Click on the headline (link) for the full text.
Many more articles are available through the Energy Bulletin homepage
Sir John Houghton interview
GoCarbonFree.com
Sir John Houghton CBE FRS was co-chairman of the Scientific Assessment for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 1988-2002. He was previously chairman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (’92-’98), chief executive of the Met Office (’83-’91) and Professor of Atmospheric Physics, Oxford (’76-83).
Still very much involved in helping world governments and organisations tackle climate change, Sir John agreed to meet GoCarbonFree at his home on the fringes of the Snowdonia National Park, Wales.
…GoCarbonFree: Of all the world leaders that you have met, who has impressed you most with regards to tackling climate change?
Sir John Houghton: Margaret Thatcher. She believed the science and often talked about it publicly. She also gave me a lot of help in setting up the Hadley Centre at the Met Office which has become the best climate research centre in the world. She certainly stands out.
I met Angela Merckel in Germany recently and she is a theoretical physicist by background. She also understands the climate change science and she’s passionate about it too.
GoCarbonFree: The Blair government professed it wanted to do something about climate change, yet its policies often seemed disconnected to the rhetoric. For example it cut the subsidies for household solar panels earlier this year whilst simultaneously announcing a cut in UK emissions by 60 per cent in 2050. What is your take on this?
Sir John Houghton: There is a lot of disconnect between what Prime Minister Blair said and the action that resulted. You’d have thought from what he said that the UK would be one of the best countries in Europe in terms of renewable energy and in cutting emissions. We’re not. In fact, we’re near the bottom of the league in Europe with regards to the action needed to tackle climate change.
GoCarbonFree: Do you think this will change under Gordon Brown?
Sir John Houghton: We wait to see, * laughs *, and I await developments with very great interest. I hope he will do something and that the energy policies which we need are really brought forward. We have a wind resource which is greater than any other country in Europe; we have a tidal and wave capacity and so on. In fact we could get 50% of our total electricity very easily from tidal and wave power.
GoCarbonFree: Would you like to see the Government really invest in this?
Sir John Houghton: Yes, but it needs some resolve and a lot of upfront money. Industry is not going to put in upfront money without serious incentives and the Government would need to provide a long term framework ensuring that investors would be able to sell that energy and see a return on investment.
GoCarbonFree: Do you think that the Government will simply opt for nuclear power as the most politically convenient solution?
Sir John Houghton: There is a lot of push in Government for nuclear power as it appears to be a single, known solution. However, if you take into account all the costs, nuclear power is expensive. There are also security issues involved with nuclear power – the possibility of terrorist action is not a trivial threat and the proliferation of nuclear material worldwide would be a concern.
Something else I want to add about nuclear power in the UK is that we have hundreds of tonnes of military plutonium, which is stored away. We could use this material in power stations and we’d get a lot of energy out of it. This would be a very good way of extending the life of existing power stations and would provide a lot of power in the medium term. Government doesn’t want to talk about it because it’s a sensitive subject, even the fact that they’ve got the material!
(20 September 2007)
UK green policies: how the Lib Dems compare
Hilary Osborne and Haroon Siddique, Guardian
Emissions: The party has adopted a proposal make Britain carbon-neutral by 2050.
The Lib Dems back a policy of “contraction and convergence” which would set up a global framework to cap CO2 emissions at a per-person level which is the same for all countries.
The party has said it will reform the existing climate change levy into a carbon tax paid by all energy users not involved in the emissions trading scheme, with the tax remaining at the same level as the existing levy.
Energy: The party is against nuclear power. It backs binding targets for renewable energy, and believes that money should be spent on researching big tidal projects, rather than new nuclear plants.
The Lib Dems have set a target to generate 30% of the UK’s electricity from clean, non-carbon emitting sources by 2020 and of 100% carbon-free, non-nuclear electricity by 2050.
It has said it will change planning rules to encourage local councils to develop renewable energy facilities. The Lib Dems also want to encourage combined heat and power schemes and set a target for 30% of electricity used in the public sector to come from this source by 2015.
Aviation: The Liberal Democrats have said they want their policy on air travel to achieve a balance between “promoting this important part of our economy” and ensuring airlines take responsibility for their environmental impact.
The party is opposed to the expansion of airports in the south of England, favouring plans to maximise the capacity of existing airports. Under the Lib Dems’ plans, air passengers would no longer pay duty but airlines would pay a tax for every plane taking off from a British airport, including freight plane
(17 September 2007)
Related:
Lib Dems back call to make UK carbon neutral by 2050
Labour starts renewable energy drive to win back climate initiative
Patrick Wintour, The Guardian
In week that eco-war broke out, government plans to greenlight Severn barrage and launch diplomatic offensive
—
The government is to undertake a round of diplomatic activity on climate change in the next few weeks, as well as signalling support for a renewable energy drive by backing the Severn barrage, as it tries to counter landmark green proposals issued in the past fortnight by the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.
The government’s advisory body, the Sustainable Development Commission, is due to report on the viability of the Severn barrage project in a fortnight, but the mood among ministers is to press ahead with the £15bn project, which would be able to provide 6% of UK electricity.
Neither Gordon Brown nor the environment secretary, Hilary Benn, have made speeches on climate change since Mr Brown became prime minister. After the reports from the two other main parties, Labour is in danger of reverting to being seen as the least green of the three.
Andy Burnham, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has spent much of the week attacking the Tories’ green proposals, saying they will require eye-watering increases in taxes. Labour strategists doubt that people would tolerate the level of green taxes on consumers required to have a real impact on behaviour, despite the big change in attitudes in the world of business and among the public over the past few years.
(15 September 2007)
