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Policy and Politics
The science shows the scale and impact of the
problem. The practical
solutions exist to solve it, and the economics shows
that this would
be cost-effective. The challenge in 2007 is how to develop
the
policies and political agreement that can drive investment
in a
low-carbon economy. Every country has domestic responsibilities
to
reduce emissions. The UK priorities are in reducing energy
demand, in
particular by moving towards zero carbon homes and increasing
renewable and low-carbon fuels, in electricity, heating
and
transport. In India, there are immense opportunities
in renewable
energy, biofuels and carbon capture and storage. But
every country
also has international responsibilities - responsibilities
that are
'common but differentiated'. The greatest responsibility
falls on the
wealthiest countries to help with adaptation and help
pay the
difference between high-carbon and low carbon industrialisation.
But
every country must play its it part.
The UK will be demonstrating its international responsibilities
in
four areas:
First, by showing leadership in
adopting binding legislative
commitments to reduce its own emissions. We will be introducing
a
Climate Change Bill that will establish in legislation
our goal of
reducing C02 emissions by 60 per cent by 2050.
Second, the UK will be pushing for deep cuts across
the European
Union. We support a 30% cut by industrialised countries
to 2020 and
welcome the European Commission's proposal for a unilateral
commitment to 20% cuts by 2020 - as a springboard to
more ambitious
action. Delivering this commitment through emissions
trading,
including through the use of the Clean Development Mechanism
will
release large scale and sustained investment in industrialising
countries.
Third, technology transfer. The UK-India collaboration
to identify
barriers to technology transfer. It will help forge a
common vision
on international technology cooperation, including the
role of the
UNFCCC in catalysing development and commercial deployment
of low
carbon technology within developing countries such as
India. The
Clean Energy Investment Framework is a major initiative
that has the
potential to significantly increase public and private
investment in
alternative sources of energy, energy efficiency and
adaptation to
climate change. As indigenous coal makes up nearly half
the energy
used for power generation in India, the development of
demonstration
projects for Carbon Capture and Storage must be a critical
priority.
Fourth, the UK will be focusing on helping industrialising
countries
adapt to the climate change already in train as a result
of
industrialised countries emissions. Through the Clean
Energy
Investment Framework, the World Bank and Regional Development
Banks,
we will help developing countries in adapting to climate
change.
2007 will be a critical year.
Over the next 12 months, we want to
promote a debate about a goal for stabilising climate
change and the
key building blocks of a future international framework.
This must be
part of the agenda at the G8 + 5 meeting of Environment
Ministers in
Potsdam in March, the G8 + 5 Summit in Heiligendamm in
June, leading
to the Gleneagles Dialogue with Energy and Environment
Ministers in
September.
Without greater clarity on what
we are trying to achieve in the long term, it is very unlikely
that our short term efforts will put us on
the right path. A long term goal would guide action to
tackle both
emissions and the impacts of climate change. It would
send a signal
to the private sector who have a key role in delivering
low carbon
technologies. It would guide planning for adaptation
- critical for
those developing countries that suffer from the impacts
of climate
change most.
If we are to make progress, we must recognise that climate
change is
part of a wider set of goals around economic security,
energy
security and national security. It will require the engagement
not
just of environmental ministries but heads of state,
prime ministers
and finance ministries.
Conclusion
Let me finish with one stark fact.
If everyone in the world were to
consume natural resources and generate carbon dioxide
at the rate we
do in the UK, we'd need three planets to support us. We
need instead
to move towards a one-planet economy and one planet living
- where
there is balance between what we give and what we take.
And we need
to so quickly. Within the next two decades, global
emissions must
peak and begin to decline. There are difficult
issues we face and
must debate. But unless we find a way to forge an international
framework that delivers emissions reductions, we will
face colossal
humanitarian and financial damage, much of which will
be felt in
the poorest nations. We cannot afford to fail.
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