UK climate change programme : memoranda relating to the inquiry submitted to the Committee / Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environment, Transport, and Regional Affairs Committee
Date:
1999
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Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: UK climate change programme : memoranda relating to the inquiry submitted to the Committee / Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    improve health and help reduce fuel poverty, and pollution and congestion problems in transport would be relieved. Friends of the Earth therefore considers that the government’s climate programme should not be driven by its legal obligation under the Kyoto Protocol. Friends of the Earth considers that the Government should devise a Climate Change Programme by the end of 1999 that enables it to go beyond its Kyoto obligations and achieve its manifesto commitment of a 20 per cent reduction in CO, emissions by 2010. Dr Patrick Green Senior Energy, Nuclear and Climate Campaigner 5 January 1999 Notes ' Friends of the Earth (1998) Cutting CO,—Creating Jobs—An Economic Analysis of policies to cut UK CO, emissions by 20 per cent or more. A Report by Energy for Sustainable Development Ltd for Friends of the Earth. * SAFIRE—Strategic Assessment Framework for the Implementation of Rational Energy, used for example in The European Renewable Energy Study (ESD/European Commission, 1997). * The transport figures used in the ESD study are based on previous modelling work carried out for Friends of the Earth by ECOTEC. See Friends of the Earth (1997) Less Traffic, More Jobs, London: Friends of the Earth. *Cambridge Econometrics, 1998. Industrial Benefits from Environmental Tax Reform in the UK FOE/FFF, London. Note: It should be noted that these figures were generated by a model which was up-to-date as of January 1998. They do not therefore reflect changes in the employers’ NIC regime introduced in the 1998 Budget. However, it seems unlikely that these changes would significantly alter the model’s outputs. ° Energy Saving Trust (1997) Energy Efficiency and Environmental Benefits to 2010, London: EST. * ACE (1997) Campaign to end fuel poverty is launched, The Fifth Fuel, No. 33, Spring 1997. Memorandum submitted by the Institute of Directors (IoD) (CC 8) UNITED KINGDOM CLIMATE CHANGE PROGRAMME INTRODUCTION 1. This is the IoD’s response to the Committee’s invitation to comment on the issues raised in the Government’s consultation paper, UK Climate Change Programme Consultation Paper [Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), London, October 1998]. We have addressed the issues listed in the Committee’s Press Notice 82/97—98 of 19 November 1998. We shall also be making a response to DETR, on some of the specific questions posed in the Consultation Paper. 2. In our response we have incorporated the findings from several surveys of IoD members on matters pertaining to climate change and the environment. 3. In the following, references are made to sections of the Consultation Paper. Summary of the IoD’s Response 4. The Government should be more explicit about some of the scientific and technological uncertainties associated with climate change and global warming, and be prepared to be responsive to new developments. 5. Any burdens of climate change policies must not fall only on businesses: domestic energy use should be targeted as well. 6. Taxes or a permit system could seriously damage many businesses that are unable to save energy without contracting or closing down. Any taxes should therefore be set at a low level. 7. Business is uncertain and divided about the merits of different policy options. A more in-depth assessment of their effects on industry will be needed before proceeding any further. 8. All nations must play their part: the UK should not go it alone. Climate Change Strategy, the Long-Term View and Behavioural Change 9. IoD members are concerned about global warming. For example. in a telephone survey of 500 IoD members; conducted in September 1998 by NOP Business, 66 per cent of the respondents said that they were