In three vital and interrelated areas – climate, development and nature – the next UK government could play a significant role in driving progress at a critical time.

It needs to start office on day one with a plan that positions the UK ahead of key summits on those issues – summits that will have a critical bearing on people, planet, and future generations. The time to start preparing is now.

The NATO summit begins within days of the UK general election now planned for July 4. The year ends with G20 meetings in Brazil, a global biodiversity summit (COP16) in Colombia, and the COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan. A new UK government could play an important role in rebuilding trust and make a positive contribution to the world by adopting far-sighted positions on climate, development and nature. 

On climate, the next government could immediately signal its intent by comprehensively stepping up its efforts to meet its own national climate commitments, after a period of drift and uncertainty. There is no more powerful message from the UK to the cause of global climate action than the country decisively implementing its own pledges, through concerted action on green energy, transport, infrastructure and land use.  

Progress at home needs to be matched in real time by leadership on the international stage in negotiating an appropriately ambitious and credible ‘new collective quantified goal’ on climate finance.

Rich nations meet $100bn climate finance goal – two years late

A strong finance outcome at COP29 would acknowledge the historic responsibility for climate change from some of the wealthiest nations, including the UK, while ensuring that all countries play their full part in mobilising the flows of public as well as private finance needed to transition to a 1.5 degree-aligned, resilient and nature-positive economy. Successful resolution of the finance negotiations this year in Baku would open up the possibility for a more ambitious round of climate action en route to COP30 in Belem, Brazil in November 2025. 

Development finance

On international development, the UK can move fast by upholding and restoring its development finance commitments, including to some of the world’s poorest people; by updating its toolkit to meet today’s interlinked development, climate and nature challenges; and by using all of the means at its disposal (including debt relief, multilateral development bank reform, and capital increases) to drive global financial architecture reform and a successful replenishment of the International Development Association 21 later this year.  

The UK can also lead the way in pressing for international support to be integrated and aligned behind countries’ own inclusive, green development plans; and by making the case for multilateral trade reform aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.  

In addition, the UK has a particular responsibility to resume a global leadership role on debt relief, a role it last played in the early 2000s during the era of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. It could take legal and other action to unstick debt cancellation processes for some of the most indebted countries, by bringing private creditors to the table and brokering concerted action on debt relief at the G20.  

Global billionaires tax to fight climate change, hunger rises up political agenda

The UK should lend its political support to the Brazilian government’s laudable G20 initiative on tax reform, as well as its important work on climate and hunger; and support other promising efforts to raise revenue for development, such as levies on shipping and aviation. The next finance minister should consider the UK’s global role on these issues as being as centrally important to their legacy as issues of national economics; and ensure that the UK drives global progress on new flows of finance for climate and development, at the scale set out by economists Nick Stern and Vera Songwe in their 2022 report.   

Protect and restore nature

On nature, the UK should redouble its actions to protect and restore nature and biodiversity at home, including through pursuing more sustainable farming and land management. At the same time, the UK should use its influence and finance to drive global progress on the nature agenda, both in terrestrial ecosystems as well as the ocean. The goal here is to protect at least 30% of the planet by 2030 and to mobilise major flows of public and private finance to support countries, local communities and Indigenous Peoples to protect their ecosystems.

At the UN biodiversity conference in Colombia in October, the UK could assume a critical role on the global stage by making the case for the protection and restoration of natural ecosystems as fundamental to human life, to addressing the climate crisis, and as one of the most effective forms of pro-poor development assistance.   

At a deeply troubling and fractured time in multilateral affairs, revitalised global leadership from the next UK government on climate, development and nature could make a very constructive contribution to securing the better, fairer, more sustainable and more peaceful world which is still within our grasp to secure.   

 Editor’s note: The latest BBC analysis of opinion polls ahead of the July 4 general election in the UK shows the opposition Labour Party with 45% of voter support, while the ruling Conservative Party trails with 24%.

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The climate change committee (CCC) gave the government nine out of 10 for its commitments, but “somewhere below four” for delivery in its annual progress report to parliament. 

Without a comprehensive net zero strategy in place before November, it will be difficult for the UK to deliver a successful Cop26, the committee warned. “Everyone is looking for action and delivery not just for promises,” said committee chair Lord Deben. 

The UK has set the world’s most ambitious climate target for 2030, pledging to slash emissions by 57%, compared to 1990 levels. But CCC CEO Chris Stark said the government is not on track to meet this goal or its carbon budgets.

“Targets are not going to be achieved by magic. Surprisingly little has been done so far to deliver on them,” he said.

Across the pond, Joe Biden declared that he has reached a deal on his flagship infrastructure bill. 

Biden resorted to splitting the $2 trillion bill in two to get Republicans and conservative Democrats, like West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, on board. He agreed to significantly watering down climate spending in a $1.2 trillion bipartisan package, scaling back support for clean energy and electric vehicles.

Biden said he would only sign this package if a spending bill is enacted at the same time that advances Democratic priorities like climate action. 

Researchers told Climate Home that the bipartisan package does not match the ambition of US climate goals, a 50-52% reduction by 2030 and net zero by 2050, compared to 2005 levels. 

“This year is the last best chance for America to pass major climate legislation,” said Joel Jaeger from the World Resources Institute. 

It remains to be seen whether Biden will get a more ambitious deal through the Senate.

This week’s stories

• Months after probes launched, Brazilian environment minister quits
• Infrared images show under-regulated ‘methane crisis’ across Europe
• UK has done ‘surprisingly little’ to deliver on climate targets, say official advisers
• Biden scales down climate spending in search of bipartisan deal
• An outbreak of ‘sea snot’ is killing Turkey’s fishing industry 

and comment…

• What makes a good net zero target? – Silke Mooldijk, Frederic Hans and Claire Fyson
• By greenwashing Shell, the Science Museum is failing young people – Izzy Warren

The post UK, US still need to deliver on climate – Climate Weekly appeared first on Climate Home News.

Amber Rudd takes over as Department for Energy and Climate Change head (Flickr/ DECC)

By Alex Pashley

Amber Rudd was made secretary of state for energy and climate change today, as Prime Minister David Cameron filled cabinet posts in his new look Tory majority government.

Rudd, 51, a former financial journalist and investment banker, replaces Liberal Democrat Ed Davey as head of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, making her Britain’s top representative at UN sponsored climate talks.

Davey’s three-year leadership of DECC ended in last Thursday’s election, failing to win re-election as MP for Kingston and Surbiton while his party lost power. Liz Truss was re-appointed environment secretary.

The appointment of Rudd, MP for Hastings and Rye, was seen as a signal of the Government’s backing of climate science, analysts said, while fellow party members stood out her green credentials.

News: 7 ways to get the Tories to back ambitious climate policies

Richard Black, director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said it “shows that the Conservative Party leadership retains its commitment to policies based on sound climate science.”

By putting a progressive, modern Conservative into #DECC, who totally gets the big challenges of #Climate PM showing real green leadership

— Greg Barker (@GregBarkerUK) May 11, 2015

Amber Rudd in DECC – that is great, great news. Big congrats @AmberRuddhr

— Zac Goldsmith (@ZacGoldsmith) May 11, 2015

“Amber Rudd has already acknowledged the need to boost renewables and increase investment in energy efficiency – and importantly she recognises the devastating impact that climate change will have without action,” said Simon Bullock at Friends of the Earth.

Climate commitment

Rudd joined the department last July as a junior minister, having previously worked as private secretary for Chancellor George Osborne.

Her appointment over more hardline Tory candidates for the top post will be of relief to campaigners and environmentalists, given her unequivocal commitment to a UN climate deal and support for green investment.

In a Business Green interview last year, she said: “I don’t think you could get a cigarette paper between me and Labour on our commitment to getting a deal in Paris. We are all completely committed to it, whatever the outcome.”

Secretary of State Amber Rudd MP is greeted by DECC’s Permanent Secretary Stephen Lovegrove #flickr https://t.co/s5Pofjlhle

— DECC (@DECCgovuk) May 11, 2015

News: Conservative majority increases UK climate influence – Barker

But Rudd will face challenges — having to implement the Tories’ manifesto pledge to curb the growth of onshore wind farms, broker negotiations over a controversial nuclear power plant, and draw up the government’s fifth carbon budget to run through the next decade.

She will also face calls to boost fracking, a policy championed by her party as a way to lower energy bills and re-industrialise the North of England.

Former environment minister and climate sceptic Owen Paterson MP said yesterday Tory-controlled DECC was a “really, really great opportunity” to undo the “disastrous long term energy policy led by the Liberal Democrats where there was a real problem the lights might go out.”

News: George Marshall – we need to engage the Tories on climate

In February visit to Newcastle, Rudd called fracking a “positive thing” that could spur jobs “as long as we do it extremely safely and reassure communities that that’s the case”.

At the last round of UN climate talks in Lima, Rudd had planned on making a high profile appearance, visiting a melting glacier in the Andes before representing the UK in negotiations. But at the eleventh hour senior Tories puller her trip, leaving Ed Davey to attend alone.

Her attendance at the Paris conference however this December, where almost 200 nations are expected to sign a global climate pact, should now be more assured.

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A lesson of the past six years is that our influence globally depends on what we are doing at home. What used to be seen as purely domestic policy is now also a critical part of our foreign policy. In Britain we must redouble our effort to build a low carbon economy that works and is seen to work.

Those words were part of a valedictory statement in June 2012 from the UK’s last Ambassador for climate change, John Ashton, to a Parliamentary Committee.

If they were meant as a warning then, they appear vaguely prophetic now. Britain could be on the verge of blowing its hard fought authority at the UN climate talks out of the window.

Ashton’s words illustrate why a row in the UK between the independent and influential Committee on Climate Change (CCC) and the government over its energy investment plans will be watched closely around the world.

The Committee warned yesterday that the UK’s increasingly likely ‘dash for gas’ as outlined by Chancellor George Osborne will break the law – specifically the 2008 Climate Change Act.

This set out a series of ‘carbon budgets’ the UK has to abide by, together with a final target of reducing emissions by 80% in 2050, relative to 1990 levels.

On Monday this week the UK’s minister for energy and climate change Greg Barker reaffirmed his commitment to those goals, and the 2010 Coalition Agreement, which called for support for an increase in the EU emission reduction target to 30% by 2020.

“I don’t want to sound like I’m issuing an optimistic clarion call because I don’t for a moment underestimate the difficulties, but it’s not impossible and given the number of people in the climate change world who say it is, it’s important to bear that in mind,” he said.

Coalition Agreement: Cameron and Clegg pledged ambitious support for green policies in 2010

Sitting alongside Barker, nodding in agreement was Pete Betts, Head of International Climate Change in the UK and a senior EU negotiator.

“We are very clear that existing ambition is not enough, we are not on a 2C trajectory and we need to do more,” he said. “The reason we are not doing more is ultimately political conditions in many of our partner countries in the world.”

Ever since the 2008 Climate Change Act was agreed with unusual cross party support, it has been a source of pride in the UK that the country leads the world in innovative low carbon legislation.

Other countries such as Mexico and the Philippines may have more ambitious laws on paper, but the checks and balances in the British system are impressive – as is the scrutiny of the CCC.

This was recognised by William Hague in an April op-ed in the Huffington Post, writing: “As Foreign Secretary, when trying to persuade other countries, both advanced and developing economies, to go green, it is a huge advantage to be able to point to the example we are setting at home.”

Ashton added in his statement: “Britain is a global player on climate change. We have far more influence than is generally recognised.”

This could be seen at COP17 in Durban, where Chris Huhne played an integral role within the EU negotiating team, standing in the middle of the infamous ‘huddle’ alongside Connie Hedegaard.

How valued this ‘influence’ is to the current government is debatable. Read James Murray’s lacerating analysis of UK domestic energy policymaking on BusinessGreen for an in-depth account of what has – and has not – been decided.

But there can be no doubt that if the UK continues along its trajectory of saying one thing and doing another, it will be called out as a fraud by countries around the world.

Greenwash

Ministers can recite the list of achievements – the Green Deal, the Green Investment Bank, the Greenest Government Ever, but when it comes to delivery they are currently falling short.

Some, such as Chancellor George Osborne, argue the country is moving too fast towards a low carbon economy. But is that accurate? Germany, South Korea and China are ahead of the UK in terms of renewables investment and energy efficiency projects. Yesterday Reuters reported that Ireland could export wind power to the UK by 2017.

Many feel the UK is actually starting to lag far behind, resting like its footballers on past glories, while competitors invest in the latest technologies. Within the government two sides are emerging, those like Hague who can see the economic opportunities renewables provide, and on the other side the Chancellor, apparently wedded to the theory of high-carbon growth.

Yet it is becoming increasingly clear that the debate over economic and climate security is a false choice. They are as one. On Wednesday the International Energy Agency’s Chief Economist Fatih Birol said the world was currently on a trajectory to warm by six degrees celsius.

Remember two degrees is what scientists deem as ‘safe’. The science is clear, the required policies are clear – but the British government’s position is as clear as mud.

Like every England football manager over the last two decades, Ed Davey, Greg Barker and Pete Betts will head to a global gathering talking up their chances, hailing their preparation and raising hopes. But the events over the past few months will diminish their voices and decrease their leverage.

They would all do well to leave calls for ‘ambition’ and comments over ‘political conditions in partner countries’ at home. If they do not, given their government’s apparent lack of respect for its own ‘legally binding emissions treaty’ it would be little surprise if they were laughed out of the main plenary.

Related Articles:

UK minister accused of stabbing EU ETS in the back

EU negotiator calls for urgent ambition to avoid 2 degrees

Greg Barker: COP18 climate talks can boost Saudi green ambitions

Analysis: Was enough achieved at UN climate talks in Bangkok?

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A panel of MPs says the UK government should push for an end to fossil fuel subsidies at the next round of UNFCCC talks in Qatar.

Global fossil fuel consumption subsidies in 2010 amounted to over $400 billion. Critics say they under-price the true cost of oil and gas while putting renewable technologies at an acute disadvantage.

The Energy and Climate Change Committee do acknowledge the role subsidies play in developing countries – especially India – and call on the Government to support ‘pro-poor interventions’ to raise standards of living while cutting subsidies, especially in the developed world.

According to the International Energy Agency the elimination of subsidies could potentially save 750m tonnes of CO₂ a year by 2015.

India pumped $23 billion into subsidizing fossil fuels in 2007 - the fifth largest contribution in the world

The #endfossilfuelsubsidies campaign that ran during the Rio+20 conference enjoyed high-profile support – but failed to deliver any policy commitments.

Paragraph 225 in the final text invited “others to consider rationalizing inefficient fossil fuel subsidies by removing market distortions, including restructuring taxation and phasing out harmful subsidies”.

International ambition

MPs also urge the UK and Europe to adopt more ambitious decarbonisation policies ahead of COP18 to ensure they can negotiate from a position of strength.

They call on the UK government and Europe to show ‘political leadership’ push for an EU-wide 30% emissions reduction target on 1990 levels by 2020.

The COP18 climate talks in Doha at the end of this year are expected to lay the foundations for a new binding international agreement in 2015, which would replace the Kyoto Protocol in 2020.

Despite the current economic crisis afflicting Europe, Energy and Climate Change Committee chairman Tim Yeo said it’s vital the bloc demonstrates unity and purpose ahead of Doha.

“Europe can be proud of the leadership it has showed on climate change: introducing the world’s first emissions trading scheme and keeping the Kyoto Protocol alive when it could have collapsed,” he said.

“It must now show leadership again by setting a more ambitious goal to bolster the chances of a new agreement being reached in 2015.

“The EU’s current 20% carbon reduction target by 2020 is no longer sufficiently ambitious or challenging and will be easily reached because of the recession.”

“2015 needs to be the year in which an agreement is reached to give the world a fighting chance of keeping temperature rises below dangerous levels.”

Negotiations over increasing the EU’s emission reduction target to 30% are ongoing. Poland appears to be the most reluctant country to commit to such a move, given its reliance on coal for electricity production.

The next round of EU ministerial talks are expected to take place in September, when the issue will be back on the agenda.

The publication comes two days after a critical report from the same committee focusing on the draft energy bill. This accused the UK government of failing to consider climate change targets when developing a new energy strategy.

It said government objectives appeared ‘vacuous’, ignored the potential of renewables and energy efficiency measures and could encourage a new ‘dash for gas’.

Today’s report says leading politicians have not done enough to explain why it is essential the country embarks on a ‘decarbonisation’ strategy.

“The UK Government has not engaged sufficiently with the public on the details of how the UK’s emission reduction targets could be achieved,” it says.

“More could be done to convince the public that decarbonising electricity generation and electrifying transport will, in the long term, be financially beneficial.”

Other recommendations:

-Focusing diplomatic and negotiation efforts on the Durban Platform with the aim of finding a fair and equitable global agreement.

-Improving monitoring reporting and verification systems, as it is ‘more likely countries can apply pressure to others by naming and shaming rather than trying to enforce pledges’.

-Working with other forums along with the UNFCCC such as the GLOBE World Summit of Legislators.

-Resolving legislative issues that are obstructing the work of REDD+ and investigate why the disbursement of funds into REDD+ projects has been so disappointing.

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Ed Davey has replaced Chris Huhne as the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Source: Flickr/DECC)

UK greenhouse gas emissions climbed by 3.1% from 2009 to 2010, but remain lower than pre-recession levels.

The latest figures released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) today, show that although emission levels rose, they have not offset the dramatic 8.7% decrease from 2008 to 2009.

While most sectors’ emissions remained at a similar level, residential use and energy supply both increased by 15.1% and 2.8% respectively.

“Emissions were up in 2010 because of the exceptionally cold weather and greater use of fossil fuels,” said Ed Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.

“One year won’t knock the UK off meeting its long term emission reduction targets, but it serves to underline the importance of the Coalition’s policies for insulating homes to cut bills and emissions and moving to greener alternative forms of energy.”

The six-month shutdown of the country’s largest nuclear reactor meant additional gas and coal was used to provide electricity in its place.

The sensitivity of residential energy use to the weather emphasises the contribution that home energy efficiency can make, shining the spotlight in the Government’s Green Deal energy efficiency loan scheme set to launch in October 2012.

Despite the latest figures, the UK’s emissions were 30.9% lower than the 1990 totals. The country has a binding commitment through the EU to reduce them by 20% by 2020 and a self-imposed target of 35% for the same period.

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Chris Huhne says the UK will work to have a deal on Kyoto by 2015 (source: Wikimedia/David Spender)

By RTCC staff

The UK will continue to press for a global climate change commitment by 2015, according to Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne.

The country will also apply pressure to the EU for an emissions reduction target of 30% b 2020 from 1990 levels.

“The time for wishful thinking is over. The science says we need a [global] deal by 2020 and we must follow the science,” said Huhne, speaking at Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute. “That means that we need a deal in place by 2015 at the latest.”

Huhne also refuted claims that the international climate negotiations had made slow progress.

“If you look at other global talks, nuclear non-proliferation and the World Trade Organisation for example, you see that actually we are making good progress.

“There will have to be compromise in Durban. The UK and the EU want a second commitment period. We do not believe that letting Kyoto run down will help the planet, or our green economies. But the EU has already surpassed its Kyoto target. If it signs up alone, without commitments from the other major players – the other big emitters and emerging economies – then we will not have moved very far forward.

“At Durban, we need major economies to commit to a global legally binding framework – building on what Kyoto started, but going much broader. And we need negotiations on this new agreement to complete as soon as possible, and by 2015 at the latest,” he said, also making the case for a “non-binary” approach where a country is either developed or developing.

“We need to move to a system that reflects the genuine diversity of responsibility and capacity,” said Huhne adding that in 5-10 years’ time not all countries should be making the same commitments.

A second Kyoto period will be top of the agenda at the COP17 talks in Durban beginning next week.

The road to COP17: The UK’s lead climate diplomat assesses summit for RTCC

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Caroline Lucas: UK Green Party Leader and MP for Brighton Pavilion

Caroline Lucas says  governments do not have to choose between the environment and the economy.

In an interview with RTCC ahead of the COP17 summit in Durban, Lucas argues that promoting ‘green’ measures will build a stronger global economy, and says she is deeply concerned that the current UK government is backing away from its environmental commitments.

As the UK’s only Green MP, Caroline Lucas offers a unqiue perspective in a parliament of 650. Since the 2010 election she has made a name for herself as a campaigner on issues including the envrionment and social justice, and was named ‘Newcomer of the Year’ in the Spectator’s 2010 Parliamentarian awards.

She says that the economic crisis should not be a reason to forget the green agenda, and that it should play a more central role than ever – cutting the countries emissions and stabilising the economy.

In a wide ranging interview she also warns that the environmental crisis is “getting an awful lot worse”, and urges the UK government to show leadership in Durban.

RTCC: Do you think in the current economic climate that the green agenda has become less relevant and less of a priority?

CL: I think that at a time of economic difficulty the green agenda should be even more important than before. It can sometimes be a hard case to make that point but actually when you think about it the green agenda is one of the fastest ways we have of creating jobs and of addressing the economic crisis that we have. If we want to stabilise our economy then investing in green jobs is just about the best way you could possibly do it.

I think that is what is so frustrating when you see our government and many governments really turning their back on the green agenda and saying that we can’t afford it while at the same time unemployment is rising and the economy is getting into a worse state. What we need to do right now is to properly have that investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, insulating every home in Britain for example – that would be one of the fastest job creation schemes you could imagine.

It would be good in terms of getting our emissions down; it would be good in terms of addressing fuel poverty and it would get the economy stable as well.

RTCC: Do you think that there is a new narrative which could be adopted to help push this back on the agenda?

CL: I think it’s true that the economic crisis has pushed the environmental agenda off people’s radars, off the TV screens and out the newspapers and it is crucial that we get it back on there again because even though we are suffering this economic crisis the environmental crisis hasn’t gone away it’s actually got an awful lot worse and it’s impacts will be a huge amount worse even than the economic crisis that we are all suffering from right now. So it has to be a priority again.

I think one of the ways of doing that is precisely by underlining some positive impacts that can come from addressing the green agenda. I think we should be talking about green jobs. I think we should be talking about wider security. If we think about security as not being dependant on so many other countries for our fuel resources, for example, and investing in renewable energies here at home; that I think is a way to make the subject more relevant to people at a time when their minds are understandably on the immediate economic issues in front of them.

RTCC: Are you concerned that the UK government, who once showed real leadership within the climate process now appear to be taking a back seat?

CL: I am deeply worried that what we are seeing by this government is a movement away from some of its original rhetoric around being ‘the greenest government ever’. [Prime Minister] David Cameron came to power having had his moment in the limelight, hugging huskies and trying to detoxify the Tory brand essentially by saying that the environment was going to be key to their new way forward.

But actually what we have seen has been pitiful to date. I mean the decision just recently to slash the support for renewable energy for example in terms of the solar feed-in-tariffs is going to have a massively negative effect both on the potential for renewable energies and the jobs that were being created in one of the fastest growing industries that we have in this country. So it is deeply worrying that the government is turning its back.

We’ve had [UK Chancellor] George Osborne at the recent conservative party conference almost making a virtue out of the fact, saying we’re not going to go any faster than anyone else in Europe. That’s not leadership.

And the tragedy is that not only is that lack of leadership bad for the environment it is bad for the economy too. It is bad for British business and British jobs. The government needs to see that those two things are connected and by pursuing the one you can achieve gains on the other as well.

RTCC: If there was one outcome you would want to see from the climate talks and one policy to focus on what would it be?

CL: I always want at least two. In my mind I was tossing up between saying on the one hand we absolutely need to have a political commitment to the continuance of a second commitment period under Kyoto. For all of it’s difficulties it is the one tool that we have that is a legal tool that has mandatory binding targets on developed countries and that is why it is so important that we have to make sure that there is some way of that going forward.

But at the same time we also need the finances on the table and to be honest I think the two things are so interlinked. It seems to be that unless we can demonstrate to developing countries that we are serious about our commitment to tackling climate change then they are not going to want any king of binding agreement themselves in the future either.

That means that we need to show – as a demonstration of political good faith if you like – that we are serious. That means serious climate finance on the table. It was good that there was a fund set up at the most recent meeting of the climate change parties but now what we need to do is to make sure that it is properly financed and the ways that we could do that are through a so called Robin Hood tax – a tax on financial speculation – or indeed looking at a tax on bumper fuels, the kind of fuels that are used for shipping and aviation – shipping and aviation are both very fast growing emitters of greenhouse gas emissions and yet not covered by existing international agreements.

So there are measures out there that if the political will were there that governments could use to show that they are really serious about tackling this crisis. So I hope very very much that we might see some progress both on that financial commitment but also the political commitment for the continuance of Kyoto.

RTCC: After years of the climate negotiations stalling, is it time we turned our back on the UNFCCC process?

CL: It is difficult and I understand why people might be casting around saying this isn’t working lets look for another process. In my mind, yes we want agreements at all levels and if countries want to come together on a voluntary basis and do work to get emissions down then of course that’s a good thing.

But ultimately what we need is that binding, political, legal agreement and there is no getting away from that to be honest so while there may be other kinds of agreements around the periphery, that legal agreement under the UNFCCC needs to be there.

RTCC: With a second commitment period under Kyoto looking unlikely by 2012, are these the sorts of agreements which could be used in the interim?

CL: Of course we want progress to happen and I suppose in one way it doesn’t matter what the heading is, under which particular agreement it is happening as long as we are getting emissions down both in the north and south and making sure that whatever agreement we have is a genuinely equitable one, a fair one for the poorer countries because I am not surprised that they have a degree of suspicion really of whether or not the rich countries are serious about this agenda.

Anything that we can do to build up confidence and to build up good faith between the different parties to the climate change agreement is crucial but that shouldn’t be a substitute for a real deep commitment in finding a political solution around a binding emissions agreement of the type of Kyoto and I don’t see any way that we can get around that.

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