The Government is circulating a draft Climate Change Bill for public consultation. Please respond to the consultation after considering the critique of the bill made in the DVD “An Incontestable Truth – Contraction and Convergence the Irreducible Response to Climate Change†published and circulated by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Changeâ€. Copies of the DVD are available from the APPGCC Chairman Colin Challen MP and it is also downloadable in Quick Time (50 MBytes) and MP4 (120 MBytes) formats. This flash file works in an MS Web Browser and Firefox [Logos touch-sensitive to advance through scenes]. If you agree with the arguments led there and supported by the eminent contributors to the DVD, we ask you to do two things: - 1. Use the public consultation to inform the government of the need to embrace the architecture of Contraction and Convergence in the Bill. 2. Write to your MP - who by now will have had a copy of the DVD from the APPGCC - asking them to support your arguments to Government in the debates on the Bill when these happen in parliament. As it stands the draft bill is presented as the UK’s response to the achieving the objective of the United Nations Climate Treaty. The objective is to cut global emissions sufficient to stabilise the rising accumulation or ‘concentration’ of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere at a value that is considered safe. The target figure in the bill will require UK citizens collectively to deliver a reduction of UK greenhouse gas emissions of 60% by 2050 by law. The bill’s intention to provide leadership in avoiding dangerous rates of global climate change is good and we support this intention. Concentrations of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere are an expression of cumulative emissions. The rate of concentrations rising is accelerating as a result of two factors: - 1. emissions from human sources – such as fossil fuel burning - are still rising, The relationship between concentrations, sources and sinks for emissions can best be understood like that of a bath [the atmosphere] into which water from a tap flows [source emissions] and from which water drains away through a plug-hole [sunk emissions]. The tap-is flowing faster than ever; the plug-hole is getting increasingly blocked and the bath is threatening to over-flow. If there is still to be any meaningful chance of achieving the objective of the UN Treaty, very deep cuts in human emissions and the restoration of natural sinks are needed globally, quickly and organised in a globally rational and equitable mechanism. The only emissions reduction mechanism that can be deployed to this purpose is Contraction and Convergence (C&C) as devised by the Global Commons Institute which already has enormous support: - www.gci.org.uk/briefings/ICE.pdf Please use the public consultation on the Bill to urge the Government in the strongest terms to adopt Contraction and Convergence without delay and please write your MP asking that person to represent your concerns on this in parliament. A leadership role on the international stage by definition requires C&C as, in the words of the Climate Treaty Secretariat the objective of the Treaty inevitably requires it. Failure to organise and achieve this imperils modern civilisation, the lives of billions of the people and the biodiversity on Earth. Aubrey Meyer |
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Campaign against Climate ChangeUK activists portal |
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FOWARD THE ABOVE LETTER TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW
Our future depends more than ever on positive action: act now. It is every citizen's duty to read the draft Climate Change Bill and to respond coherently and forcefully in the public consultation. This is the most important manifestation of democracy in action that any of will ever experience in our lifetimes. We can all help to save our planet now. Putting the UK in the vanguard of change will restore a sense of pride in our country. We were first with the Industrial Revolution; let us now be first again with the Global Revolution.
Flipside Vision
Busy...Comment Here !
Like most people I speak with about the Climate Change Bill, I really want to respond to the Consultation, but my question is, how am I going to make the time to do so ? I'm busy with everything from earning money to live on to dealing with friends going through traumatic life events. I hardly have time to answer all my mail and e-mail. Climate Change research and campaigning is what I do in my "spare" time. How many other people are there who would like to contribute but have no time ? It's all very well having consultations, but who has the time to be consulted ? And anyway, when you do respond, do you get heard ? Democracy gone mad...
Anyway, on first scan the Climate Change Bill looks as if it only risks going as far as the international community have already agreed in terms of adopting market mechanisms for Carbon Trading. There doesn't seem to be any serious proposals for policies that will nudge our Carbon Emissions down - and given that UK emissions in the UK (as opposed to UK-responsible emissions worldwide) - are rising this issue of concrete policies needs to be explicitly dealt with. What have other people found ?
My suggestion is this : if you want to comment on the Climate Change Bill during the consultation period until 12th June 2007, post your comments here, and someone (maybe me at 3am one night) will collate them and submit them as being from the Campaign against Climate Change.
Here's the background :-
http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/climatechange-bill/
Aubrey's letter formatted as easy 'email action'
I have converted Aubrey's letter into 'email alert' format. I don't have access to software for online email actions, so I've formatted it as a standard letter which people can copy, paste, edit and send to Defra, and also copy to their MP with a covering note. We will also be using the 'standard letter' at stalls in Aberdeen.
See here: http://climatechangecampaign.blogspot.com/2007/04/please-take-part-in-cl...
It's great to have lots of detailed individual responses to the Defra consultation, but numbers also matter, and a lot of people will only have time for a simple standard response.
Online click and send
for those too lazy to cut and paste,
Here's the letter in easy-peasey click-to-send style
Export of emissions abroad
I propose that if an independent body is tasked to assess UK emissions, it is is given the power to reduce or disallow emissions savings achieved by exporting emissions abroad. E.g. if heavy industry is displaced to the far east or biofuels cause increased emissions in developing countries.
I think this has brightest prospects as a Lords amendment.
multinationals are not bound
How would you police that? Many multinationals operate production facilities in different countries. It would be hard to monitor production switches. Can you give an example. Perhaps I am missing something.
Would be good to hear the views of some of the international visitors to the climate conference on May 12th on C&C.
Climate Change CACC Group Response
James Del-Gatto
The Draft Bill request answers to the specific 19 Questions dotted through the doc and placed within Section 5, the draft aks for a response from either groups or individuals. Would it be possible for CACC to generate a response to the questions on behalf of the activists, this will have the most impact on the draft bill? We could post our answers to the questions we feel comfortable responding to and between us cover all 19. I have placed the questions below from the draft bill.
Setting statutory targets
1. Is the Government right to set unilaterally a long-term legal target for reducing
CO2 emissions through domestic and international action by 60% by 2050 and a
further interim legal target for 2020 of 26-32%?
2. Is the Government right to keep under review the question of moving to a broader
system of greenhouse gas targets and budgets, and to maintain the focus at this
stage on CO2?
Carbon budgeting
3. Should the UK move to a system of carbon management based upon statutory
five-year carbon budgets set in secondary legislation?
4. Do you agree there should be at least three budget periods in statute at any one
time?
Reviewing targets and budgets
5. Do you agree there should be a power to review targets through secondary
legislation, to ensure there is sufficient flexibility in the system?
6. Are there any factors in addition to, or instead of, those already set out that
should enable a review of targets and budgets?
Counting overseas credits towards the budgets and targets
7. Do you agree that, in line with the analysis in the Stern Review and with the
operation of the Kyoto Protocol and EU ETS, effort purchased by the UK from
other countries should be eligible in contributing towards UK emissions
reductions, within the limits set under international law?
Banking
8. Do you agree it should be permissible to carry over any surplus in the budget?
Are there any specific circumstances where you consider this provision should be
withdrawn?
Borrowing
9. Do you agree that limited borrowing between budget periods should be allowed?
Compliance with carbon budgets and targets
10. Is it right that the Government should have a legal duty to stay within the limits of
its carbon budgets?
The Committee on Climate Change
The need for an independent analytical organisation
11. Do you agree that establishing an independent body will improve the institutional
framework for managing carbon in the economy?
Functions of the Committee on Climate Change
12. Do you agree that the Committee on Climate Change should have an advisory
function regarding the pathway to 2050?
13. Do you agree with the proposal that the Committee on Climate Change should
have a strongly analytical role?
Factors for the Committee on Climate Change to consider
14. Are these the right factors for the Committee on Climate Change to take into
account in assessing the emissions reduction pathway? Do you consider there
are further factors that the Committee should take into account?
Membership and composition
15. Do you agree the Committee on Climate Change should be comprised of
technical experts rather than representatives of stakeholder groups?
16. Are these the appropriate areas of expertise which should be considered? Do
you consider there are further areas that should be considered or any areas that
are less important?
Enabling Powers
Extending the suite of domestic trading schemes
17. Do you agree with the principle of taking enabling powers to introduce new
trading schemes?
Benefits and structure of enabling powers
18. Do you consider that these powers are sufficient to introduce effective new
policies via secondary legislation? If not, what changes would you make?
Reporting
The need for regular, independent monitoring of the UK’s progress
19. Do you agree that the Committee on Climate Change should be responsible for
an independent annual report on the UK’s progress towards its targets which
would incorporate reporting on a completed budget period every five years?
The official reponse form:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/climatechange-bill/