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The Big Climate Connection 5/6 November 2010 Detailed asks
Why? The markets alone will not deliver a transformation to a low carbon economy. Early adoption of stringent carbon reduction targets coupled with appropriate investment stimulus will enable the UK to secure a position as a world leader in the manufacture of low carbon technologies. Economies such as our own with relatively high per-capita carbon outputs must demonstrate leadership in reducing emissions in order to create the necessary political will to persuade others to follow. What is needed? Put in place measures to achieve a rapid decarbonisation of the power sector
The Committee on Climate Change that advises government has stated that a rapid decarbonisation of the power sector is necessary with emissions reduced to 50% of the current levels by 2020. Yet the government is set to approve applications for new coal-fired power stations. Stop Climate Chaos is calling for an Emissions Performance Standard to be set so that emissions from individual power stations do not exceed 350g/CO2 per KWhr by 2020 (compared to 800–900 at present) with this standard getting tougher over time. Proposals for a new Emissions Performance Standard were supported by the Liberal Democrats and Conservative parties as recently as February 2010 yet the coalition government has declined to include such measures in the Energy Bill to be brought before Parliament by the end of 2010. Establish a Green Investment Bank to deliver a rapid transition to a low carbon economy
The Green New Deal Group calculate that £10 billion of green investment would re-skill 1.5 million people, bring 120,000 people back into the workforce and increase the earnings of those on low incomes by more than £15 billion. www.neweconomics.org/projects/green-new-deal This will require a Green Investment Bank funded with least £4 to £6 billion over the course of the next 4 years. A total of £500 billion of investment is required from industry if we are to meet our 2020 climate change and renewable energy targets. Ensure that homes in the UK are properly insulated Because of poor insulation around £1 of every £4 spent on heating in many UK homes is wasted. It clearly makes sense to insulate our homes to a much higher standard, cutting pollution, saving lives and cutting NHS costs and eradicating fuel poverty. Incentives to ensure adequate insulation would create new jobs. Stop Climate Chaos state that a programme to bring the homes of the fuel poor alone up to a high standard would sustain over 35,000 jobs.
See Friends of the Earth Briefing: Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for Private Rented Homes www.foe.org.uk Stop Climate Chaos is also calling for a strong Green Deal using the pay as you save approach and other supportive measures to ensure there are no homes below Band D by 2020 and 7 million homes in the UK have had an energy efficiency makeover reducing their emissions by at least 60 per cent. Ask your MP to press for the above measures to be incorporated in the UK Energy Bill to be announced in Parliament in November 2010
Why? Only a legally binding ‘Kyoto-style' agreement will provide confidence that Governments will meet their aspirations. Such confidence is necessary if the private sector is to raise meaningful and sustained investment in energy conservation and deliver low-carbon technologies. What is needed? Insist on a legally binding global deal in international negotiations The Kyoto Protocol will expire in 2013. It seems unlikely that a binding treaty could be achieved in the forthcoming UNFCCC meeting in Cancun, Mexico, in December 2010. The next major summit will be in South Africa in December in 2011. Our government must continue to press the United States, China and other large emitters to agree a legally binding global deal based on the action necessary to keep average global temperature rises well below 2 degrees. See www.wwf.org.uk/ Ask your MP what they might do to over the course of the coming year to ensure that when the Kyoto Protocol expires it is replaced by a further binding global agreement. Adopt a UK 2020 target emissions reduction target of 42%
The UK Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee has called on the Government to adopt a 42% target to demonstrate leadership in Europe. The UK must continue to press the EU to adopt a 2020 target of at least 30% irrespective of commitments of the US and China. Christian Aid and others have called for the EU to move to a 2020 target of 40%. Don't allow industrialised nations to duck their responsibility through the use of carbon credits
The Clean Development Mechanism enables companies or governments to invest in mitigation projects in developing countries (for example switching a factory's source of power from fossil fuels to biomass) and in return allows the investor (either a company or government) to set this against their emissions reduction commitment in the UK or elsewhere. The rationale for this offset action relies on an assumption that a kilogram of carbon emitted in the UK is equivalent to a kilogram of carbon saved elsewhere. The difficulty is that many CDM projects to date have not been able to demonstrate that the project would not have been undertaken anyway. Often investment is made within the context of an investors own company operations and therefore offers financial returns to the investor anyway. Therefore many CDM projects simply offer industrialised countries an opportunity to duck our responsibility to reduce emissions without offering tangible additional carbon savings. The UK and EU should limit the use of the CDM offsets to gold standard CDM projects only. See WWF Gold Standard at:- wwf.panda.org/ If global temperatures are to be stabilised below 2 degrees (the stated intention of the UK Climate Change Act) industrialised countries must make rapid and substantial reductions in their carbon emissions. For further reading see: - Christian Aid “ The role of Carbon Markets in countering climate change ” Copenhagen Briefing no. 3 August 2009. Ask your MP to press the Secretary of State for Climate Change to ensure that, even if the UK were to adopt the most stringent national targets under consideration, we do not use CDM offset credits to meet our obligations as currently these credits cannot demonstrate real carbon reductions.
Why? The climate change that we have experienced to date has arisen largely due to the use of fossil fuels by industrialized nations. Meanwhile the impacts will be felt most acutely by economically disadvantaged nations who have contributed least to the problem. What is needed? Ensure that climate finance pledges are additional to that already promised, predictable and sustainable long-term and based primarily on grants not loans Through the Copenhagen Accord developed countries agreed to increase funding for mitigation and adaptation to US$ 100 billion per year by 2020 using new and additional funding (others advise that double this amount of funding is required). This funding should be over and above the 0.7% of GDP commitment that developed countries have already made to finance in support of the Millennium Development Goals. To provide a predictable and sustained flow of in finance new sources of revenue and taxation are required. It is anticipated that funding could be obtained from various sources including: - 1. from the allocation of national carbon allowances to the private sector through auction. Auction revenues should be set aside to provide finance to support developing countries adaptation and mitigation plans. 2. through an international tax on shipping and aviation fuel. 3. Many campaigners have supported the Robin Hood Tax proposals which would raise funds from a levy on the banking sector and on currency transactions. See Robin Hood Tax www.robinhoodtax.org.uk and Tearfund action www.tearfund.org Somewhat controversially the UK Government has committed to provide via the Department for International Development (DfID) £500 million of new money through World Bank concessionary loans. Inevitably loans will only contribute a small proportion of the climate finance required and are better suited to mitigation projects (such as investment in renewable energy generation) than adaptation. The Least Developed Countries will require substantial financial support for low carbon development and cannot afford to take on further debts. See World Development Movement's “ No new debt” campaign www.wdm.org.uk Oxfam: Climate Finance Post-Copenhagen: The $100 billion questions Ask your MP to Press the Chancellor to ensure that a proportion of the revenue from the proposed Bank Taxes (and any future Financial Transaction Tax) is used to provide a sustainable source of revenue for climate finance.
For further reading Baptist, Methodist and URC resources Quaker resources Stop Climate Chaos lobby pack www.stopclimatechaos.org/files/bcc_lobbypack_web.pdf
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The worst performing homes in terms of energy efficiency are twice as common in the private rental sector. It is therefore proposed that a legal minimum energy efficiency standard is introduced for the private rented sector so that by 2016 at the latest, no home with an energy performance rating below Bands F & G (the most unhealthy homes) can be let without being improved to a higher standard. 
The Climate Change (Scotland) Act recently committed Scotland to a 2020 emissions reduction target of 42%. Germany has adopted a 2020 target of 40%. 
Carbon credits are used by industrialized countries to offset domestic carbon reductions. Carbon credits can be obtained in various ways including through the purchase of other countries surplus allowances (those traded within the EU are known as European Union Allowances or ‘EUA's) or thorough investment in Clean Development Mechanism credits. 
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