Answering the Climate Question

A number of people have written to me about the issue of climate change.  Our manifesto has a green thread running through it – with green policies identified in each chapter.   In fact this has been the case for some years now.

Below I set out some answers to the Climate Questions I’ve been asked.

Liberal Democrats would set a new UK target for greenhouse emissions of an over 40% reduction by 2020 with no offsets and a 100% reduction by 2050 with only 10% offsets.   To achieve this target we will:

• Meet the EU 15% renewable energy target and meet our own target for a 30% energy efficiency saving, relative to 1990 levels, and make sure 40% of UK electricity comes from renewable sources – all by 2020.
• Introduce a UK emissions Performance Standard to ensure that new coal-fired power generation plants use full carbon capture and storage technology (CCS), with a CCS regime phased in for all industrial emissions from 2020.
• Implement the largest expansion of the rail network since the Victorian Era and undo many of the cuts made by Beeching.  And to the question – how will we pay for this – it will be paid for by redirecting money from the major roads budget.
• Invest £140m in a bus scrappage scheme to replace old polluting buses with new low carbon ones.
• Begin a ten-year programme of home insulation and make sure every new home is fully energy efficient by improving building regulations.

We will protect the poor from the impacts of climate change and help developing countries curb their emissions.  We will do this by:

• Providing finance for adaptation in developing countries – I saw an example of these sorts of projects when I met Oxfam recently.

Looking at how we tackle international climate change we will:

• Ensure any new international agreements are based on the best scientific evidence concerning climate change.
• Ensure that greenhouse gas emissions peak no later than 2015.
• Commit industrial countries to reduce their emissions by 40% over 1990 levels by 2020.
• Phase out fossil fuel and industrial greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
• Argue for an international target of zero net deforestation by 2020
• Support a new system of payments to developing countries to enable them to reduce deforestation
• Adopt a new law making it illegal to import or process timber produced illegally.

Living with climate change

This week I attended a  briefing from Oxfam on issues affecting Pakistan, given by their  Programme Officer on Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change for the area.

He described his work with drought, flood and cyclone prone communities in Pakistan, explained  how there has been an increase in the incidence, frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events and that in most areas rainfall patterns have become very erratic.

Some of the poorest communities are living the challenge of climate change.  There are people finding it difficult to get enough water for their families, their livestock and their crops, while others see their entire livelihoods washed away in floods.

Oxfam’s projects work with people to tackle poverty and adapt to climate change.

Christian Aid – Global Poverty: Where do you stand?

Thank you to all the residents who have contacted me regarding Christian Aid’s manifesto ‘Global Poverty – where do you stand?’

The Liberal Democrats have long been the leading party on international development issues and as set out below our party policy meets many of the demands set out in the Christian Aid manifesto.

We the first party to commit to the 0.7% target on aid spending and we will meet that target by 2013. We remain committed to supporting an independent Department of International Development represented by a Secretary of State in the Cabinet.

Liberal Democrats were deeply disappointed by the feeble outcome at the Copenhagen climate summit and will continue to push for an ambitious international agreement which delivers the $160bn needed by developing countries to deal with climate change. We are the only party to commit to providing this funding on top of existing aid pledges.

Liberal Democrats recognise the importance of improving taxation and transparency and tackling corruption in the developing world. In our recent policy paper, ‘Development in a Downturn’, we set out plans to reform international financing systems by cracking down on tax havens, improving transparency and tackling corruption – particularly by making it harder for western banks and financial institutions to facilitate that corruption.

Violent conflict is an everyday reality for millions of the world’s most vulnerable people and it continues to hamper efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals.  We believe that access to justice and security should be treated as rights in the same way as access to health and education.  We support growing efforts by the Department of International Development to tackle the causes of conflict and help to establish post-conflict reconciliation.  However, we do not believe that aid money should be used for arms or weaponry of any kind.

The Liberal Democrats have a strong record at the forefront of the international development debate and our manifesto for this election continues that tradition.