathryn Barton; art dealers and collectors such as Stuart Purves and Liz Laverty and a smattering of public figures such as COVID public health professional, Professor Raina Macintyre, NSW Governor Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, journalist Kerrie O'Brien, Australian of the Year Grace Tame, actor Rachel Griffiths to name a few. Portraits of politicians are largely absent.

Along with the Archibald Prize there is also the Wynne Prize for landscape painting or figurative sculpture. This year the finalists include a strong presence of indigenous artists reflecting their increasing engagement for this prize in particular, which resonates with their connection to the Australian landscape.  This year's entries maintain their use of large canvasses with vivid colours capturing either a mix of myths from country or direct representation of fauna or features of the land.

The Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prize exhibitions run from 5 June to 26 September 2021 at the Art Gallery of NSW

Chocolate - a short history

                                                                                            Shutterstock

Chocolate, a vice for some, a special treat for others. Described by Swedish botanist, Carolus Linnaeus as the "food of the Gods" (Linneaus gave the cacao tree its  formal botanical name 'Theobroma Cacao'), chocolate has travelled across the world in many forms since the 16th Century. A short history is summarised -

• In 1502 Columbus returned to Spain from the Americas with the cocoa bean. Unfortunately Ferdinand of Spain was unimpressed (and Columbus had been something of a nuisance to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain in any case so there was even less interest)

• Years later in 1517 Conquistador Hernan Cortes and his expedition come into contact with the cocoa bean with the Aztecs and their Emperor, Montezuma. Cortes establishes cocoa bean crops in Spanish territories in Africa and the West Indies with the bean arriving in Austria and Italy.

• Anne of Austria and Louis XIII of France are married in 1615 and Anne brings her love of chocolate to France.

• Chocolate drinking is promoted  in London through public advertisements in 1657 with special Chocolate Houses becoming preferred places instead of the then popular Tea Houses. Chocolate continues to gain popularity throughout Europe.

• In England, Dr Joseph Fry establishes the first large-scale manufacturing enterprise using steam engines that grind beans in 1795. The Industrial Revolution enables larger production volumes to be achieved.   

• C J Van Houten in Amsterdam in 1828 discovers how to extract cocoa butter from the cocoa bean producing a smooth dry powder. He also invents a machine which chemically adjusts the natural acid of the bean through alkalines.

• The 1870s see Daniel Peter of Nestle creating milk chocolate bu adding condensed milk into the production process. Randolph Lindt develops a process of heating chocolate dough and then using rolling through the chocolate creating a liquid form still in use today.

Chocolate has been with us for over 500 years with a world-wide following crossing borders and cultures.