Climate Change Bill
The Climate Change Bill has been debated by MPs this week.
As a result of a lot of hard campaigning by the Liberal Democrats, campaign organisations such as Friends of the Earth, Tear Fund and Christian Aid and members of the public, we have been able to strengthen the climate change bill in a number of important respects.
- the target for CO2 cuts by 2050 has been increased from 60% to 80%; this was an amendment tabled by the Lib Dems which the Government has accepted;
- all greenhouses gases are going to be included, not just CO2;
- the targets will have to 'take account' of aviation and shipping
More needs to be done
There are still aspects of the Bill where we would like to see further strengthening.
The interim target for 2020 has not been increased, and given the urgency of early cuts in emissions, this is a source of concern.
The Bill says nothing about how far Britain has to 'de-carbonise' its own economy in order to meet these targets and how far it can simply 'buy in' carbon credits from elsewhere.
Green backbone
Most importantly of all, we want to see the whole of Government taking climate change seriously.
At the same time as the Climate Change minister is announcing tougher targets, other departments are working against him, whether by announcing massive airport expansion or preparing to give the go-ahead for new coal-fired power stations.
Our view is that there needs to be 'green backbone' running through all government policy if we are to achieve these vital goals on tackling climate change.
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