UK Will Not Make Emissions Targets

theanonymousgeographer · Black Bloc

Whats the point of these targets if we are going to admit, four years before the deadline that we are not going to make them? Did anyone actually believe we were? How can we believe any promise that our politicians make about the environment if this is the case?

Comments, ideas etc....

Dear Prudence · Black Bloc

Part of the reason we're not going to make them is because there has been a global trend of power stations using more coal for some reason. So it's not just the UK. Just because you don't make a target doesn't mean there's no point setting them
_________________
'Men make their own history, but not of their own free will; not under circumstances they themselves have chosen'
- Marx, 1852

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jenc_green · Black Bloc

of course they weren't Labour have little interest in the environment they don't give a toss and don't trust them to. Probably just ratified Kyoto for votes. Their heart is not in it by any stretch of the imagination. Emissions targets seem to be just an easy solution for politicians to make it look like they do care and are doing something. And that dissemination of information about global warming will do the trick. I for one am incredibly bored of hearing the same story on the news, and it's always the same and it can be emotive as it wants. I've got the message and it's my main concern but I'm sure whoever didn't care to start with won't care however many times they hear it. Environmental studies is my thing and I think we need a radical institutional change. Change should be bottom up not top down. We shouldn't leave it up to the government to 'take care of it'.

higuy · Black Bloc

its my view that we cant just hope parents are going to stop doing the school run in a 4x4 and thus save the world.

the worlds population is starting to realise that the fate of future generations rests now on the lifestyle choices we make. However with any big problem we need big revolutionary solutions.

society, in my opinion, is too individualistic, profit orientated and concerned with instant self-gratification. even if the labour government wanted to radically alter things they would be unable too. Governments will not risk profits by cutting emissions, people simply dont want to walk to work in the rain when they could drive.

in my mind these things must change, the solution will have to be nothing short of revolutionary. the problem is i cannot see people in the comfortable lifes accepting these things.

ZiggyMarley · Black Bloc

I think that the problem will be that even if the UK cuts down on its emissions, and the US does to other developing nations will start to increase theirs and we will have no right to tell them to stop as it is part of their development. However what we can do it help them to use non-fossil fuels whenever they can and share our knowledge with them.

jenc_green · Black Bloc

Yes cool I agree. It's hard to get people out of old habits and global warming is such an abstract concept. Maybe if people were encouraged to get involved in monitoring air quality it would be less abstract? I think the government could instigate quite a lot of change with more legislation, the congestion charge seems to work. But public transport needs to be better etc. I don't think carbon trading responsibly cuts emissions. I don't think you can put a value on nature either.

Historian · Indymedia Hound

Businesses here are actually doing quite well in staying within their guidelines on Carbon Dioxide emissions, as it is regulated (member of my family is a climate change expert). At the end of the day the problem is the public. Too much car use and a throw-away culture contributes to CO2 emissions a hell of a lot more than any kind of government legislation. If the environment was an issue that a majority of people cared about then the government would have to act on it. Because the British public is more concerned with being able to get tops for £3 in Primark, get a new mobile every six months and trying to pay as little tax as possible then the environment is far from a top political issue. Until reducing CO2 emissions is truly what the general public wants, it will not be on the political agenda above anything to do with saving the public money.

Teapotboy · Black Bloc

Historian · Indymedia Hound

What a comeback: what's next? I know you are I said you are but what am I? My dad's better than your dad?

I'd track you down and give you a good hiding, but i'm worried about the threat of static shock from those trousers.

Teapotboy · Black Bloc

jenc_green · Black Bloc

especially since Thatcher and Reagan mainly its been 'a good citizen is a good consumer' a free market ideal, so yes if the public were concerned they would supposedly convey that concern through their buying habits. But consumers usually buy the cheapest most of the time we don't have a choice. You can't say it's just the public, sustainable development does need to come from bottom-up not top down strategies for it to be conscious and therefore sustainable, but we need some devolvement of power and democracy. The government should lead by example - but when is that ever going to happen?! and arguably companies will have to increasingly have environmental policies or else they'll be outcompeted in the future if they don't adapt.

blondie · Armchair Activist

I emailed the gov on this issue a couple of weeks ago with WWF- thought their reply might be of relevant interest...Bits in bold are my own Shocked

Dear WWF Supporter,
Thank you for your e-mail to the Secretary of State and the interest you
have taken in this issue. The Government is taking the challenge of climate
change extremely seriously and we welcome your support. As one of the most
serious threats facing the future of the planet, it must be addressed by the
international community.

The Government is committed to taking a lead in tackling the problem of
climate change and to putting the UK on a path to a reduction in domestic
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by some 60% from current levels by 2050. We
also set ourselves a more ambitious domestic goal to reduce CO2 emissions by
20% below 1990 levels by 2010. The UK's Climate Change Programme
published in 2000 set out policies to meet our Kyoto Protocol target of a
12.5% reduction in emissions below base year levels by 2008-2012 including:
the Climate Change Levy, the Renewables Obligation, Climate Change
Agreements for industry, the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and the
Government's action plan for energy efficiency.

In 2004 greenhouse gas emissions were about 14.6% and CO2 emissions about
5.2% below 1990 levels. The increase in CO2 emissions of about 0.5% in 2003
and 2004 was mainly due to increases in emissions from gas and oil exceeding
small decreases in emissions from coal. It has always been recognised that
additional measures might be necessary to achieve our domestic carbon
dioxide goals. This was the subject of the recent review of the UK Climate
Change Programme. Despite the rise in emissions during 2003 and 2004, the
UK is one of the few major industrial countries that is on still on course
to meet its Kyoto target.

The Prime Minister put climate change at the top of the agenda for the UK's
dual presidencies last year of the G8 and the EU. The high profile the UK
has given climate change, together with the entry into force of the Kyoto
Protocol in February 2005, injected fresh momentum into the international
debate and provided us with a valuable opportunity to raise the profile of
this issue worldwide. December 2005 saw the United Nations Conference of
the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) Meeting and Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol take place
in Montreal. The Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, at this their historic
first meeting, adopted the operating rules and the compliance provisions
needed to ensure that the Protocol and its mechanisms could function
effectively. They also agreed to launch negotiations on further emission
reductions by developed country parties for the period beyond 2012 and to
begin preparation for a broader review of the Protocol at the end of 2006.
The agreement at Montreal showed that there is real international will to
build on the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, and illustrated
the significant impact that the UK's leadership on climate change has had on
the rest of the world.

The outcome of the G8 Summit at Gleneagles in July, also attended by leaders
from China, India and other large developing countries, was a milestone.
The group agreed, for the first time, that climate change was exacerbated by
man's emissions of greenhouse gases, and that the problem required a rapid
response. The G8 agreed to a new G8+ Dialogue on climate change, clean
energy and sustainable development to create the political space needed to
discuss these issues outside the formal negotiating process, which would
complement and reinforce the UNFCCC process.

The 2006 UK Climate Change Programme was published on 28 March and set out
an ambitious package of policies that brings us close to our domestic 2010
carbon dioxide goal whilst reducing our greenhouse gas emissions to 22 - 25%
below base year levels, double our Kyoto protocol requirement. The programme
is not the final word on climate change policy. We will work hard over the
coming years to achieve further reductions.

The Government recognises that all sectors need to play their part in
tackling climate change. The 2006 UK Climate Change Programme has set in
place a range of policies and measures to deliver carbon savings across all
sectors of the economy, including domestic, transport as well as action by
individuals. We have paid particular attention to tackling the impact of
international aviation, which is not currently included in the Kyoto
Protocol. This was a priority for our Presidency of the EU in 2005, when we
reached agreement in the EU to work to include aviation in the EU Emissions
Trading Scheme (EU ETS). We are continuing to assess other instruments for
ensuring that aviation contributes to tackling climate change.

The Government is currently considering the level of the cap for Phase II
and has recently published for consultation the draft UK National Allocation
Plan for Phase II. The final figure for the total quantity will be fixed
within a range that represents an annual reduction of between 3MtC (11 MtCO2
reduction) and 8MtC (29 MtCO2 reduction) against projected business as
usual. For those installations covered by the first Phase of the EU ETS the
total amount will not exceed 1260MtCO2 or 252 millions allowances per year.
Recently published guidance on Phase II of the EU ETS indicates the
Commission's intention to provide robust scrutiny of National Allocation
Plans, including the cap, to ensure countries are on track to meet Kyoto and
the UK fully supports this. Phase II will also be an opportunity to address
any gaps, anomalies, or competitive distortions that may have arisen, and
look at whether there is scope to include further carbon dioxide emissions
from existing sectors. The UK shares with other Member States a desire to
move towards greater consistency in coverage and implementation across the
EU25 in Phase II, and we are working with Member States and the European
Commission to discuss harmonisation on a range of key issues relating to the
shape and scope of the Scheme.

We hope this information assures you that we are committed to achieving our
climate change goals and that we are using the EU ETS as one of the tools to
help us do so. We share your view that emissions trading is a key measure
for tackling climate change and strongly support its international
development. We work hard to share our own experience of emissions trading
to countries and states that are developing or considering developing
trading schemes, and we recognise the need to ensure that the model we
promote, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, is environmentally and
economically successful.

We will continually review our progress on all measures employed to assist
us in meeting our climate change targets. We will continue to stress the
importance of this issue in our dialogue with key UK, EU and international
stakeholders, and we are working hard to advertise the importance of
individual contributions through our climate change communications campaign
- tomorrow's climate, today's challenge.

Yours sincerely,

EU Emissions Trading Scheme team
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

jenc_green · Black Bloc

that just shows that they know the literature and regulations and agreements. well done. its not enough. We need a whole change around, as in the shit capitalistic way of going around things is shit. the government are just going to leave it up to the consumer to convey concern for the environment through consumer habits with the assumption that this will make business more environmentally friendly and efficient. But it hasnt happened. In order to be more sustainable we need a few years of no growth and we need to cut down resource use by loads, so that we can still have high standards of living but be resource sustainable. If we cut out air fresheners for example we'd cut out all the resource costs like trucks for transporting it, accidents on the roads from traffic etc.

Teapotboy · Black Bloc

SimonM · Black Bloc

If we cut out all the people we'd have so much less CO2 emission from breathing, less consumers using all these nasty evil polluting capitalist tools of oppression and less cars on the road. We wouldn't have to generate as much electricity, build as many houses over green land, produce as many products, use as much genetic modification on our foods or import so much oil/gas/etc. from the Middle East/Eastern Europe/wherever. We wouldn't need to fight wars since there'd be plenty of territory and resources for everyone.

I think we all know what the solution is Rolling Eyes