Politicians challenged to act now on climate change

Emissions of carbon dioxide, the main climate changing gas, must be cut soon if catastrophic consequences are to be avoided. This is the stark message given to leading politicians in Wales by a leading environmental organisation.

In a letter (see below) to leaders of political parties at the Assembly, Friends of the Earth Cymru has challenged them to face up to climate change by setting firm targets to cut emissions of carbon dioxide in their manifestos for next year's elections. The group believes that existing and new powers available to the Assembly mean that it can work to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from Wales by at least three per cent every year.

According to Friends of the Earth Cymru, scientific evidence is showing that changes to the climate as a result of human activity are happening sooner and are more severe than anticipated [1]. In particular, the group points to evidence that the global climate might be close to tipping points beyond which abrupt and irreversible climatic changes are likely [2].

Friends of the Earth Cymru spokesperson, Gordon James, said:

"Climate change is the biggest threat that civilization has ever faced. Yet, the political response to the scientific evidence has been abysmal. As politicians talk, carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise and extremes of weather threaten more and more people [3].

"Many of the solutions, such as improvements in energy efficiency, renewable energy developments and cleaner forms of transport, already exist. What is lacking is the political will to implement these measures."

The politicians have been sent a copy of a report recently produced by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change at Manchester University that warns of the severity of the crises but also shows that measures can be taken to avoid the worst impacts of climate change [4].

The report states that carbon dioxide emissions could be cut by ninety per cent by 2050 without radically altering our way of life and without recourse to nuclear power. It warns, though, that the longer action is delayed the more drastic and less manageable it will become to achieve emission reductions in the future.

Gordon James continued:

"We believe that, in order to turn the recommendations of this report into reality in Wales, we need a commitment from the main political parties to support annual cuts of at least three per cent in carbon dioxide emissions. Without this, politicians will continue to place short term issues ahead of the long term decisions needed to stop climate change going out of control."

The call for action in Wales reflects efforts by Friends of the Earth to introduce a law that would compel the UK government to achieve annual cuts in carbon dioxide emissions. This has been the main aim of Friends of the Earth's successful Big Ask campaign [5] which has signed up over 400 MPs in support of a climate change bill. It was recently reported that the Government is now likely to include this bill in next month's Queen's speech.

Gordon James continued:

"Even with its limited powers, the Welsh Assembly could and should have been doing a great deal more to address the problem of climate change. Now that extra powers will soon be available to the Assembly under the new Government of Wales Act, we hope there will be less rhetoric and a great deal more action.

"More than ever, we need courageous politicians who are prepared to take radical action to ensure that our children and grandchildren have a future on this planet."

On Wednesday October 25th, the Welsh Assembly Government will be launching a Cross Sector Climate Change Group at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay. It is expected that the Environment, Planning and Countryside Minister, Carwyn Jones, will be making an announcement on climate change policy.

Notes

1) Over recent weeks, for instance, we have learned that:

• A Met Office study has concluded that the average temperature in central England has risen by one degree Celsius in just 50 years. To avoid catastrophic climate change, scientists estimate that we need to prevent average global temperatures rising any more than 2oC above pre-industrial levels.
• The director of the British Antarctic Survey, Professor Chris Rapley, has reported that global sea level rise, caused by climate change, is proceeding considerably faster than UN scientists predicted only five years ago.
• A NASA satellite has documented a 14% decline in Arctic perennial ice between 2004 and 2005. This compares with shrinkage of 0.7% in previous years.
• The BBC's science correspondent, David Shukman, has reported that the Siberian permafrost is thawing much earlier than predicted threatening to release large amounts of the potent greenhouse gas, methane.

2) Concern is now being expressed that positive feedback mechanisms, such as the dark surface of Arctic water absorbing heat rather than reflecting it as the snow and ice diminishes, are pushing us close to tipping points beyond which abrupt and irreversible climatic changes are likely. One of the world's leading climatologists, James Hanson, warned earlier this month that "we have a very brief window of opportunity to deal with climate change....no longer than a decade at most".

3) Professor Andy Haines, Dean of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told the World Climate Change Conference in Moscow in October 2003 that "global warming is already responsible for about 160,000 deaths each year from disease and starvation".

4) The full Tyndall report, which was commissioned jointly by Friends of the Earth and the Cooperative Bank:
www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/ ¬
living_carbon_budget.pdf

The 20 page summary: www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/ ¬
low_carbon_economy.pdf

5) www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/climate/success_stories/ ¬
half_mps.html

COPY OF LETTER TO PARTY LEADERS AT THE ASSEMBLY

October 13th 2006

Dear ,

You will no doubt be aware of the mounting evidence of the serious threat posed by climate change. Almost daily, we hear of fresh scientific research that shows that human activity is causing worrying changes to the global climate and that these impacts are happening sooner and are more severe than anticipated.

Over recent weeks, for instance, we have learned that:

• A Met Office study has concluded that the average temperature in central England has risen by one degree Celsius in just 50 years. To avoid catastrophic climate change, scientists estimate that we need to prevent average global temperatures rising any more than 2oC above pre-industrial levels.
• The director of the British Antarctic Survey, Professor Chris Rapley, has reported that global sea level rise, caused by climate change, is proceeding considerably faster than UN scientists predicted only five years ago.
• A NASA satellite has documented a 14% decline in Arctic perennial ice between 2004 and 2005. This compares with shrinkage of 0.7% in previous years.
• The BBC's science correspondent, David Shukman, has reported that the Siberian permafrost is thawing much earlier than predicted threatening to release large amounts of the potent greenhouse gas, methane.

Concern is now being expressed that positive feedback mechanisms, such as the dark surface of Arctic water absorbing heat rather than reflecting it as the snow and ice diminishes, are pushing us close to tipping points beyond which abrupt and irreversible climatic changes are likely. One of the world's leading climatologists, James Hanson, warned earlier this month that "we have a very brief window of opportunity to deal with climate change....no longer than a decade at most".

A similar conclusion was reached this month by a report, commissioned jointly by Friends of the Earth and the Cooperative Bank, from the renowned Tyndall Centre for Climate Change at Manchester University. This report, 'Living Within a Carbon Budget', is the most comprehensive and realistic assessment of the long-term energy economy of the UK ever produced. It shows that to avoid the worst impacts of climate change we must reduce carbon dioxide emissions substantially and start putting the mechanism into place to do so very soon; delaying action will require much more drastic and less manageable cuts later on.

The report concludes that the Government's target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050 is inadequate if the UK is to take its fair share of action to reduce emissions. However, the report makes clear that reductions of 90% could be achieved within this time scale by a series of measures, such as major improvements in energy efficiency, renewable energy developments and cleaner forms of transport. These could be implemented without radically altering our way of life and without recourse to nuclear power. The report provides a route map that describes how, by means of a policy framework and the application of technologies, the UK can make the transition to a low carbon economy that sets an example to the rest of the world. We hope that your government will examine our report and use it to help draft your own energy route map.

The full report:
www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/ ¬
living_carbon_budget.pdf

We are also enclosing a paper copy of the summary.

Friends of the Earth believes that, in order to turn the recommendations of this report into reality, we need a law that commits this and future Governments to make annual cuts in the UK's carbon emissions. Without this law, politicians will continue to place short term issues ahead of the long term decisions needed to get to grips with climate change. Unfortunately, UK carbon emissions have not fallen since 1990; government calculations which show a decrease are misleading as they fail to take into account emissions from international shipping and aviation.

Friends of the Earth's Big Ask climate campaign is calling on MPs to support a climate change bill that would compel UK governments to introduce measures that would bring about year-on-year cuts of at least 3% in carbon dioxide emissions. Over 400 MPs, including a majority in the Labour Party, have already signed this EDM. We are now calling on the Government to ensure that a climate change bill is included in the Queen's Speech.

In Wales, official data shows that there was a reduction in emissions of all greenhouse gases of just 3.6% between 1990 and 2003 compared to a reduction of 13.4% in the UK as a whole. For the main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, the figures show that there was no reduction in Welsh emissions in this period compared to a fall of 5.6% (excluding international aviation and shipping) in the UK. Although the relatively higher proportion of manufacturing industry in Wales compared to the rest of the UK can help to explain these figures, there is no doubt that Wales faces a significant challenge if it is to deliver its fair share of cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

We are, therefore, calling on the leaders of the main political parties in Wales to support the aims of the proposed climate change bill and to make a commitment in their manifestos for next May's Assembly elections to achieve year-on-year reductions of at least 3% in emissions of carbon dioxide from Wales. We believe that the opportunities provided by the Government of Wales Act 2006 to bring about reductions in emissions should be maximised.

We hope that your party will agree to make this commitment.

Yours sincerely

Gordon James
Assembly Campaigner