Climate Bill for Climate Change
Article published: Monday, May 19th 2008
As the world accepts climate change is unavoidable, Britain has taken the bold step of drafting the worlds first ever Climate Change bill. But what impact will it have? Ali Abbas takes a closer look.
In May 2005 environmental organisation Friends of the Earth launched The Big Ask campaign which called on government to set legally-binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In response a climate bill was drafted and is expected to become law later this year.
Campaigners welcomed the proposed legislation as a a positive step but, they say, it is still not good enough. In fact Gordon Browns Climate Change Bill was singled out as not consistent with the objective of avoiding climate change in the UN Human Development Report.
The bill fails our environment for three reasons.
First of all, the bill puts no emission target on international aviation and shipping, our two fastest-growing carbon dioxide emitters. But it includes lower polluters like trains. This creates a perverse state of affairs. It means we would be more likely to meet the targets in the bill if we closed the Channel Tunnel and forced all Eurostar passengers to fly.
Next off, the bill sets an outdated target for emission reductions. The current target plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions by at least 60 per cent by 2050, despite the fact that the latest science tells us we have to aim for cuts of 80 per cent. Gordon Brown has admitted as much. In a speech in November he said, the evidence now suggests that … developed countries may have to reduce their emissions by up to 80 per cent. However, the government inexplicably wants to leave the target as 60 per cent in the bill and review it later after it has become law.
Finally, there are no milestones to measure government progress included in the bill, although on this score there is some good news in the form of an amendment which requires ministers to publish an indicative annual range for carbon emissions each year. A range falls short of a specific target, but it will at least provide the means to ensure that the government stays on track to meet the long-term targets in the bill.
The answers are easy: set a target which follows the recommendations, give a means to hold the government to it and reign in the big polluters. Otherwise, the only thing that will change is the climate.
More: Manchester
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