Ed Miliband, the Coalition and Climate Change

By:  Sue Davies  and  Pam Field

Soaking up the Sun, (and Wind and Wave and Tides)  

While politicians, businessmen, stock brokers and bankers spent their summer soaking up the sun, there have been riots and looting,  financial crises and crashes, rising unemployment figures, yet more bloodshed over oil, and, for some us at home a fair bit of rain to depress us all further.

But how many, wisely, while sitting on their deckchairs – or yachts – soaking up the warmth from the energy in the sun or sipping the cocktails, realised, or even cared, how much of the former could have been avoided if it were not for the short-termism of politicians, who seek re-election and no doubt seek to please those companies contributing to their re-election?

Use of clean, green energy sources both on a micro and macro scale has to be the political focus for the future. There is a very real danger of global warming. The world’s oil resources will be depleted within fifty years, and our dependence on it for energy and as a raw material  must inevitably come to an end.

Ed Miliband was the first Labour Minister to really begin to understand the crucial importance of acting immediately to avert the worst impacts of climate warming.  In October 2008, he announced that the British government would legislate to oblige itself to cut 80% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Two policies introduced by Ed Miliband are particularly noteworthy. The feed-in tariffs for solar produced electricity…  no mean task given the Thatcher government’s legislation to block energy production other than by the privatised providers…  legislation not repealed by previous Labour ministers;  and the legislation to prevent new coal fired power stations unless they could capture and bury 25% of its emissions immediately, and 100% by 2025.  This decision came after talking to and being persuaded by the Kingsnorth power station demonstrators.  The power station plans were shelved.   In contrast, John Hutton had been content to wave an unmodified power station through planning consent, without conditions of any sort. 

Had the Kingsnorth power station gone ahead , this would  likely to have been the result:  

UK emissions are unlikely to have been reduced by an amount greater than 40% by 2020 as needed to prevent catastrophic climate impact. Mirrored around the world such action would increase the temperature globally by 4°C by the end of 21^st Century,  resulting in:

• Over 1 billion people losing access to their dry season water supply due to glaciers melting.
• Between 350 and 600 million people suffering from the droughts in Africa.
• Around 200 million people being forced out of their homes and becoming climate refugees, due to increased disasters, sea level rise and drought.
• Up to 550 million more people at risk of hunger due to drought and lower crop yields
• One to three million people dying each year to malnutrition
• Around 300 million more people each year suffering from coastal flooding, with tens of millions losing their homes permanently due to sea level rise
• Between 40 and 80 million more people could be exposed to malaria in Africa alone.