Cicero Policy Briefer

Issue 23, April 2008

Will star power save the planet?

By Stephanie Fraser

Last month, two days of EU summit talks concluded with an agreement to set tougher targets for reducing greenhouse gases through legislation, which should be enacted by this time next year. Commenting on the proceedings, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that the EU “passed a reality test” in recognising for the first time the challenge posed by climate change and the imperative for action.

The path towards agreements and targets bound by strong legislative instruments has been led by the UK , where we already have in train the first climate change bill, which will force substantial emission reductions and should drive behavioural change in energy consumption habits. The Government also claims that the UK is the only country currently on target to meet its Kyoto commitments1, though this claim has been the subject of some dispute in the media.

However, in March British governmental and non-governmental representation threw a new resource into the ring—our political celebrities. Alongside a weak, though aspirational, green budget, Lord Turner was announced as Chair of the new Climate Change Committee, a group of notables which will provide “independent, expert advice” on how the UK can best meet its climate change goals. Now that his recommendations for relieving the problems of the ageing population are well in train to implementation, Adair Turner, former head of the CBI, has turned his hand to tackling climate change—“one of the greatest challenges of our time”.

By all accounts Turner has thrown himself into this role with enthusiasm, even coming up with some off-the-cuff initial ideas and recommendations for emissions reductions, including encouraging office workers not to wear ties, in order to reduce the need for office air conditioning. While his personal carbon footprint has drawn some media criticism (his household puts out 25-30 tonnes per year compared to a UK average of 16-17 tonnes per year), industry and government confidence in his judgement and experience are likely to go some way to deciding the success of the committee which will be setting the carbon reduction targets for the UK in coming years.

Internationally, Britain has gone one step further. Adding to his busy schedule as Middle East envoy, businessman and after dinner speaker of note, Tony Blair has taken on a role with the Climate Change Group. Heading a new initiative—“Breaking the Climate Deadlock—achieving a global deal on climate change”—Blair will negotiate with his former peers and familiars to engender international consensus towards actually achieving something, by way of a comprehensive global deal on cutting emissions, at the United Nations Conference on climate change in Copenhagen in late 2009.

At the outset Blair’s involvement in discussions is sure to be a positive, and his sentiments are promising: in his own words, “it is the key long term challenge but the need for action is now. This is urgent.” The 2009 time limit will not try the attention span of our most populist politician, and if the initiative becomes a Blair publicity vehicle, so much the better for keeping emissions reduction at the heart of pubic awareness. However, the danger in this strategy lies in placing too much of its success on his head alone: the initiative should be able to grow and develop once Blair moves on rather than withering away without his attention. If there is anything that tackling climate change should not be, it is short-termist. Governments cannot flit in and out of a climate change target as the mood takes them: they require a sustained dedication may be undermined by placing a polymath such as Blair at the helm.

1. The Kyoto treaty commits Britain to keeping annual greenhouse emissions during the period 2008-2012 to 12.5% below 1990 levels.

Stephanie Fraser can be contacted on +44 (0)20 7665 9531 or click here to email.

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