| Summary
We warmly welcome the introduction of a Climate Change Bill. It is heartening to see the UK continue to take a lead in tackling critical global issues relating to climate change by providing the world's first comprehensive legislation in this area. We hope that this Bill will provide a framework for other countries to commit themselves to substantial reductions in carbon emissions.
The Bill currently aims to reduce the net UK carbon account by at least 60% from the 1990 baseline by 2050, some of which may be accounted for by the net purchase of foreign carbon credits. It is clear to us that climate science suggests that this figure may not be adequate to prevent global temperatures rising above dangerous levels, which is why we have welcomed the Government's emphasis that this is the minimum level of reduction to be considered; there should be no mechanism for lowering this target and it should be possible to increase it by either a super-affirmative order or an amendable affirmative statutory instrument. We are pleased that an interim target for net UK carbon emissions for 2020 has been set, but see no compelling reason why an upper limit has been imposed - this should be removed.
We have concerns about the legal enforceability of the targets and budgets; we have proposed a system of annual milestones and a compliance mechanism which we believe would create a strong legal framework, and require the Government immediately to make clear to Parliament and the public how any slippage in the targets and budgets will be seriously addressed. To reflect what we believe to be the paramount importance of this legislation across the whole of Government, we think that the legal duties of the Bill should be placed on the Prime Minister, rather than the Secretary of State. Also for this reason, we recommend that an annual Parliamentary debate on the progress reports prepared by the Committee on Climate Change and the Government's reasoned response is essential.
The Bill sets a target to reduce only carbon dioxide emissions; while we accept that this is a priority, we would like to see close monitoring and reporting of other greenhouse gases, to ensure that complacency does not set in where they are concerned, and to prompt target-setting in that area if necessary.
We are concerned at the exclusion of international shipping and aviation from the carbon budgets and consider this a weakness in the legislation.
The new Committee on Climate Change has the potential to be an extremely influential and important body. We therefore feel the Government needs to pay great attention to its funding, the way its membership is appointed and its role in advising the Government on a range of issues. It is vital that the Committee is not weakened by inadequate resourcing, or lack of credibility; this would threaten the UK's chances of working towards, and reaching, the necessary reduction in carbon emissions by 2050.
We are satisfied that the regulatory provisions made for emissions trading under the Bill are broadly correct, but feel that the super-affirmative resolution procedure should be used, to ensure the fullest possible Parliamentary scrutiny.
Although the draft Climate Change Bill is an extremely encouraging sign that the UK Government intends to take the issue of climate change seriously, it is clearly the first of what is likely to be a series of legislative measures regarding climate change issues. In particular, we think that adaptation policies need to be addressed, along with the role of local government. Significant carbon reduction cannot be achieved without widespread public support, understanding and consequent behaviour change, and the Government must consider how best this can be achieved.
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