Environment preview of 2010

After the debacle at Copenhagen, the world will be hoping that global leaders can make up for lost time this year

By Louise Gray, Environment CorrespondentPublished: 8:00AM GMT 29 Dec 2009

1. Post Copenhagen
Already Gordon Brown is pushing for another meeting of world leaders to sort out the mess as soon as possible. However he is dead set against the UN process that ended in such confusion last time. Instead it is likely that high level meetings, many behind closed doors, will be held throughout the year under the guise of the Major Economies Forum, G8 and other groupings.

The key sticking point is over how to reduce carbon emissions. Developed countries will be announcing how much they are willing to reduce greenhouse gases by 2020 at the end of January. The EU is willing to increase its target from 20 to 30 per cent by 2020 if other rich nations like the US, Japan and Australia also increase ambition. This horse trading will be a key part of strengthening world action against climate change.
Other points in the Copenhagen Accord that will take immediate action include handing out some of the $30 billion (£24bn) promised to poor nations by 2012 to help them reduced emissions and adapt to climate change. Work will also start on a scheme to save the rainforests by paying poor nations not to chop down trees.
Meanwhile the official UN process will shuffle on. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), that is in charge of talks, will meet in June in Bonn and again in November in Mexico. It is hoped that progress will be made on the Copenhagen Accord so that it can be made a legal treaty by the end of the year.
2. Climate change
This is still the main issue for the environment in 2010. As well as the Copenhagen Accord, every department in the British Government will be working to address the problem of climate change by reducing emissions and protecting nature. The Committee on Climate Change will issue further instructions on how the UK is expected to meet its current target of cutting emissions by 34 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020. This will include further measures to encourage people from cars to public transport, including looking at road tolls and high speed trains.
3. Tory green policy
If David Cameron's party take power they have promised to introduce measures to cut household energy consumption. This would see the Government link up with major retailers like M&S and Tesco to offer households a full "green make-over". Loans to install insulation as well as more expensive measures like solar panels can be paid back over time from the savings made on energy bills. The Tories claim six billion homes will have access to £6,500 worth of energy saving measures.
4. Recycling and bins
The UK is running out of holes in the ground to dump rubbish and local authorities are likely to ramp up the drive to increase recycling rates. Households will be expected to separate their food waste for collection and could even be fined for failing to sort rubbish properly. This has proved unpopular so far. The Tories are trying a new track by offering to pay people who recycle correctly instead.
5. Green farming
Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy in 2013 could transform how the land is managed. British farmers will be monitoring progress in Brussels closely and making sure that food production in industrialised nations continues to be supported. The role of the environment in farming is likely to have much greater importance under the new CAP and already farmers are being asked to leave field margins for birds and use less chemicals. In Britain the conservationists and National Farmers Union have agreed to trial a scheme this year known as the Campaign for the Farmed Environment. Farmers will leave fallow a certain amount of land for wildlife to make up for the loss of set aside land. If they fail to prove they can protect nature on farms voluntarily then the Government has threatened to made it compulsory.
6. Frankenstein Foods
The Food Standards Agency has launched a mass public consultation on genetically modified (GM) foods. This will report back some time in 2010 and is likely to spark up the continuing debate around the controversial issue. Scientists, including the Royal Society, have made it clear that they think GM is part of the answer to food security in the future. But whether the public will countenance "Frankenstein foods" in their diet or on their farmland is another question. The Government is in favour of further research but afraid of backing GM too much in case of a public backlash. Universities in Britain continue to work on new varieties and new experiments will begin this year, despite public unease. The campaign to get more people growing-their-own, led by civil society groups including the National Trust, will continue into the New Year with more families encouraged to produce their own fruit and vegetables.
7. Energy Policy
The Government has announced 10 sites for possible nuclear power stations and energy companies will be coming forward with their bids. But despite Government backing their could be resistance from local communities as questions remain over the safety and cost of nuclear. Wind farms and bio mass projects will mushroom as the Government struggles to reach its target in producing more energy from green sources. The Severn Barrage is the only tidal project expected to go forward this year although there will be more research and development in this area. Households will be encouraged to set up their own renewable energy projects through a new Feed-In Tariff, although at the moment environmental groups are concerned that the reward for feeding energy into the grid is still too low.
Other big issues coming up this year will include Britain's response to the continued in flooding, the threat of animal disease, the decline of bees and the possible extension of the country's national parks.