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Climate Change Bill "Too timid" says Dixon
December 12, 2007 2:55 PM
John Dixon campaigning in Cardiff on climate change with the World Development Movement
Cardiff North Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson John Dixon has called for the Labour Government's Climate Change Bill to set tougher targets, make accountability for reaching them clearer, and go further in tackling the root causes of the problem. In a statement, he outlined the measures that Lib Dems are taking at Westminster, and called for the Welsh Assembly Government to match the commitment to 100% emissions reduction by 2050.
John Dixon said "The government's introduction of the Climate Change Bill is a welcome step forward in tackling Climate Change, providing a framework for our effort to curb our carbon emissions. However there remain serious problems with the Bill. Liberal Democrats wish to ensure that the Bill enables the UK to play a fair part in the international effort to limit global temperature rises to 2 degrees Celsius. The Bill is currently going through the House of Lords and Lib Dems have tabled several key amendments which we will be working hard to have accepted.
"Scientific evidence suggests that the target of a 60% cut in emissions is too low. Both Nicholas Stern and a recent United Nations report have concluded that the UK must make cuts of at least 80% by 2050 to avoid dangerous climate change. Our own 'Zero Carbon Britain' paper proposes a 100% emissions reduction by 2050. In our amendments we are hoping to gain support for an 80% target in 2050, and a tough target of 40% by 2020. These would necessitate reductions of at least 3% per annum. The Welsh Assembly Government should be making a firm commitment to the same targets, met within the same timescale.
"I remain of the view that five year carbon budgets are simply political convenience to avoid Ministerial responsibility. With the typical term of office being only four years, these targets are designed to be NIMTO targets - Not in My Term of Office targets - and would not be worth the paper they were written on. For this reason the Lib Dems are seeking to amend the Bill to reduce the carbon budgets to three years, as well as introducing 12 month targets. We also believe the Prime Minister himself must take primary responsibility for emissions reductions.
"The Bill is too weak in a number of other areas. There is no reason why international aviation and shipping or greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide should be excluded from the Bill. The failure to address these emissions would simply allow them to grow and they must be included in the final bill. Lib Dems will also be seeking to ensure that the vast majority of reductions are not 'credits' bought in from overseas.
"Beyond the Climate Change Bill, we need both the Conservative and Labour parties to be as bold as the Liberal Democrats have been in proposing measures to promote, support and reward efforts to combat climate change. Our 'Zero Carbon Britain' paper includes proposals such as our Green Tax Switch that switches the tax burden from good things like work, risk and effort to bad things like pollution. We need fairer and greener taxes, not more taxes. Proposals outlined in our recent 'Climate Change Begins at Home' paper would promote and reward greater energy efficiency in the home, reduce the carbon output of the household sector and would save the average family £385 a year from their energy bills.
"There is a need for urgent action against climate change and the need to strengthen the Climate Change Bill. Cardiff North Liberal Democrats will be working hard to ensure that the final bill is strong enough to provide a planet worth living on for our children and grandchildren."
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