UK emissions cuts 'meaningless' without global deal, warn MPs

The UK must nevertheless cut emissions to prove it is serious about an agreement, says the environmental audit committee
Press Association
guardian.co.uk, Monday 11 January 2010 10.56 GMT
Action in the UK to cut greenhouse gas emissions could be rendered "meaningless" if a global deal on tackling climate change is not secured, a committee of MPs warned today.
But the Environmental audit committee urged the government to cut emissions more quickly at home – to prove to other countries Britain was serious about backing up its attempts to get an international agreement with action.
A report by the committee examined the progress the UK was making in meeting its "carbon budgets", targets for cutting emissions over five-year periods set down in the Climate Change Act.
It warned the government was only on track to meet the first budget (2008-12) because of the recession, and urged ministers to deliver the promised reductions and bring forward new measures to increase the rate of progress.
The EAC also said the target for cutting emissions by 2020 should be increased to 42% on 1990 levels – a pledge by the UK which has been dependent on the EU strengthening its overall aims as part of an ambitious international deal – regardless of what Europe did.
Setting the stronger long-term target, an increase on the current aim of 34% by 2020, would provide more stability to drive investment than if it was not clear what the goal would be, a report by the committee said.
But ministers should only move to the 42% aim once the country is on track to meet its current targets.
At the moment, emissions are falling at around 1% a year, but the rate needs to more than double to 2-3% annually.
A recent analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers said that the slow rate of UK emisssions cuts means that "we now need to decarbonise at a rate of 3.5% a year to get back on track by 2020 – four times more than we have managed at the global level since 2000".
The committee said the UK seemed "reluctant" to move unilaterally on tackling climate change, but said the country would not secure the competitive advantage it is looking for in a low carbon economy – including green jobs – without being an early mover.
And being active in shaping international standards governing a low-carbon economy could remove the risks of moving to cut emissions at home.
The committee said it was crucial the UK led the way on international negotiations in the wake of the Copenhagen climate summit – widely regarded as a failure – in an effort to reverse global increases in greenhouse gases by 2020 to avoid dangerous climate change.
The government needed to be prepared to make much bigger cuts if the science demanded it and be clearer about the costs of action, spelling out to the public that those costs are not additional but an alternative to the price of not doing anything, the report said.
The committee also warned against relying too much on carbon markets to drive down emissions as the price of carbon was too low and too volatile.
Tim Yeo, the committee's chairman said: "The UK's efforts to tackle climate change could be rendered meaningless if global leaders fail to reach a deal to reverse the growth in emissions by 2020.
"We must send a clear signal to developing countries that we are serious about making an international deal work – by meeting our own targets more quickly.
"The slower our progress, the less credibility we will have internationally."