Next year, at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the world comes together to respond to the challenge of climate change. While there is still no consensus on just how hot it is going to get, if we want to insure ourselves and the Third World against a bad case scenario on the other side of the tipping point, then this will be the time to act and turn things around.
One important step towards Copenhagen is the UK Climate Change Bill, which has the opportunity to lead the world by example.
Gordon Brown hailed this year's G8 summit, where the leaders agreed to cut CO2 emissions by 50% by 2050, as "major progress". The change from last year's promise to "seriously consider" a 50% reduction to this year's promise to "consider and adopt" this reduction has Mr. Brown so enthusiastic that he has put the UK at the forefront with a 60% reduction in the coming Climate Change Bill.
While it seems noble of Mr. Brown to propose leadership with an additional 10% reduction over the G8 agreed target for 2050, this supposed visionary outlook has a blind spot: the developing world. While the industrialised world, which is responsible for the human contribution to climate change, is demanding a 50% cut in CO2 emissions in the developing world, it is itself proposing to 'lead' the developing world by exactly the same reduction target.
It is this lack of leadership that has the developing world, with India and China in the forefront, saying, "no, thank you." Leading by example means that you lead the way, and therefore the developing world is demanding a 90% reduction from the industrialised world in exchange for its reduction of 50%. After all, the Third World did not have time to reap the benefits of development, so why should they pay the price for our climate mess? This thinking is outdated; we created the problem, so we must lead in solving it.
This logic has been understood by both the opposition and rebel MPs within the government, who are calling for an 80% reduction in a new amendment to the Bill. An 80% reduction in the Bill would make the UK stand out as a leader on climate change, and would mean that a more realistic deal of 90/50 per cent reductions will be possible next year in Copenhagen.
The UK Climate Change Bill is likely to be voted on in November, so now is the time to start campaigning for a UK 80% reduction target.
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