Date published: 2006/05/24
The BBC says:
The UK government is a "climate laggard" when it comes to policies on tackling global warming, MPs say.
A report for the all-party environment group of MPs says current efforts are failing to curb emissions from businesses, transport and homes.
It says ministers have failed to "turn rhetoric into reality" when it comes to delivering plans to reduce emissions.
Meanwhile naturalist David Attenborough has urged society to help stop global warming becoming a "catastrophe".
The broadcaster told the BBC's 10 O'Clock News climate change was an issue that "everybody needs to be involved in".
"We almost have to feel that if we waste we are morally responsible."
Mr Attenborough said politicians would address environmental issues "if the electorate demands it".
He said he would have spoken out on the issue of global warming 10 years ago had the evidence existed, but now had "no hesitation" in saying the Earth was warming up at a faster rate than for many years, "and we are contributing to the rise".
The MPs' report was compiled by the Institute for European Environmental Policy.
The group's chairman, Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker, said: "This comprehensive independent report provides a clear snapshot to show how the government is measuring up to the challenges of climate change.
"Sadly, the answer is not very well. The analysis shows that while the government has been innovative in some areas, it has time and again fallen down on delivery."
The report's conclusions include:
- the link between energy and climate policy is too weak
- renewables sector should be given greater priority
- efforts to limit emissions from transport need to be more ambitious
- annual reports should be used to highlight "priority climate issues"
- all government departments need to set clear climate targets
The report did applaud the government's promotion of the European emissions trading scheme (ETS), saying that the UK had "benefited both in terms of reputation and economically from this proactive approach".
Well you would hardly call a report on the environment from the Institute for European Environmental Policy independent. And who are these MPs kidding. They are some of the worst offenders for carbon emissions. If they think it's such a pressing issue then let them sort their own activities out before they start lecturing the rest of the country. And the plague of consultancies who produce these kinds of reports (not just environmental ones but also social, economic and political ones) are also a part of the problem, not a part of the solution.
And even dear old David Attenborough (who easily makes the best nature programmes on television) is responsible for far, far more carbon emissions than your average British citizen. (He must fly tens of thousands of miles per year, for starters.) He has made a two-part series for BBC called "Are We Changing Planet Earth?". What a silly question. Of course we have. Just fly over Britain for ten minutes and you can see it writ large. Trees have also changed Planet Earth. So what? The question is whether the proposals of those who want to stop humans from changing the planet too dramatically are worse (in whatever measure you want to use) than the "business as usual" approach that most of humanity practises. And the number one problem is over-population, which nobody ever wants to address.
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