Date published: 2005/03/27
The BBC says:
The government is not doing enough to tackle climate change, according to a report by a parliamentary committee.
The Environmental Audit Committee attacked ministers for believing that new technology and market mechanisms will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The committee says Britain and the developed world need to reduce emissions by 60-80% by 2050.
Committee chairman MP Peter Ainsworth called on the government to draw up a clear plan of action.
In its report the parliamentary committee attacked the European Emissions Trading Scheme, which is central in helping the EU to bring down greenhouse gas emissions.
The BBC's environment correspondent, Richard Black, said the committee found the scheme's regulations are too lax, have a minimal impact on emissions and may lead to windfall profits for electricity generators.
He said the government is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with the European Commission over Britain's emission allowances under the scheme.
This is a dispute which the audit committee says risks "wantonly squandering" Britain's reputation for leadership on climate change, he reported.
Britain's alleged leadership on climate change is worth nothing except a few snickers. And what a surprise, the control freaks are out again, asking for more government regulation. No matter what rules governments decide, private industry will figure out how to exploit the system to maximise profits, that is their role in life. Second-rate MPs (and civil servants) only know how to maximise verbiage. Not too long ago the goal was 60% reduction in emissions by 2050. Now it seems to have jumped to 80%, which is a further reduction of half (i.e. from 40% of 1990 levels in 2050 to 20%), so non-trivial. Don't you just love it when the ruling elite just arbitrarily halve the target? Since MPs consume far more resources and produce far more emissions than the average UK citizen, perhaps they should take the lead and accept a huge pay cut and removal of their extravagant perks.
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