Greenpeace UK - Climate

Labour: we will cut emissions by 80 per cent by 2050

bex — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:28:21 +0100

Has somebody put something in the water around Westminister? Yesterday I found myself waxing lyrical about a new Tory announcement. Today it's Labour's turn. Frankly, I'm a little freaked out.

Ed Miliband - he who thousands of you congratulated when he got his new job as climate change secretary - has announced a new emissions reduction target for the UK. We will, he said, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, compared to 1990 figures.

The target is legally binding, making it the most ambitious legally binding commitment that any country has adopted - not bad for a first announcement in the post.

The big disappointment is that emissions from shipping and aviation haven't been explicitly included in the target, so emissions from aviation could keep growing unchecked, undermining all other efforts to beat climate change.

But in terms of energy policy, it's huge. As I explained last week, under this target, Britain would be allowed to emit no more than 118 million tonnes of CO2 per year after 2050. As a new generation of coal-fired power stations without carbon capture and storage would emit around 56 million tonnes of CO2 per year, this pretty much obliges the government to scupper plans for the new coal rush; coal would account for 48 per cent of our emissions quota in 2050.

And, in his interview with the Guardian yesterday, Miliband hinted that he agreed with us:

On the imminent and fraught decision over whether to sanction the construction of a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth, Kent, Miliband says he is not going to announce a decision after 10 days in the job.

"I have to look at this in a balanced way," he said, but he added that the "only long-term prospect for sustainable energy is around clean fuels. If we are going to meet our targets for 2050, we will have to do it with clean energy."

and

He seemed opposed to the idea of allowing the polluting plant to go ahead, as some have suggested, on the condition that it would be closed prematurely if it did not meet maximum carbon emissions criteria by a fixed date, such as 2020.

The language Miliband's been using over the past couple of days has been extremely interesting; after John Hutton's love affair with big energy, Miliband seems to be going out of his way to distance himself from energy companies and seems open to the sensible position of authorities like Professor Stern, the Environment Agency, the former chief scientific advisor and the Sustainable Development Commission, who say Kingsnorth should not go ahead as it's currently planned.

During his first meeting with the big energy companies, he apparently warned them that they face a crackdown on "unfair" pricing policies; and told them "that the government expects rapid action or explanation to remedy any abuses. I will meet them again in a month to hear what they have done."

"If the companies don't act in a satisfactory way, and speedily, then we will consult on legislation to prevent unfair pricing differentials."

This is fighting talk - and is a refreshing change from Hutton, who basically allowed a coal giant to dictate energy policy.

Miliband also urged the green movement to build a relationship with him: "If there is an assumption of bad faith we are not going to get anywhere, so we have to show, through the totality of our actions, that we are broadly committed to this agenda. The NGOs are not going to agree with us about everything, nor are the energy companies, but there should be an assumption of good faith."

Our reply to Miliband: we will support you wholeheartedly if the decisions you take in the coming weeks and months genuinely reflect your ambition to make the UK a world leader in climate change.

So, are UK politicians finally starting to act like the world leaders on climate change they've always claimed to be?

Well, as Miliband himself acknowledges, setting the target is the easy bit. Meeting the target is the hard bit - and requires determined action from Gordon Brown now, and from every one of his successors for the next four decades.

This is a great start, but the Greenpeace UK climate team isn't out of a job just yet.

80 per cent emissions target - Greenpeace responds

bex — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:28:36 +0100

Commenting on the new emissions target announced today by Ed Miliband, Greenpeace chief scientist Dr Doug Parr said:

"This is a hugely encouraging first move from the new Climate Change secretary. In a decade in power Labour has never adopted a target so ambitious, far-reaching and internationally significant as this. To meet it will require determined action from Gordon Brown and every one of his successors for the next four decades, hard choices will be made that will touch every Briton, but it can and must be done."

He continued:

"Ed Miliband obviously understands the urgency of the threat we face from climate change. He is absolutely right to say Britain should set an example to the rest of the world in tackling this issue, and we will support him wholeheartedly if the decisions he takes in the coming weeks and months genuinely reflect this ambition."

For more information, contact the Greenpeace press office on 0207 8658255

Tories: "we will stop a third runway"

bex — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:15:22 +0100

I still suspect I may have fallen down a rabbit hole but apparently it's true. Two weeks after formally telling the world they're opposed to a third runway at Heathrow, the Tories have issued an extraordinary warning to companies. Don't get involved in any contracts to build the third runway, they're saying, because we're "absolutely determined" to stop the project going ahead. (Oh, and they're opposed to a second runway at Stansted too.)

Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said: "We will not consider ourselves bound by any decision taken by this government (on Heathrow)... People involved with contracts should be warned - we will stop a third runway going ahead... Anyone getting involved in any contract for a third runway should be very, very careful."

That was yesterday. Today, Labour looked even more isolated on Heathrow, as unions and organisations with a membership totalling five million placed this advert (pdf) in The Times, calling on the government to scrap Heathrow expansion plans.

Unison - the second biggest union in the UK - and the Campaign to Protect Rural England are among the 20-odd organisations who signed the letter, which read:

The economic case for building a third runway is unproven. With current plans in the region of £13 billion, money would be better spent on a low carbon and efficient high speed rail network linking the UK’s major cities with the rest of Europe.

As trade unions and member organisations representing millions of people, we believe this money should be invested in infrastructure like the rail network which would create jobs, generate business and help in the fight against climate change.

Whether it's reality or a rabbit hole, I think I'm starting to like it in here.

UK thwarts EU crack down on gas guzzlers

jossc — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:58:36 +0100

Cars are responsible for 12 per cent of all CO2 emissions across the EU

Once again our government's green credentials have been put to the test and found wanting. Presented by the EU Parliament with a perfect opportunity to force Europe's motor industries to reign-in their gas guzzling, climate damaging ways, they opted instead to give in to the demands of the car lobby.

Only two weeks ago the European Parliament unexpectedly backed legislation which would have dramatically cut the amount of CO2 passenger vehicles are allowed to emit, sending a long overdue signal that the days of gas-guzzling cars are coming to an end. Resisting strong pressure from car manufacturers, MEPs on the environment committee approved measures to limit vehicle emissions to 120 CO2/km by 2012. They also agreed on a longer term target to reduce emissions still further - to 95g CO2/km by 2020. This compares with a current EU average of 158g CO2/km.

But Europe's car makers, who had lobbyed heavily for both a delay to the 2012 target date and weaker penalties for non-compliance, were not about to respect the Parliament's decision. Their lobbying continued at ministerial level, as both EU environment ministers and the European Commission needed to agree on the final wording of the proposals in order to make them a reality. And in the the end it appears to have been the UK government which has been most influential in ensuring that the proposals will not see the light of day, and that concessions to the German car industry proposed earlier in the year by French PM Nicholas Sarkosy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are adopted across Europe in their place.

So instead of effective legislation to limit emissions from cars and protect the climate, we get protectionist policies designed to defend outdated and inefficient car industries in the UK, France and Germany. Will they ever learn?

Stansted and City airports get the expansion go ahead

bex — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:45:26 +0100

There've been two new blows to the UK's prospects of tackling climate change in the last couple of days.

First, City Airport got permission to increase flights to and from the airport by up to 50 per cent - despite the presence of dozens of flashmobbers registering their opposition outside Newham Town Hall (where the decision meeting was taking place), and local planners, teachers and campaigners from a number of organisations inside the hall. And despite the fact that the airport representatives couldn't and didn't even try to answer the accusations that they'd lied and their noise figures were inaccurate.

And then, ignoring powerful opposition from Stop Stansted Expansion and thousands of others, the government's ~~minister for BAA~~ transport secretary gave Stansted Airport the go ahead for an extra 10 million passengers - or 23,000 flights - a year.

Overall then, a bad day for the UK's emissions. But the subtext of the decision is even more worrying; despite the reshuffle, despite the government's recent signals that it will agree to a target that necessitates the stopping of growth from aviation, the government is carrying on with business as usual. 'Business' being the operative word; as the Lib Dem's Norman Baker observed, it's "further evidence that the government is in the pocket of the aviation industry".

The government's somewhat dense letter to BAA (pdf) confirming its decision on Stansted is quite revealing. In it, the government admits it is pretty much ignoring the climate change bill ("The Secretaries of State note that neither the Planning Bill nor Climate Change Bill have been enacted, and afford them little weight, as they might be subject to change").

The letter also reveals that the government still hasn't grasped a fundamental reality about airport expansion: that aviation growth is irreconcilable with tackling climate change (as we've explained before, if aviation keeps expanding at predicted levels, its emissions would wipe out our entire 2050 carbon budget*).

And yet the Secretaries of State, says the letter, "share the Inspector's view that Government policy seeks to reconcile growth in aviation to meet the needs identified in the [Air Transport White Paper] with action to address climate change..."

On the bright side, there has been some small consolation for anti-aviation expansion campaigners this week: Coventry airport lost its High Court appeal to build a terminal this week.

But for now, campaigners' eyes are on the Heathrow decision - and whether the government, for once, can make reality match its rhetoric.

* Clarification 13/10/08: If aviation keeps expanding at predicted levels, its emissions would wipe out our entire 2050 carbon budget if we adopted the 80 per cent target Brown is considering adopting.

Greenpeace reaction to Stansted expansion

bex — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:43:48 +0100

Reacting to news that the government has today backed plans to allow the expansion of Stansted Airport, Greenpeace senior transport campaigner Anita Goldsmith said:

"Only this week the government signaled that it will adopt a new tougher target to cut climate-trashing emissions, including those from aviation. But giving the green light to another 20,000 new flights from Stansted is in clear contrast to that commitment.

"Labour has promoted a binge-flying culture in Britain for too long. And unfortunately it looks like it will be business as usual from the new transport secretary.

"Brown's re-shuffled cabinet is still dealing from the bottom of the pack when it comes to climate change."

Greenpeace press office: 020 7865 8255

TANC rolls into action

jossc — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:17:29 +0100

TANC - making headlines in the Shropshire Star

Telford Against New coal (TANC) yesterday launched their campaign to stop an opencast coal mine at the foot of the Wrekin Hills from getting planning permission. Besides the obvious climate change implications, the proposed 230 acre site would encroach into the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and ruin some of the largest and most valuable areas of ancient woodland in the county.

If it gets the go-ahead UK Coal expects to extract 900,000 tonnes of coal from the mine and burn it in climate wrecking power stations.

TANC members grilled Telford and Wrekin Council's head of planning for nearly an hour to impress on him the damage that the new mine could cause, both to the climate and the local environment. Their protest outside the council offices in Telford was reported on the front page of the Shropshire Star (which you may be surprised to learn is the second largest circulation regional paper in the country!) and on local BBC radio.

Find out more about TANC at www.tanc.org.uk. And if you need reminding about just what's so bad about the black stuff - read our Case against Coal.

The Rainbow Warrior is coming to the UK

bex — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:15:22 +0100

She's our world famous flagship, she's helped to win Greenpeace campaigns across the globe and now she's coming to the UK to persuade Gordon Brown to Give Coal the Boot.

As I write, the Rainbow Warrior II is winging her way from Greece towards UK waters. She's due to arrive for a two week tour in around 10 days' time - and you're invited to come on board and meet the crew: book your boarding pass here.

As well as open days, there'll be political visits, campaign seminars and a journey along the Kent coastline to highlight how Kent is threatened by climate change. I'll be blogging from the ship throughout the tour so, if you can't make it in person, follow the ship tour blog or sign up for daily email updates:

For the past few months, the Warrior has been telling governments around the world to quit coal and join the clean energy revolution. The ship is on her way to Poland for crucial climate talks in December - and is coming to the UK to tell Brown to Give Coal the Boot and embrace an energy revolution based on efficiency, renewables and combined heat and power instead.

I'll keep you updated. In the meantime, if you're as excited as I am, feel free to keep compulsively checking the Rainbow Warrior webcam instead of doing any proper work:

Greenpeace ship in Indonesia to investigate forest destruction

tracy — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:06:06 +0100

We're going to be a bit short staffed on the blog over the next couple of months - Jamie has joined our ship the Esperanza in Indonesia to help document forest and peatland destruction and collect evidence about the palm oil companies that are driving the devastation.

It's his first time on a Greenpeace ship so we're still waiting to hear how he handles the sea sickness, but looks like he had an amazing introduction to the tour:

Earlier this morning, under a blistering tropical sun the Esperanza slid slowly in to dock in Jayapura harbour. About 100 people were waiting on the dockside to welcome the crew, including the mayor and a troupe of colourful dancers. I was also waiting, not just to see the ship arrive but to join the crew as we set out on the next stage of our Forests For Climate tour.

Over the next six weeks, we'll be touring the archipelago to do a number of things. We'll be showing you the incredible wonders of the majestic forests and peatlands in Papua and Sumatra, which will also serve as a reminder of what we stand to lose if the current rates of deforestation continue. We'll be collecting evidence about companies who are causing the devastation as they expand their operations - the focus will be on the growth of the palm oil industry, but there are plenty of other factors, including industrial logging and mining. And we'll also be providing solutions to the crisis both long and short term so these forests can be permanently protected.

So why Papua? As one half of the remote and mountainous New Guinea island, it contains the largest area of remaining forest in Indonesia - with those of Sumatra and Kalimintan on the island of Borneo largely gone or degraded, this really is the last frontier. New Guinea as a whole is home to hundreds of distinct tribes and clans with a corresponding range of cultural diversity. And of course the biodiversity is second to none, with animals and plants new to science being recorded on a regular basis.

That alone makes the forests worth protecting, but as we now realise they're also vitally important when it comes to climate change. Not only do the trees and soil act as huge carbon stores, cutting them down also releases that carbon in the form of greenhouse gases. Indonesia is the third largest emitter on the planet, largely due to deforestation, so if we're going to beat climate change we have to save the forests, including those in Papua.

The way to do this is to place a moratorium on all deforestation across Indonesia, which will provide the breathing space necessary to work on plans to safeguard the future of these forests. The Indonesian government is the one to lay down a moratorium, but it also needs the palm oil industry to provide ministers the space to do so.

Over the course of the coming weeks, we'll be filling in the details on this blog - the problems we face, the companies and people involved on both sides of the argument, and what we can do to fix it.

So come and join us. It's going to be an exhilarating expedition for all of us, but also a very urgent one. The effects of climate change are already being felt around the world and we don't have long to prevent the worst predictions becoming inevitable. We still have time if we act now.

You can follow all of Jamie's updates on the Greenpeace Forests for Climate blog, and we'll reprint some of the highlights here.

Rainbow Warrior heading to the UK to Give Coal the Boot

bex — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:00:41 +0100

The Rainbow Warrior, Greenpeace's flagship, will be visiting the UK later this month.

The 55-metre vessel, one of the most famous ships in the world because of her environmental campaigns, will arrive in London on the 20 October as part of Greenpeace's ‘Give Coal the Boot' campaign.

She will then be visiting Kent, where the first coal power station for a generation is being planned at Kingsnorth, and welcoming onboard the heads of groups such as Oxfam, the Women's Institute and Tearfund.

These groups, whose combined membership numbers millions, will show their opposition to plans for coal power stations like the one proposed by Eon for Kingsnorth.

The Rainbow Warrior will then be welcoming visitors for a guided tour at Southend pier in Essex on Saturday the 25 and Sunday the 26 October. The tour is free, and will offer everyone a chance to learn more about the ship and about the campaign to ‘Give Coal the Boot'. (1)

Joss Garman of Greenpeace said: "There's a huge coalition building against planned coal plants, and they'll be joining the Rainbow Warrior to help give coal the boot.

"Faith groups, development groups, politicians of all shades, scientists and thousands of ordinary people are standing up and saying no to new coal."

Last month, ministers suffered a blow to their energy plans as six Greenpeace volunteers were acquitted of criminal damage by a Crown Court jury in a case that centred on the contribution made to climate change by burning coal.

The charges arose after the six attempted to shut down the Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent last year by scaling the chimney and painting the Prime Minister's name down the side. The defendants pleaded ‘not guilty' and relied in court on the defence of ‘lawful excuse' - claiming they shut the power station in order to defend property of a greater value from the global impact of climate change.

Greenpeace press office: 020 7865 8255.

NOTES:

(1) Please register online to join a guided tour here. As a working ship, the Rainbow Warrior has some steep steps and narrow passageways, so unfortunately pushchairs, wheelchairs and dogs will not be allowed on board. But, although those people with limited mobility may not be able to get a full tour, they can of course see the ship and talk to the crew.

For more information on the Rainbow Warrior, go to http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/ships/the-rainbow-warrior.