This publication contains oral and written evidence taken before the Committee in their inquiry into the Government's Climate Change Programme announced in March 2006 (in its White Paper 'Tomorrow's Climate, Today's Challenge' Cm. 6764, ISBN 0101676425). It includes contributions from officials from Defra, the Confederation of British Industry, the UK Sustainable Development Commission, Greater London Authority and local authorities.
This programme sets out the Government's policies and priorities for action on climate change in the UK and internationally. The first section examines the nature and scale of the challenge posed by climate change. It describes the existing international framework for action, including the G8 and EU meetings and resulting plans of action. The Government intends to build on these developments, and also try to influence the rapidly growing economies of India, China, Brazil and others so that they evolve as low-carbon economies. The major part of the report is concerned with the UK's attempt to deliver the Kyoto Protocol target of reducing emissions of six greenhouse gases by 12.5 per cent below base year levels over the 2008-2012 period, and also the domestic goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010. Projections indicate that CO2 reduction by 2010 will only be some 10.6 per cent below the 1990 level. Sections on the UK emission inventory and projections, the strategy to reduce emissions, and the energy supply sector, are followed by chapters covering particular economic sectors: business; transport, domestic; agriculture and forestry; the public sector. Among policies outlined here are: encouragement of microgeneration and renewable sources of energy; investigation of carbon capture and storage; support for energy efficiency in business, local and central government; increase uptake of biofuels; include aviation in the emissions trading scheme for the EU from 2008; raise energy standards of new and refurbished buildings; introduce the Code for Sustainable Homes; strengthen consumer demand for energy efficiency. The Government also sets out its approach to encourage personal action, as citizens, consumers, motorists and business people. Provision of better information to the public, including an online service on the environmental impact of everyday products and services, will be supplemented by a plan for action on sustainable consumption by the end of 2006.
Climate change resulting from CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions poses a huge threat to human welfare. To contain that threat, the world needs to cut emissions by about 50 per cent by 2050, and to start cutting emissions now. A global agreement to take action is vital. A fair global deal will require the UK to cut emissions by at least 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050. In this report, the Committee on Climate Change explains why the UK should aim for an 80 per cent reduction by 2050 and how that is attainable, and then recommends the first three budgets that will define the path to 2022. But the path is attainable at manageable cost, and following it is essential if the UK is to play its fair part in avoiding the far higher costs of harmful climate change. Part 1 of the report addresses the 2050 target. The 80 per cent target should apply to the sum of all sectors of the UK economy, including international aviation and shipping. The costs to the UK from this level of emissions reduction can be made affordable - estimated at between 1-2 per cent of GDP in 2050. In part 2, the Committee sets out the first three carbon budgets covering the period 2008-22, and examines the feasible reductions possible in various sectors: decarbonising the power sector; energy use in buildings and industry; reducing domestic transport emissions; reducing emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases; economy wide emissions reductions to meet budgets. The third part of the report examines wider economic and social impacts from budgets including competitiveness, fuel poverty, security of supply, and differences in circumstances between the regions of the UK.
Ending poverty and stabilizing climate change will be two unprecedented global achievements and two major steps toward sustainable development. But the two objectives cannot be considered in isolation: they need to be jointly tackled through an integrated strategy. This report brings together those two objectives and explores how they can more easily be achieved if considered together. It examines the potential impact of climate change and climate policies on poverty reduction. It also provides guidance on how to create a “win-win†? situation so that climate change policies contribute to poverty reduction and poverty-reduction policies contribute to climate change mitigation and resilience building. The key finding of the report is that climate change represents a significant obstacle to the sustained eradication of poverty, but future impacts on poverty are determined by policy choices: rapid, inclusive, and climate-informed development can prevent most short-term impacts whereas immediate pro-poor, emissions-reduction policies can drastically limit long-term ones.
The second edition of this acclaimed text has been fully updated and substantially expanded to include the considerable developments (since publication of the first edition) in our understanding of the science of climate change, its impacts on biological and human systems, and developments in climate policy. Written in an accessible style, it provides a broad review of past, present and likely future climate change from the viewpoints of biology, ecology, human ecology and Earth system science. It will again prove to be invaluable to a wide range of readers, from students in the life sciences who need a brief overview of the basics of climate science, to atmospheric science, geography, geoscience and environmental science students who need to understand the biological and human ecological implications of climate change. It is also a valuable reference text for those involved in environmental monitoring, conservation and policy-making.
The Technical Paper addresses the issue of freshwater. Sealevel rise is dealt with only insofar as it can lead to impacts on freshwater in coastal areas and beyond. Climate, freshwater, biophysical and socio-economic systems are interconnected in complex ways. Hence, a change in any one of these can induce a change in any other. Freshwater-related issues are critical in determining key regional and sectoral vulnerabilities. Therefore, the relationship between climate change and freshwater resources is of primary concern to human society and also has implications for all living species. -- page vii.
Mitigation will not be sufficient for us to avoid climate change and we will need to adapt to its consequences. This book targets the development of adaptation policy in European countries with different relations between central and regional/local government.
This topical volume covers the intersection between transport and climate change, with papers from the 'Transport & Climate Change' session of the RGS-IBG conference in London, September 2010. It considers the role of transport modes at varying spatial dimensions and a range of perspectives on the relationship between transport and climate change.
