6d2a3763-5b8a-4a1c-8101-e456222e7737

<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>Greenhouse gas emissions from energy production and increasing stress on all aspects of energy security in Australia look set to continue to rise despite the Morrison government claiming it is taking “sensible, responsible action” to address the climate crisis.</p><p>In an attempt to reduce emissions, which increased by 3.1 million tonnes in the year to March to reach 538.9 million tonnes (a 0.6 per cent jump on the previous year), the Morrison government is incentivising Australian businesses to undertake voluntary carbon-neutral choices.</p><p>Climate Active, formally known as the Carbon Neutral certification, has been relaunched with a new logo and brand, designed to be more recognisable and better inform choices.</p><p>The government-backed initiative, which certifies products and events as well as companies, will now provide a certification for organisations, products, services, events, precincts or buildings that met all requirements in achieving zero carbon emissions. </p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><hr/></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><strong>Carbon emissions in Australia since 1999</strong></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/4cd9c3d5-15d3-4b8c-9b68-3fa34a14f728.jpg" width="800"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ Source: RMIT</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><hr/></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>Some of Australia’s biggest businesses have been certified carbon neutral through the program, including ANZ, NAB, Qantas and GTP Group.</p><p>“Businesses can help drive change by undertaking Climate Active certification, signaling a commitment to an environmentally-sustainable future for consumers of their goods and services, Climate Active director Daniel Sheedy said. </p><p>“More than 16 million tonnes of carbon have been offset by Australian businesses and companies that are members of the Climate Active network over the past decade—equivalent of taking every car off Sydney’s roads for one year.”</p><p>Earlier this year, Frasers Property partnered with distribution giant DHL to create one of the first Climate Active certified industrial buildings, installing 200kW solar system, LED lighting and improving heating and cooling efficiencies.</p><p>Frasers Property sustainability general manager Lisa McCutchion said it was imperative that more tenants took up the challenge to embed sustainable practices into their operations.</p><p>“While we continue to look to ways we can improve our own environmental efficiencies, working with our tenants to assist them in cutting their carbon emissions will provide a more sustainable environment and future for everyone.”</p><p>Carbon offsets in the broader scheme of reducing national emissions have sometimes been looked down upon by environmental advocates, concerned about companies passing the buck on their responsibilities to rein in their own carbon footprint.</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/022c8221-d54a-493c-98ad-3b1c45b6befd.jpg" width="800"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ The federal government’s lack of engagement on health and climate change has left Australians at significant risk of illness through heat, fire and extreme weather events.</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><h2><br><strong>It&#x27;s getting hot in here</strong></h2></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>For the past few weeks the east coast of Australia has been ravaged by wild fires that have so far claimed four lives and destroyed more than 2.5 million acres of farmland and bush.</p><p>Nearly 75 fires are currently burning across New South Wales, the nation&#x27;s most populous state, where hundreds of homes have been destroyed in the past few days. In Queensland, about 80 fires are burning. </p><p>Emergency crews have also fought blazes last week in South Australia and Western Australia.</p><p>Despite this, the Morrison government has continued to downplay climate concerns amid criticism of its support for coal mining and perceived lack of action on reducing carbon emissions.</p><p>A survey released in September shows that 77 per cent of Australians believe climate change is occurring, up from 66 per cent when the Liberal Party came to power in 2013.</p><p>Australia recorded its hottest month in January 2019, its third-hottest July and its hottest October day in some areas, among other temperature records.</p><p>The Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO say Australia has warmed by 1C since 1910 and temperatures will increase in the future.</p><p>Last month, 300,000 Australians joined millions around the world in taking to the streets to demand climate action. </p></div></div></div></div></div>

Australian emissions look set to continue to rise despite the Morrison government claiming it is taking “sensible, responsible action”.

2465d9b9-5ac7-4e06-9c91-fb873406ea96

<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>With property prices on course to lift to <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/how-long-until-housing-values-reach-a-new-record-high">record highs</a> in the first half of 2020, <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/investors-first-home-buyers-drive-12pc-rebound-in-lending">first-time buyers</a> and those <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/buyers-back-in-the-market-as-auctions-rebound">re-entering the market</a> could soon be priced-out, further eroding any renewed prospects of housing affordability. </p><p>After almost two years of falling prices of between 10 and 15 per cent in Sydney and Melbourne, the housing market is showing signs of <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/house-prices-make-biggest-jump-in-4-years">bouncing back</a> driven by a number of factors including <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/075-is-a-record-low-but-dont-think-for-a-second-the-reserve-bank-as-finished-cutting-the-cash-rate">record low interest rates</a>, easier access to credit and more certainty around tax arrangements.</p><p>Housing affordability enjoyed temporary relief over the downturn, seeing an 8.4 per cent fall in prices with dwelling values 6.5 times higher than gross annual household incomes as of June, the lowest level since December 2013.</p><p>According to the latest ANZ-CoreLogic Housing Affordability report, the 8.4 per cent falls in real estate prices nationally—seen over the past two years, has now significantly reversed, with prices in Melbourne and Sydney <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/is-the-downturn-over-house-prices-begin-to-rise">rising</a> 6 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively since May.</p><p>Dwelling values are now outpacing household incomes across all capital cities (with the exception of Perth and Darwin) with over-extended household debt and rising mortgage rates reversing affordability and playing a larger role influencing the broader economy.</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/f9d6ab98-1e72-4824-a0a5-7fed211505a6.jpg" width="800"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ Affordability is influenced by interest rates, the size and term of loan repayments, and household income. Image: AAP</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><br>“We see more urgency coming back into the market and if this trend continues, we could see property prices reach new highs early next year,” Corelogic head of research Tim Lawless said.</p><p>“We have also seen an increase in the number of areas where it is cheaper to buy than rent, which can be attributed to the lowest interest rates since the 1950s together with lower housing prices relative to the market peak.”</p><p>The downturn has seen the number of years to save for a deposit decline drastically, back to 2014 levels, across the country.</p><p>Households are now also dedicating the smallest proportion of their incomes towards paying a new mortgage since early 2004 and renters are spending the lowest proportion of their income on accommodation since 2007.</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><hr/></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><strong>Housing affordability in numbers</strong></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><sub>• 8.6 years - the time it takes a typical household to save 20 per cent deposit for a dwelling based on saving 15 per cent of their gross annual income<br>• 34.4 per cent - the proportion of income needed to repay a 80 per cent loan to value ratio mortgage as of June 2019, the lowest it has been since 2004<br>• 28.5 per cent - the average percentage of household income required to rent a house as of June 2019</sub></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><hr/></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>With prices likely to continue their upward trajectory on the back of the latest rate cut, an increasing number of Australians have little to be excited about.</p><p>The latest wages growth figures released last week by the ABS also has revealed that growth has distinctly slowed, with the worst results since the middle of last year, lifting by just 0.5 per cent.</p><p>Earnings are believed to be on course to grow by just 2.2 per cent for the year and economists expect that number to fall further as unemployment ticks up.</p><p>The ratio of household debt to disposable income is about 190 per cent, according to Reserve Bank calculations, compared to 70 per cent at the beginning of the 1990s that then rose to 160 per cent at the time of the GFC.</p><p>Sydney remains the least affordable market for buyers, followed by Melbourne.</p><p>Last month, the Morrison government has announced further details of its <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/first-home-buyers-scheme">first-homebuyer deposit</a> election promise that stands to benefit up to 10,000 Australians each year and is set to kick off from January next year.</p><p>In an attempt to reboot housing sentiment, the government announced price caps for support through the scheme, which is $700,000 for a house in Sydney and $600,000 in Melbourne.</p><p>First homebuyers will only have to save 5 per cent of a deposit under the plan, with the federal government to guarantee the difference of a standard down payment.</p></div></div></div></div></div>

First-time buyers and those re-entering the market could soon be priced-out.

MORRISON GOVERNMENT