Public Service Review: Central Government Issue 17 - Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Climate change is not only a monumental challenge but an historic opportunity to change the Westminster mindset on sustainable development, says shadow environment secretary Peter Ainsworth

The Climate Change Bill has yet to reach the statute books but all parts of government should be urgently thinking about how we are going to reach challenging carbon budgets. Targets alone will not move the UK to a low carbon economy; we need radical policies. The legislation has the potential to be a real catalyst for change but only if every part of government thinks green. Labour's 1997 manifesto promised to put 'concern for the environment at the heart of policy making'. While it is not difficult to point to examples of where this has patently not happened, what matters now is that we stop moving at such a snail's pace. We can pore over the statistics and find that on a given yardstick there is cause for some hope but no-one can seriously argue, on any measure, that we are making anything like the progress we need to. In fact, on issues like coal and aviation, as the new chairman of the Environment Agency Chris Smith has pointed out, we are not even marking time; we are going backwards. As the evidence of dangerous climate change increases almost daily, a 'business as usual' approach is not just inadequate, but frighteningly so.

Professor Robert Watson, Chief Scientist to Defra, recently warned that we need to prepare for dangerous climate change and a rise in average global temperatures of four degrees Celsius. It is a grim outlook but he is right to fire a warning shot. Where are the policies that will mitigate the effects of climate change? The government has yet to grasp the scale of the challenge and take the necessary steps to protect homes and livelihoods. Adaptation should go hand in hand with mitigation.

Last year's summer floods proved just how ill-equipped we are as a nation to cope with extreme weather. Critical infrastructure, which we had taken for granted, suddenly seemed alarmingly vulnerable. Institutional confusion hampered our ability to respond. The forthcoming Floods and Water Bill should begin to address some of these issues but with consultation not due until next year we can't afford to let it slip further down the list of priorities. To tackle surface water flooding, which caused such havoc last year, we need to look seriously at ways to slow down our cycle of water, and ease pressure on our drainage systems.

The Marine Bill is also vital. First promised back in 2004, the legislation should by now be facilitating the development of renewable energy projects as well as protecting our coastal habitats. It is clear that we need an honest and searching debate on how we can manage the encroachment of the sea upon our coasts. Recent news stories have drawn attention to the plight facing several villages in Norfolk, but there are many other areas around our coastline at risk. There is real frustration that so many of our flood defences are in a poor condition and a familiar fear that rural areas are losing out.

Wildlife, at sea and on land, is already feeling the effects of climate change. Some species are ahead of us, forced to adapt for survival. Birds, like the chaffinch and robin, are laying their eggs around a week earlier than in the 1960s. But experts predict many insects, birds and animals will need to move further upland and North or face extinction. That won't be possible without a clear shift towards an ecosystem and landscape approach to biodiversity. We need to ensure an escape route by maintaining wildlife corridors and a planning system that comprehends the plain truth: that a business approach is not morally or practically defensible. Urban green spaces have as much of a role as rural wildlife havens.

Defra can lead the charge on some of these issues, but to succeed we will need buy in from the rest of government. Too often government departments are blinkered in their approach without clear direction from the very top of government. Of course the UK cannot act alone. Our Foreign Secretary needs to champion the case abroad for a post-Kyoto agreement and urge countries to put a price on avoided deforestation. But he also needs to be emboldened by a strong record at home. The Business Secretary should be giving a clear signal that there is no room for coal unless the associated carbon emissions are captured and safely stored; and he should already have given the green light to feed in tariffs to make microgeneration commonplace. The Transport Secretary should be demanding strict environmental standards for biofuels and, as Chris Smith has also argued, there is a need to rethink current plans for airport expansion. And the Treasury should be making the case for green taxes by putting all revenue into a family fund to cut taxes elsewhere, not undermining support for green taxes by smuggling them in as stealth taxes.

Faced with troubled economic conditions, the case for green growth is more compelling than ever. Climate change is already playing its part in rising food prices, and energy and water bills. We urgently need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels. Britain's huge natural resources of wind and wave remain largely untapped. At the same time, far too little emphasis has been placed on the massive benefits we could reap from greater energy- efficiency. And rather than struggling to deal with mountains of polluting waste, we should be looking at the whole life cycle of every product and working towards a zero waste society.

Responsible business is already ahead of the game, coming up with exciting technological advances in transport, energy and housing, as well as finding solutions to our landfill headache. But a confused and heavy-handed approach from government is a recipe for inertia, and that is the last thing we need. Government must demonstrate that it is willing to listen to the concerns of business in order to overcome the barriers to change. There needs to be a clear overall framework set by government providing certainty and room for business to innovate and come up with solutions.

And if we expect every individual and organisation to do their bit, government should start leading by example. Each year the Sustainable Development Commission winces at the lack of progress made across Whitehall and this year its Chairman Jonathon Porritt gave up altogether and refused to do any media work on the annual report. Over half of all government departments have increased their carbon emission in the last decade and 15 departments are now less energy-efficient than they were. There are pockets of good practice but across the board the government's performance has been pretty dreadful.

This isn't about giving policies a green tinge. It is about a fundamental rethink, an exciting new way of doing things. We need to change the Westminster mindset, ensuring sustainable development is in the bones of government, not an annual embarrassment. The Climate Change Bill has set the pace. Now we need the will to drive change through all sections of government. Climate change is a monumental challenge but also an historic opportunity.


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