Tag Archives: climate policy

Investors can have a big role in supporting a just transition in the UK

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just transition smallThis post is by Nick Robins, professor in practice for sustainable finance at the Grantham Research Institute.

 

 

 

 
At the UN climate conference last December, 53 countries including the UK, signed the Silesia Declaration fleshing out the commitment to implement the Paris Agreement, by taking into account “the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs”. For the Polish host the case was clear: “considering the social aspect of the transition towards a low carbon economy is crucial for gaining social approval for the changes taking place.”

The need for a strong social dimension to climate policy has also been displayed on the streets of Paris, with the initial protests by the gilets jaunes prompted by an increase in carbon taxes. Read more

It’s time to include land use in climate policy

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land use smallThis post is by Sir Graham Wynne, Green Alliance trustee and chief executive of the RSPB from 1998 to 2010. 

As Professor Jim Skea said at a recent Green Alliance event, it is no longer a choice between doing big things or little things to address climate change, we have to do everything. The IPCC says we have twelve years to contain global warming to 1.5 degrees and every sector has to play a full part. Read more

Is it time to give climate policy a new home in government?

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sinedd buildingThis post is by Hywel Lloyd, Green Alliance associate and author of A framework for action: next steps for regulatory and policy powers over energy in Wales

Re-energising Wales is an ambitious three year project by the think tank the Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA). It will produce a delivery plan in April 2019 for how Wales can meet its projected energy demands entirely from renewable sources by 2035.  Following wide ranging engagement with experts and stakeholders across the UK, IWA published A framework for action: next steps for regulatory and policy powers over energy in Wales, highlighting the need for urgent action. It focuses on specific activities within the legislative purview of the Welsh Government. Read more

Resource efficiency is the UK’s missing climate policy

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Fotolia_76173797_M.jpgAs the UK government lobbies to host crucial UN climate talks in 2020, it can rightly claim to have demonstrated leadership on this pressing global issue. We were the first country in the world to set legally binding budgets for carbon. We have shown it’s possible to grow our economy while reducing emissions to meet the first three legally binding carbon budgets. And we are preparing to go further: climate change minister Claire Perry recently indicated that she wants the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), which sets the budgets, to investigate a target for net zero emissions by 2050.

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Want less red tape and more cost effective energy and climate policy? Head to Brussels

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Drapeaux parlement europe 3DThe EU is on the brink of setting its energy and climate future, and must agree a new policy framework for 2030 by March 2014, ahead of international climate talks in Paris this December.

In reaction to the European Commission’s green paper on options for the 2030 climate and energy policy framework last March, Europe’s largest trade association, Business Europe, suggested European manufacturing was being left behind. It stated, “Europe’s major competitors, the US and China are reindustrialising on the back of low energy costs. Meanwhile the current EU energy and climate policy is driving up costs through inconsistencies in EU policies as well as uncoordinated and heavy-handed national government intervention in energy markets.” Read more