Latest climate change news
Britain stands with all vulnerable countries in pursuing a fair deal in Copenhagen (10/11/2009)
Douglas Alexander, International Development Secretary and Mohamed Nasheed, President of the Maldives jointly published an op-ed on pursuing a fair deal at Copenhagen is necessary in responding to the irreversible catastrophic human crisis that climate change brings us. Read moreClimate map shows impacts if we fail to limit dangerous climate change (22/10/2009)
A new map illustrating the global consequences of failing to keep climate change to under 2 degrees Celsius was launched on 22 October 2009 by the UK Government. With just 45 days to go before international climate change talks begin in Copenhagen, British ministers are pressing for the most ambitious deal possible in order to avoid these dangerous impacts. Read moreCopenhagen Needs Carbon Capture and Storage, by Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (21/10/2009)
With less than than 50 days to go until Copenhagen, two sets of international climate talks took centre stage in London in recent weeks. China was a key participant in both events. Ministers from 20 countries - including China - came together to tackle one of the most pressing challenges to a global deal on climate change: coal. For people who are concerned about the climate as well as keeping the lights on, coal is the fuel we must clean up. Read the full articleHong Kong SAR Policy Address 2009-2010 (14/10/2009)
Hong Kong Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang presented the Policy Address 2009-2010 to the Legislative Council on 14 October 2009. Mr Tsang reported the progress of existing green polices and set out the way forward for energy efficiency, air quality, promotion of electric vehicles, cleaner manufacturing, green procurement and waste management. Read moreNew business guidelines on GHG (02/10/2009)
The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) published new guidance to help businesses and organisations measure and tackle greenhouse gas emissions – alongside advice on what it means to be carbon neutral.
Businesses produce a significant proportion of the UK’s GHG emissions and have a direct role to play in helping the UK meet its climate change commitments. The UK has committed to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 under the Climate Change Act 2008. One of the requirements of the Climate Change Act 2008 was to publish guidance to help organisations report on the emissions that they are responsible for.
The guidance is based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which is the internationally recognised standard for corporate accounting and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the World Resources Institute/World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Organisations can measure and report on all emissions that they are responsible for – both direct emissions and indirect emissions on a voluntary basis. It is aimed at all sizes of business as well as public and third sector organisations. Read more
UK climate scientists presented new findings on '4 degrees and beyond' (01/10/2009)
Leading UK climate scientists have presented new research findings at a conference entitled '4 degrees and beyond' at the University of Oxford in late September. Conference Convener Dr Mark New from the Oxford University School of Geography and the Environment told Act On Copenhagen: “Since the late 1990s, greenhouse gas emissions have increased at close to the most extreme IPCC scenarios, meaning that rates of warming will be faster than most people expect”.The UK’s Met Office showed that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise unchecked, it is likely that global warming could exceed 4 degrees by the end of the century.These findings represent the latest science and are the last major scientific announcement in advance of the Copenhagen climate change conference in December, 2009. Limiting the global average temperature increase to 2 degrees is a difficult challenge but is achievable if the world takes early action to limit greenhouse gas emissions. These findings form the basis for the UK's emissions targets, as well as our international negotiations ahead of Copenhagen. Read more
More detail on the keynote presentations is available at http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/4degrees/keynote.php
Prime Minister spoke at UN General Secretary Assembly: Climate change is one of the five major global challenges (23/09/2009)
The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, addressed the UN General Assembly and called for a progressive multilateralism aimed at creating a truly global society. He highlighted climate change as the first of five major global challenges.
He called for a swift and concerted action to climate change. "If we do not reach a deal at Copenhagen, if we miss this opportunity to protect our planet, we cannot hope for a second chance some time in the future. There will be no retrospective global agreement to undo the damage we will have caused. This is the moment, now, to limit and reverse the climate change we are inflicting on future generations. Not later, at another conference, in another decade, after we have lost ten years to inaction and delay."
"A post-2012 agreement on climate change at Copenhagen is the next great test of our global cooperation. Each of us has a duty of leadership to make it happen. We must build on our discussions at Secretary-General Ban’s meeting,’ Mr. Brown said.
He proposed an additional flow of financing action against climate change, from the public and private sectors, of around $100 billion a year by 2020 to help the most vulnerable countries. ‘Climate change is a terrible injustice. It has been caused almost entirely by the richest countries, but its earliest and most damaging effects will fall – and are already falling – on the poorest.’ In addition, a post-Kyoto Protocol agreement on climate change at Copenhagen would be the next test of global cooperation. Read more
Prime Minister offers to go to Copenhagen (22/09/2009)
The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has become the first world leader to offer to go to the crucial climate change negotiations this December. The PM is expected to urge fellow leaders to do the same.The UN Copenhagen talks are due to be attended only by environment ministers. But Mr. Brown believes that the issues are so momentous, so complex and so likely to determine the shape of national economies and that the meeting will require the attendance of world leaders in the final set of negotiations for the post-2012 era.
The Copenhagen talks (which would become a summit should Heads of State attend) are essential for not only avoiding climate chaos, but also to help kick-start a global low-carbon economy. Gordon Brown believes that economies which embrace green revolution the earliest will reap the greatest economic rewards. Read more
UK’s regional carbon footprints released (17/09/2009)
New national climate change statistics revealing the carbon dioxide emissions of every single part of the UK in 2007 were published. The statistics calculate the climate impact of the energy used by homes, businesses and road transport in each local authority area throughout England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The methodology forms a useful basis for monitoring progress of achieving domestic and international targets.
The statistics revealed that
- The UK has already reduced its emissions by 21% on 1990 levels and is committed to a reduction of at least 34% by 2020
- In today’s results the UK’s overall CO2 emissions dropped by 2% between 2005 and 2007
- Emissions have fallen in 335 out of the 434 local authorities in the UK
- The North East had the highest emissions per person at 12.5 tonnes in 2007 but had the largest reduction between 2005 and 2007
- Greater London had the least CO2 emissions per person at 6 tonnes in 2007
The UK government supports householders and businesses to tackle climate change through a number of initiatives. For example, around £350 million will be spent by energy companies over the next three years to deliver whole house, whole street energy makeovers concentrating on some of the most vulnerable people in the UK through the Community Energy Saving Programme. On the business side, the Carbon Reduction Commitment will come in to force in 2010 and interest free loans of up to £400,000 are currently available from the Carbon Trust for small and medium size businesses. Read the press release
Lord Nicholas Stern spoke in Beijing on Global Action on ‘Climate Change: Copenhagen and China 12th Year Plan’ (11/09/2009)
In a speech of 11 September to students and academics at Renmin University in Beijing, Lord Nicholas Stern said, "China can be a global leader on persuading developed countries to perform their obligation and responsibility". Lord Stern explained that there would be a 50% chance of a global 5 degree temperature rise. Such a rise would, he argued, lead to massive migration of human beings and devastating impacts to the ecosystem. Lord Stern concluded that with a low carbon economy, we could fight climate change and its associated impacts on poverty levels. The script of the speech is available in simplified Chinese on the website of Hexun News.
‘Copenhagen: In the balance’ warned by UK’s Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (08/09/2009)
The British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband warned that the coming Copenhagen climate deal is in balance. The two politicians held a press conference at the UN Climate Change Conference on 8 September 2009 highlighting the real danger that the December talks may not reach a positive outcome and the equal danger that people won’t wake up to the danger until it is too late.
In the briefing, the two Ministers spoke of the pressing need to remind people of what is at stake and the need to mobilise the resources of international diplomacy behind the drive for a deal. The key test for a successful deal is whether we can limit global temperature increases to no more than 2 degrees.
The Foreign Secretary highlighted the links between climate change as a foreign policy issue, an environmental issue and an economic issue using a world map to illustrate some of the key risks if the temperatures were to increase by 4 degrees. He stressed that foreign policy is about the management and if possible, the reduction of risk; and climate change massively increases risk.
Ed Mililband set out three key elements to achieving the two degree goal in the post-2012 agreement and ensuring global emissions have peaked and have begun their decline within the next decade. These are: the need to agree stretching mid-term targets from developed countries to dramatically reduce their emissions; significant action from rapidly developing countries to limit their future emissions growth; and a need to find a fair, durable way of paying for action to reduce emissions and help countries adapt to climate change. Read more
The 4 degree world map. Please click here
Energy and Climate Change Minister admired the success of West Midland’s business in going low carbon (04/09/2009)
Speaking at the West Midlands Business Council, the UK's Energy and Climate Change Minister Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, praised West Midlands’ business for the positive way in which it had adapted to face the challenges of the recession and climate change.
Lord Hunt discussed the opportunities that the growing low carbon sector is already providing in the West Midlands. Despite the economic downturn, the low carbon sector of the West Midlands accounts for some £8.4 billion of the region’s economy, and is expected to grow by around 4% in the next year. This will be reflected in a growth in employment in green industries by up to 45% to 2015.
Lord Hunt also pledged that the Government would continue to do everything it could to ensure a reliable and cost effective energy supply for business, particularly in these tough economic times. He referred to the roadmap of the UK’s Low Carbon Transition Plan which builds on this strong foundation to put us in a prime position to take advantage of these low carbon opportunities. Read more
UK Transport Secretary promotes low carbon transport in Hong Kong (24/08/2009)
UK Secretary of State for Transport, Lord Andrew Adonis, visited Mainland China, South Korea and Hong Kong from 19 to 24 August 2009. During his trip to Mainland China and Hong Kong, he held discussions about the impact of transport emissions and heard about efforts to reduce them. He also promoted business opportunities for UK transport business in Mainland China and Hong Kong. Read more
Read more on "Policies and plans on low carbon vehicles in the UK"
Workshop on Climate Projections and the Economics of Climate Change - a South China roadshow (10/08/2009)
The Workshop on Climate Projections and the Economics of Climate Change, supported by the Hong Kong Observatory, was successfully held on 10 August 2009 in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong workshop formed part of a roadshow which took place across south China, in Guangzhou, Haikou and Nanning. The purpose of this workshop was to foster experience sharing between the UK and local climate change experts and stakeholders. The workshop was well attended by a range of stakeholders including experts in meteorology and economics and representatives from the HKSAR Government, policy think tanks, non-governmental organizations, private sector and academia. Read more
Carbon Trading Vital to Climate Success (20/07/2009)
A new report, commissioned by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, concludes that a global carbon trading network is vital to preventing dangerous climate change.
The Global Carbon Trading report, by the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Carbon Trading, Mark Lazarowicz MP, looks at the role that cap and trade systems can play as part of the global response to preventing dangerous climate and the steps needed to expand and link trading systems over the next decade. It makes clear that without a global system for carbon trading, the ability of countries to avoid dangerous climate change will be limited and the costs of action will increase.
Mr. Lazarowicz MP said: “Cap and trade is indeed a powerful tool for tackling climate change; it can guarantee the level of emission reductions and so it does that in a cost effective way; it puts a price on carbon which directs the market failure; it can guarantee quantified emissions reductions because of it.”
Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate change added: “To make carbon markets work best in tackling climate change, we need a global network, building on the EU emissions trading system and plans in the US and Australia.”
This report proposes action in developed countries at two levels - ambitious national targets and a network of linked cap and trade systems for emitters. Read more
New UK Energy Expansion Plan (15/07/2009)
The British Government has outlined plans for major expansion and investment in renewable energy as part of its Low Carbon Transition Plan.
The newly published Renewable Energy Strategy sets out how the government can secure around 30% of electricity from wind, marine and other renewable sources. The UK’s Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband, said Britain was already a global leader in many new clean energy initiatives, and renewables, nuclear, clean fossil fuels were the trinity of low carbon and the future of energy in Britain. The following specific funding and commitments were made to support the clean energy sector:
- up to 60 million pounds to build wave and tidal industry
- up to 120 million pounds to support the growth of a world leading offshore wind industry in Britain
- up to four carbon capture and storage projects
Mr. Miliband also believes that it is right to go ahead with new nuclear power stations. The government will publish the National Policy Statements on nuclear and other energy issues in the autumn, and the industry is planning at least 12.4GW of new stations, more than current existing capacity.
The Strategy also sets out how individuals and communities play a role in promoting renewable energy. Among the new schemes is a ‘pay as you save’ programme for homeowners enabling them to receive loans to insulate their houses. Watch the Video
Read more on the Renewable Energy Strategy (RES)
Read the press release on the Low Carbon Transition Plan: statement to the House of Commons
UK’s Low Carbon Transition Plan (15/07/2009)
The UK’s Low Carbon Transition Plan is an economy-wide strategy to help convert the UK into a permanent low carbon economy. It details how the UK will meet its own domestic climate targets – as set in law in the world’s first Climate Change Act, to cut emissions by 34 per cent by 2020 based on 1990 levels.
The Low Carbon Transition Plan will domestically achieve the followings goals by 2020:
- More than 1.2 million people will be in green jobs
- 7 million homes will have energy makeovers, and over 1.5 million households will be supported to produce their own clean energy
- 40% of electricity will be from low carbon sources, from renewables, nuclear and clean coal
- We will be importing half the amount of gas that we otherwise would
- The average new car will emit 40% less carbon than now.
Read Op-Ed of Ed Miliband and Press Notice
Read more on UK’s Low Carbon Transition Plan and Download The Low Carbon Transition Plan (PDF, 3.79MB)
Foreign Office Minister on Climate Change (10/07/2009)
A Britain Foreign Office Minister, Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, spoke at the International Parliamentary Conference on Climate Change in London and highlighted that the Commonwealth leaders had a critical role in shaping collective policies ahead of December’s Copenhagen Climate Change Summit.
Lord Mark Malloch-Brown suggested that hard figures for real financial contributions from developed countries are required to help developing countries meeting the climate change challenge. He spelt out how British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had set up a fund of £100 billion a year from 2013 to tackle climate change. Lord Malloch-Brown recapped the Stern Review which tells us inaction will result in a cost equivalent to 5-20% of global GDP, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change can limit it to 1-2%of global GDP each year.
He also expected that climate equity would be a key issue at the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting in November. The CHOGM meeting will play a key role for rich and poor nations to agree on collective preparing for the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change. Watch the video
G8 agreed on a 2C goal with a Joint Declaration issued at Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (10/07/2009)
The G8 summit was held in the city of L’ Aquila from 8-10July to discuss international challenges. The G8 agreed for the first time that it should collectively cut emissions by 80% by 2050, and that the world should be able to cut its emissions by 50% by the same date to cap global warming within 2C to prevent dangerous climate change.
This is believed to be a major step forward towards reaching an agreement at Copenhagen later this year. Both developed and developing countries will have to demonstrate that their actions and commitments are consistent with this scientific framework. To prevent catastrophic climate change, all nations should take action now. Economically advanced developing countries like China must also act quickly to make significant reductions in their emissions against “business as usual”.
A joint declaration on climate change and energy security issued at Major Economies Forum following G8 summit. 16 government leaders and the EU Commission recognised both developed and developing countries have committed to 2C as the goal. For the first time, developing countries have committed to undertaking low carbon development plans and to peaking their emissions as soon as possible.
In the joint declaration, new commitments to collaborate on development, dissemination and transfer of transformational low carbon technologies, like solar, carbon capture and storage, low carbon vehicles were stated. Financial resources for mitigation and adaptation will need to be scaled up. A commitment to further consider proposal for establishment of international funding arrangements was also made.
Read more about Major Economies Forum Key achievements
More information on G8 Summit 2009
Read the Declaration of the Leaders the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate
UK’s new white paper on International Development – ‘Building our Common Future’ (06/07/2009)
The UK’s Department of International Development (DFID) recently issued a new White Paper, Building our Common Future, outlining how the UK will assist the developing countries to deal with the challenges of global economic and climate crises.
Douglas Alexander, UK International Development Secretary, said the new poverty action plan would bring help to the 50 million people worst hit by the global recession and climate change. The White Paper reaffirms the UK Government’s commitment to contribute to a $100bn fund to help developing countries tackle climate change and provide funding over and above existing aid commitments - a key step on the path to Copenhagen.
Please visit DFID website for more information.
£3.5 billion on energy efficiency and 'whole house' green makeovers for British homes (30/06/2009)
A total of £3.5billion in energy efficiency improvements by the end of 2012 will be available to UK’s householders due to an increase in the Government’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) scheme and the introduction of a new Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP). This delivers a major part of the Prime Minister’s Home Energy Savings Programme that ensures people can save money and save energy, as well as reducing emissions.
Minister of State in the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Joan Ruddock said that home energy efficiency and community-level solutions are important parts in achieving our long term goals on climate change. Read More
UK government launched three new climate change initiatives (26/06/2009)
On 26 June 2009 the UK government launched three new climate change initiatives:
- The UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, made a speech proposing new elements of a global climate finance package;
- The UK government launched its climate manifesto: the ‘Road to Copenhagen’; and
- The UK government launched a new Act on Copenhagen website that presents the UK's position on the climate change negotiations in the lead up to Copenhagen. Read More
Ed Miliband on priorities ahead of Copenhagen (19/06/2009)
See an interview with British Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, where he discusses the UK's climate change ambitions in the context of the Major Economies Forum (MEF) in Mexico. Watch the video
Scientists warn Britain is facing dangerous climate change (19/06/2009)
The UK published on 18 June a set of projections showing how our climate might change - based on cutting-edge science. Read more
UK’s Business Secretary calls for a partnership between business and government(05/06/2009)
The UK government believes investment in climate change policies can help the economy recover from recession. In a speech on the politics of climate change, the Business Secretary, Lord Peter Mandelson, called for a partnership between business and government to secure a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. At the most fundamental level this can mean intervening in the market to shift to low-carbon technologies resulting a short-term cost, and to a level that forces a genuine change in behaviour of customers and businesses.
A long-term strategic approach from government; a pragmatic approach to the role of both markets and the state; and a recognition on climate change targets, are the three basic principles for a positive environment for low-carbon business. Watch the video
