The Big Ask Climate Debate - Tony Blair's response to your comments 29 November 2006
I am glad to see so many people responding to the Friends of the Earth Big Ask Climate Debate - some challenging and some supportive of our efforts.
In fact, what was interesting was the wide range of opinions expressed in response to the articles posted by Tony Juniper and myself.
There were even a fair number doubting whether human activity had anything at all to do with climate change - a view held by a small and dwindling numbers of experts in this field.
There were probably a similar number doubting whether there was anything we could do to make a difference, given that any action we take to cut emissions would very quickly be undone by the economic growth of India and China.
No doubts
But while I have no doubt whatsoever - and made this clear in my original article - that concerted international action is absolutely critical in tackling climate change, it is also important we don't fall into the trap of believing nothing we do can make a difference.
I am pleased that Tony Juniper gave the Government credit for taking climate change seriously.
But it might have been hard to tell from his rather grudging words that the UK is also a world leader in domestic action.
Have to do better
Yes, we have to do better - and we will. But it is simply not true, as one of the replies said, that we are all words and no action.
As the European Commission made clear this week only the UK and Sweden are on course to meet our Kyoto targets.
The UK, in fact, is on track to cut greenhouse gases by 23% by 2012 - more than double our target.
And without Government action already, our CO2 emissions would be over 8% higher than they are now.
As I said it will be hard to achieve our self-imposed 20% cut by 2010. But we have not given up and expect to achieve a reduction of about 16% on present plans - far better than anyone else will do.
This is important - as it is that to improve on this record - not just for itself but to demonstrate economic growth and tackling climate change can go together.
I agree with those who underlined how vital it is for countries like ours must help the fast growing economies of China, India, Brazil and others to deliver prosperity for their citizens in a sustainable way.
We have to help them through sharing ideas, investment and technology -on clean coal for example - so they learn from rather than repeat the mistakes of the developed world. And that's what we are doing.
Three threads
Three other threads come through strongly in the various responses to Tony and my original postings.
First, the number of you who see the growth in aviation as a prime cause of concern. This is a big challenge.
That's why the UK wants aviation brought within the EU carbon trading scheme as soon as possible - and, by the way, the Commission has just judged that the UK is the only country to have set a tough enough target under this scheme.
It is also within the EU that we have to take action to improve the energy efficiency of electrical products including scrapping the standby mode.
Second, there was considerable demand for action to make sure our buildings are more energy efficient. I also think this is important.
New buildings are already 40% more energy efficient but we have to do more. That's why, for example, we intend to strengthen the requirement for gas and electricity companies to install energy saving measures in homes.
And thirdly, I also agree that we must do more to generate energy sustainably - from solar, wind and tidal power and also through micro-generation.
We are consulting on how we can ensure that 20% of electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020 - a five-fold increase on today.
A big expansion of renewable energy is vital but it will not, at least for the foreseeable future, be enough both to cut emissions and guarantee our energy supply.
That's why we need to replace our existing nuclear power capacity with new plants which, by the way, are much more efficient, safer and produce a fraction of the waste of the predecessors. Incidently, around the world other countries are coming to the same conclusion.
I want to end by re-emphasising how seriously I take the issue of climate change. There is simply no more important environmental challenge.
But just because the scale of the challenge is so great does not mean we should bury ourselves in gloom.
I believe strongly that just as human ingenuity has accidentally caused climate change so the same ingenuity can help us undo the damage provided, of course, the will is there.
I think here that the balance has shifted dramatically towards action in the last few years. I believe, like Friends of the Earth, that the UK has played an important role in helping bring about the change.
We need to do more - internationally, within Europe and at home.
We each need to think, too, how we can play our own part in our homes, at work and in the way we live. I hope people who have written in will now help campaign for tougher action in Europe and internationally in the coming year, aswell as at home.
I thank Friends of the Earth for organising this interesting debate. I know we don't agree on everything.
But on the scale of the challenge climate change poses and the urgency for us to tackle it, we couldn't be more in agreement.
