Act urgently on climate change

Mar 18 2008 by Jill Evans, Western Mail

THIS week I was privileged to meet and listen to the scientist and Nobel Prize-winner Sir John Houghton who previously worked with the International Panel on Climate Change.

He came to meet members of the National Assembly Commission on Climate Change, of which I am a member. His message was clear and very strong. We have to take urgent action.

The following day I attended the launch in Cardiff of the UK Climate Change Committee. This body has been set up under the Climate Change Act (currently going through Parliament) to look at the targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction and also to introduce carbon budgeting – setting interim targets to achieve that goal. There were detailed presentations on the current science on climate change, which is worse than previous predictions.

Earlier this month European environment ministers discussed the climate and energy laws proposed by the European Commission on January 23. The aim is to revise all EU laws relating to climate change to meet the target of a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, 20% renewable energy and 20% energy efficiency by that year.

The European Commission has put forward proposals on, for example, emissions, renewable energy, waste, energy efficiency and carbon capture and storage. For a country which has been so dependent on coal for power in the past, and still is to a large extent, this is of particular interest in Wales.

The commission is proposing a dozen demonstration plants throughout Europe – coal-fired power stations where the carbon emissions would be collected and condensed before being stored underground. This science is still developing, but I will be following this particular aspect of the climate change package for my political group in the Parliament over the coming months.

I believe that stronger overall targets will have to be adopted by the EU if we are to make a real difference but this package is a step in the right direction. Even so, several countries, like the UK, Spain and Austria, wanted even more flexibility in meeting their carbon reduction targets. They were more concerned with the cost of implementing the proposals than the need for urgent action.

The commission has estimated that the cost of the proposals is less than 0.5% of GDP by 2020. How can you compare that with the costs of escalating climate change which will have a devastating affect on everyone, but mostly the developing countries.

The One Wales government has set an ambitious target of reducing carbon emissions by 3% in areas of devolved competence. This is not an easy challenge to meet, but I believe that there is the political will in Wales to match action to the rhetoric.

Jill Evans is Plaid Cymru MEP for Wales