Urgent action to tacle climate change and say that it would benefit everyone

At the start of this new millennium we have a real chance to tackle climate change and promote sustainable development.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today. I do not think there can be any doubt now that it is taking place and will have serious impacts on all of us.

It is a cruel irony that Millennium Island, the first place on Earth to greet the dawn of the new millennium, may be submerged by rising seas by the end of the century. But rising sea levels are only one of the many possible consequences of climate change. More intense storms, water shortages, flooding and freshwater inundation are also predicted. All of these have the potential to significantly disrupt lives, ecosystems and economies.

But action is being taken. The Rio Earth Summit in 1992 laid the foundations for a global change in attitude. It raised the threat of climate change to the top of the political agenda. For the first time, developed countries faced up to their responsibilities and agreed to start reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Successive negotiations followed culminating in the Kyoto Protocol of 1997. This milestone agreement legally binds developed countries to emissions reduction targets to be achieved by 2008-2012.

We have already made a great deal of progress, but this does not mean we can become complacent. There is still much work to be done. The Sixth Conference of the Parties (COP 6) at The Hague in November will be vital. At COP 6 we will need to agree much of the detail left unresolved at Kyoto. 

This will mean compro- mise on all sides. But 

whateverthe outcome at COP 6, I can give my guarantee that the United Kingdom will continue to take action to reduce its emissions. It is up to us in the developed world to demonstrate to developing countries that it is possible to reduce emissions without damaging economic growth.

That is why I recently launched the United Kingdom’s Draft Climate Change Programme. The final

Programme will be released before COP 6. We are putting in place an integrated set of policies and measures which we estimate could reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 21.5 per cent by 2010, almost double our Kyoto target.

Win win action

I strongly believe that this can be achieved through win-win action. For example, reducing emissions will also make industry in the United Kingdom more efficient, bring jobs and open new markets. We will all benefit from cleaner air, less traffic congestion and warmer homes. Tackling climate change can mean gain, not pain.

All sectors of society will need to play their part, we have set a target of 10 per cent of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2010. We will reduce transport emissions through promoting public transport and sending messages through vehicle and fuel taxes. And we are introducing two new measures focused specifically on business.

The first is the Climate Change Levy, a tax on the business use of energy. This is not a stealth tax on business. The levy will be revenue-neutral with all the proceeds recycled back into business through lower welfare contributions and extra support for energy efficiency.