Clegg : Time for a social environmental revolution (part two)

12 March 2008

Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on the need to set out the responsibilities of businesses, politicians and individuals

Speaking at the Green Alliance annual debate in London on Monday, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg will called for a social environmental revolution. Beginning with the formation of a Charter for Climate Change, Nick set out the rights and responsibilities of businesses, politicians and individuals.

Part two of the speech is below (check against delivery):

"The Prime Minister must personally take the lion’s share of responsibility for Labour’s inaction.

As Chancellor, he presided over a fall in green taxes as a percentage of Britain’s GDP.

As Prime Minister he has downgraded the Cabinet committee on climate change -

Undermined investment in renewables with his support for nuclear -

And fluffed his response to Stern with a Climate Change Bill notable only for its lack of ambition.

Let’s be very clear what we need from that bill.

We need a commitment to reduce CO2 emissions by 80% by the year 2050.

The government’s target of 60% is simply not enough.

My Shadow Environment Secretary Steve Webb is leading our campaign for 80, not 60.

And we are determined to make this government listen.

With a personal record like Gordon Brown’s, it’s little wonder that just last week Charles Clarke, the former Home Secretary described the Prime Minister’s position on climate change as “absolutely pathetic” -

The government’s position on the green agenda “embarrassing” -

And Britain’s commitment to renewable inadequate in comparison to the position adopted by the EU Commission.

So what should we do differently?

First, we must develop green policies on a scale fit for the task we face.

That’s not going to be easy.

But the grounds are shifting, and awareness is heightening.

Every one of the leading candidates for America’s presidency has indicated a greater willingness to act than the Bush administration has shown.

This is a real chance to make progress.

So the time to act is now.

We need a government that will grasp the green agenda at home so that it has the credibility to lead it abroad too.

We have already written our prescription for tackling climate change.

Our plan for Zero Carbon Britain by 2050 makes us the first major party in British politics to establish that goal.

And we have set out a comprehensive set of policies that can deliver on that target.

Green mortgages to fund energy efficiency in our housing stock.

High speed rail to tempt passengers out of the sky and lorries off the road.

Raising green taxes across the board to encourage a change of behaviour from Britain’s polluters, with revenue raised going towards lower income taxes for those on modest incomes.

These are just a few of our ideas for tackling climate change which, taken together, set us apart from our opponents in our plans for combating climate change.

And I encourage all of you to look on our website and see the full package for yourselves.

But having gone so far on that aspect of green agenda, I am determined that we must now go further.

We must push forward with new policy thinking on how to safeguard Britain’s natural environment:

So that we can lead the political debate on that score too.

The UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment makes clear that the global threat to biodiversity is not only linked to climate change, but is just as big a threat to our future.

In the UK alone we have lost over 100 species in the last century.

And many more are at risk.

Totemic species like capercaillies, red throated divers, seahorses.

The degradation of Britain’s natural habitats: hay meadows, pine woodland, coral beds.

This isn’t just about climate change.

It’s also about the intensive agriculture, urban development and fragmentation of natural habitats that have left our plant and animal specifies vulnerable.

Without better protection for our land, seas and skies, our biosphere will be disrupted for ever and our landscapes changed for good. 

That’s why I’ve set up a new policy working group on the natural environment.

It will take soundings from experts across the field.

It will provide a comprehensive package of proposals to combat the challenges facing our biosphere.

And it will report to our spring conference this time next year.

I am open-minded about the conclusions that it will reach.

But I am clear on the scale of the task and the need to apply our commitment to sustainable development to the needs of the natural environment.

We already have specific lines of thought to pursue.

We’ll look at how we can increase the number of urban wildlife corridors to help species travel and adapt.

We’ll investigate the potential of environmental capacity as the basis for land use planning.

And we’ll find ways to encourage the expansion of green spaces in our cities with all the benefit that brings both to biodiversity and quality of life for our local communities.

How do we achieve zero waste, or near to it?

How do we cut nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture and the waste and water treatment industries?

How can we meet the water needs of an increasing population in the face of climate change?

Cutting pollution, supporting adaptation, promoting conservation.

These are our aims, and I urge you to help us.

We need your ideas, and your expertise.

So you should know that our door is open to you.

But you know, as I know, that action at the national level is not enough.

We need real action on the international stage too.

By demonstrating leadership at home we can demonstrate leadership in Europe too.

We can persuade member states to embrace the principles of cap and trade.

And persuade them to follow the UK’s lead and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by the year 2020.

And we can go forward from there.

We can make the case for an ambitious post-Kyoto agreement too.
And we can fight to establish a new UN-style body, able to enforce environmental treaties with the clout of the WTO.
WTO rules themselves should be changed to make it possible to take action against environmentally destructive producers without toppling into outright protectionism.
I want us to be able to boycott illegally-logged timber, to protect our rainforests.
And we should, as a matter of urgency, scrap tariffs on the global trade in green goods and services to give this crucial growth industry a boost.

But our obligations do not stop at mitigation.

They include adaptation too.

Decades of high emission levels from developed countries are changing the climate in developing countries too.

They are the first hit, the hardest hit, and the least able to adapt.

These countries are being subjected to flooding, to drought, to famine.

Countries like ours must take our share of the responsibility for the plight of the developing world.

And we must help them adapt to the effects that we have caused.

That means that developed countries including our own must come together and agree to provide funding necessary for adaptation to the effects of climate change on the world’s poorest communities.

Oxfam estimates the sum needed to achieve this is $50 billion each year.

Taking account of Britain’s past emissions and its future capabilities, they calculate that Britain should pay 5.3% of the total: around £1.25 billion per annum.

It is difficult to gauge the accuracy of those numbers.

But the time has come for the international community - under the auspices of the United Nations - to agree increased levels of funding for adaptation in the developing world.

That can be delivered through the UN’s current Least Developed Countries Fund - or an evolved version of it.

And it should operate under a clear set of principles

First, it should be concentrated on the poorest nations.

Second, it should be delivered through structures of governance that will ensure that the money is spent effectively.

Third, that money should not be delivered through systematic loans, but by grants paid by countries in proportion to their records as polluters.

And fourth, the money should be new.

It will not do to rob Peter in order to pay Paul.

So funding for adaptation in the developing world must come in addition to, and not instead of, the UN target of 0.7% of developed countries GNP given as overseas aid.

I believe strongly in the polluter pays principle.

That is the principle that underpins our policy of green taxes at home and that is the principle that should guide our approach to adaptation abroad.

The challenges the environment are manifold and manifest.

Under my leadership, the Liberal Democrats will approach those challenges with ideas, energy and focus.

I am determined that we will stay at the cutting edge of green policy.

Finding the solutions that count at every level -

Local, national, global.

But I am also determined to translate those policies into action.

Party politics - and pressure group action - have had some successes.

But not nearly enough.

So let’s focus now on a new dialogue between government, business, and individuals that will create an irresistible wave of pressure to change.”

ENDS

Click here to read part one of Nick Clegg's speech
Click here to read the Liberal Democrats view on the Climate Change Bill

Applicablity: due to devolution, parts of this item refer to the whole UK and parts refer to only some sections of the UK.