UK Climate Policy Disintegrating - Guardian

[hatrack]

"The government's climate change policy is failing and urgent action is needed in this session of parliament if the UK's targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are to be met, the Royal Society says in a report out today. The society says all the gains brought about in the 1990s will be lost and carbon dioxide emissions will continue to rise unless tough political decisions are taken now. The scientists argue that a carbon tax on all users of fossil fuels, such as motorists and industry, and on domestic electricity and gas prices, is required.

The government has admitted it is not reaching its promised 20% cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2010. It looks likely to reach only 13%. Under the Kyoto agreement, which came into force this year, the government is committed to cutting all greenhouse gases by 12.5% and has said it will easily achieve this. However, the Royal Society casts some doubt on this and says the government is overestimating the effect of the policies that it is relying on to reach these targets. Among examples are building regulations expected to reduce energy use in homes, but which are not enforced, and rising volumes of traffic.

Sir David Wallace, vice-president of the Royal Society, said: "There are some tough political decisions to be made in this parliament about how the UK manages its seemingly insatiable appetite for energy at a time when cutting emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide is imperative. This is underlined by the fact that, at the current rate, even the government's revised assessment of how much carbon dioxide the UK will cut is, frankly, unrealistic."

With Tony Blair having made climate change one of the two major themes of his presidency of the G8 and the EU in June, it is a serious embarrassment to be told by the country's top scientific body that his claimed international leadership in the field is false, and that he needs to announce immediate action in the Queen's speech tomorrow to address the problem."

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http://politics.guardian.co.uk/green/story/0,9061,1484896,00.html