Tag: net zero

Net Zero: The Sunlit Upland

Featured

As our politicians belatedly prepare road maps out of lockdown it is critical their plans look beyond short hop journeys to a new normal and train eyes on the horizon to what must be our final destination:  net zero.

We start the journey from an unrecognisable landscape. The business as usual terrain which we live on is broken and scarred from the violent economic tremors of the Coronavirus quake. High above the fractured infrastructure of modern life, the citadel of capitalism constructed by big business has also been shaken by the shockwaves of a global pandemic. Those living inside have let down the drawbridge for unconditional bailouts to rebuild the weakened walls and tilted towers of their business empires. 

But we must not be cowed into compliance by their economic power. As we survey our broken lands we must resist the urge to stay put and rebuild what was there before. Instead, we must find the collective will to leave behind Business as Usual, journey beyond New Normal and set up home in a new place called Net Zero.

The journey ahead is long and challenging. Obstacles will be put in our way by Big Business as it  uses all the means at its disposal to maintain the bottom line, setbacks will be encountered as, inevitably, some ideas and approaches don’t work as hoped and personal sacrifices will need to be made as we change how we consume, how we work and how we travel. 

But with vision, imagination and ingenuity we can navigate a route through the hazards and move forward to the broad sunlit uplands of Net Zero. 

We can inhabit a place where people and planet are prioritised over profit, where we live above the lower limits of human need and below the upper limits of planetary health, where success is measured by well being of people and the planet. 

We can inhabit a place where businesses rooted in community thrive, where social enterprises, mutuals and co-operatives are supported to succeed, where a circular economy powered by a green new deal makes the most efficient use of finite natural resources.

We can inhabit a place where the air we breath is clean, where the spaces we live in are green and nature is allowed to flourish, where net emissions are zero and potentially catastrophic rises in global temperatures are limited to 1.5c. 

But only if we look to the horizon and start now on the journey which will take us from broken terrain to sunlit upland.

‘Not a lame duck’ PM but still not a role model person

I tell my boys it is important to acknowledge their mistakes, rectify them if possible and learn from them always. I also think it is important to follow the principles I teach.

So, I acknowledge a mistake I made in writing my last post, rectify it in this post by making an apology and promise to learn from my mistake by only publishing in future posts things that I can back up with fact and reason.

In my last post, I called Theresa May “our lame duck Prime Minister”. In this post: I acknowledge calling May a lame duck is factually incorrect, I apologise to the Prime Minister for wrongly calling her a lame duck and I learn from my mistake by checking definitions before I publish.

The dictionary definition of ‘lame duck’ is ‘a politician or government in the final period of office, after a successor has been elected.’ Due to the current state of British politics, a successor to Theresa May is still to be elected. On this basis, Theresa May cannot be accurately described as a ‘lame duck’.

I felt justified using the term without checking its definition because I believed Theresa May would not have any authority in her final few weeks as Prime Minister to make any decisions or effect any change. On this more substantial point I was also wrong.

The ‘not a lame duck’ Prime Minister made a big announcement which claimed legislation introduced by her will eradicate the UK’s net contribution to climate change by 2050.

The statutory instrument to implement this will be laid in Parliament today, Wednesday 12 June. This will amend the Climate Change Act 2008.

Statutory Instruments (SIs) are regularly used to amend existing laws without Parliament having to go through the lengthy process of passing an Act. Around, 3,500 SIs are made every year. The change in law will automatically take effect unless there is an objection within a fixed period – usually 40 days – after SIs have been laid.

This legislation will mean that the UK is on track to become the first G7 country to legislate for net zero emissions. 

‘Not a lame duck’ Prime Minister Theresa May said, “Now is the time to go further and faster to safeguard the environment for our children. This country led the world in innovation during the Industrial Revolution, and now we must lead the world to a cleaner, greener form of growth.”

Perhaps Theresa May is also acknowledging mistakes and learning lessons from her time as Prime Minister?

May’s downfall has been attributed to her unwillingness to listen. Well, it appears she has listened to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) the government’s independent advisory body, when they said about legislating for zero emissions, “Do it Now.”

May has legislated and her announcement today commits future governments to keep listening to the people who are likely to be most affected by the effects of climate change.

The change to the law laid down by the ‘Not a lame duck’ Prime Minister sets a target. Future governments will determine the precise direction of future climate policy but May also announced young people will have the chance to shape policy through the Youth Steering Group. The Group, led by the British Youth Council, will advise Government on priorities for environmental action and give a view on progress to date against existing commitments on climate, waste and recycling, and biodiversity loss.

However, May has not fully taken on board the lessons of her mistakes as Prime Minister. The ability to use International Carbon Credits is still retained as a tool to eradicate the UK’s net contribution to climate change. This means the UK can meet its legally binding target by trading excess emissions to other, usually less developed, nations. The CCC advised it was “essential” that such credits were not used.

The ‘Not a Lame Duck’ Prime Minister also promised a further assessment of the target will be conducted within 5 years to ensure UK industries do not face unfair competition if other countries do not follow suit.

“Reaching net zero by 2050 is an ambitious target, but it is crucial that we achieve it to ensure we protect our planet for future generations.” May’s words ring hollow when she disregards the advice of the government’s scientific advisers and provides loopholes for the UK not actually reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

May has shown I was wrong to call her a ‘lame duck’ for which I apologise and learn my lesson (I have tried my best to understand about Statutory Instruments and International Carbon Credits). Her action to set net zero emission targets is welcome but it is not strong enough to safeguard future generations as she claims….or make her a good role model for my boys.