A solution to better climate change protection is to ensure we look after our soil better, according to a study to be released shortly by earth scientist Phil Mulvey.
His thesis is there is too much focus on stopping carbon emissions, which at best will simply slow the rate of warming, when climate warming can be reversed through better land management stopping the warming at its source.
The three objectives are increased organic matter in soil, vegetative cover and variable height vegetation to disturb the air.
This means a nationwide focus on land and vegetation.
Mulvey argues the need to mitigate climate change is well known, as is the importance of trees and other vegetation, but the link to soil quality is not so well appreciated and the link to climate change is rarely made.
Soil and carbon sequestration feature as one of Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s top five priorities, but the Mulvey paper argues carbon sequestration is just part of the journey and the real benefits are in keeping the soil cooler and in the process increasing local rain.
Carbon storage is just part of the game. It’s the benefit to the soil quality which really counts because it provides for more life in the soil through better water creation and capture.
The focus on carbon capture is fine — that’s the offtake — but Mulvey is focused on the basic architecture.
Trouble is it’s hard to measure and some say a difficult concept to manage.
He is developing an app to do just that.
Mulvey, the founder of Environmental Earth Sciences International (EESI) says the starting point should be a national program with a comprehensive national soil capability statement so we know what remediation is needed where to help combat the fact that the loss of organic matter from soil increases heat from the land.
“Put simply, poor land management (though done with the best intentions) generates excess heat, which is part of the major cause of global warming and climate change, and greenhouse gases which trap and hold heat in the atmosphere is part of the effect,” he argues.
“The fact that loss of vegetative cover and hence loss of organic matter in soil causes the loss of the small water cycle (responsible for between 30 per cent to 70 per cent of rainfall), and influences continental weather patterns by extending hot spells, is not understood,” Mulvey says.
“Sick exposed soil is a vital and under-recognised aspect of climate change,” he adds.
Excessive farming and use of chemical fertilisers has helped destroy vegetation in the soil, which in turn cuts the local rain cycle.
The landmark reference is the 750km rabbit-proof fence in WA which on one side is agricultural and with low organic matter and on the other managed natural vegetation, which in turn gets 30 per cent more rain.
Overall organic matter in soil across the country is estimated to have fallen from 2.5 per cent to 0.8 per cent.
Mulvey notes “soil organic matter improves soil infiltration, reduces run-off, reduces erosion, minimises sensible heat, reduces temperature variation, increases available moisture to plants, adsorbs many toxins, protects and anchors plants, filters groundwater and with vegetative cover, creates the small water cycle, which minimises the impact of drought.”
The need for vegetative cover to help absorb carbon is well known but the link to improved soil quality and its impact on global warming is not stated as often.
The solution to the problem starts with a better understanding of the impact of land use on the soil for both conservation and climate reasons.
Land zoning rules are an obvious way to improve soil quality but a further step is to regulate land banking to ensure land waiting to be used for building is managed well to maximise soil quality.
This means getting rid of native pests, weeding out invasive species and regular burning.
Mulvey argues “securing our soil is not only crucial to preserving the clean water we drink, the food that we eat, the air we breathe but also and regulating our climate, reducing extremes in weather and long-term precipitation loss, which precedes global temperature increases.”
His aim is to broaden the climate debate and emphasise the importance of soil.
Investors pay the price
Some $500m or close to 10 per cent of its value was wiped from Cleanaway in the last two days in the wake of news chief Vik Bansal is leaving to take up the top post at Sanjeev Gupta’s Infrabuild.
Bansal’s close to six year reign had seen the market value increase by a factor of four.
His loss plus uncertainty over who will fill the gap is the reason for the price slump.
The saga is a classic example of corporate governance surrounding a chief who had demonstrably been the prime mover in the value creation. In the wake of bullying allegations which appeared in the press last September, Cleanaway chair Mark Chellew and his board made it clear it found Bansal’s behaviour wanting on occasion and this was spelt out on an accompanying market statement.
Bansal was unimpressed at the lack of support.
Like many successful chief executives, Bansal was not short of other offers and in the wake of the perceived lack of board support these alternatives looked a lot brighter .
The end result being Chellew is now acting chief and Bansal is about to return to his old stamping ground running the old OneSteel, now called Infrabuild.
He clearly has market support, which is a boost for Infrabuild’s proposed mid-year listing and puts the heat on Chellew to find a suitable replacement given succession planning wasn’t well enough advanced.
Depending on which side of the fence you sit, Chellew did the right thing but holding Bansal to account for admitted behavioural lapses or his error has cost shareholders big time.
The end result being Bansal is about to step into a new CEO role and Chellew is looking for a new boss.
Speedy convertibles
Convertible notes are coming to the fore — in part because interest rates are low and equity prices inflated, along with the increase in technology stocks on the bourse.
Technology stocks offer the hope of more upside, which allows conversion prices to be on the high side.
Washington H Soul Pattinson and twin Brickworks are not technology stocks, but the former has raised $225m with a low coupon price of 0.62 per cent in an issue handled by UBS.
Investors often short the physical stock when buying convertibles, and in this case the so-called delta came from Brickworks offering 6.4 million Soul Pattinson shares at $27.99 a share.
Typically the delta comes from stock already on loan.
Flight Centre, Webjet and Xero are among the convertible issuers in the last couple of years but there will be more to come.
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