Press notice - Embargo: 00.01, Monday 22 March 2010

Climate change – the Last Parliament?

A panel of six eminent experts - Jonathon Porritt, Barbara Stocking, CEO Oxfam, Steve Holliday, CEO National Grid, Stephen Hale, director Green Alliance, James Cameron, executive director Climate Change Capital, and Professor Lord Robert May, member of the Committee on Climate Change  - today warns voters that the next Parliament will be the last in which to stop runaway climate change. This is the conclusion of a new report published by Green Alliance: The Last Parliament – Priorities for Urgent Action on Climate Change.

Despite their different sectoral backgrounds the experts joined forces to give politicians a clear message that the right decisions need to be taken urgently to avoid the worst effects of climate change and to benefit from the opportunities offered by a low-carbon economy.

A five-minute Last Parliament film, presented by Sir Trevor McDonald, celebrates past achievements of Parliament, from the abolition of slavery, to the creation of the NHS – and asks if today’s politicians will similarly rise to the challenge of climate change.  He concludes:

“MPs in the next parliament have a choice. If they fail to take this opportunity, they may go down in history as villains, who understood the risks, but did nothing. But, if they rise to the challenge, they will be remembered alongside history’s greatest heroes.”

The report sets out an ambitious agenda:

• The new Parliament must build support for action on climate change. It must be absolutely clear about what the science tells us, where uncertainties remain, and the likely consequences for our society and economy.
• The Parliament must ensure that the UK and EU lead the international community toward a comprehensive agreement on climate finance. $100 billion a year was pledged at the Copenhagen summit, but it is very unclear how this pledge will be honoured. At the next international meeting in Mexico, there must be concrete agreement on sources, governance and national contributions.
• Politicians must set out a route map for low-carbon infrastructure renewal, with detailed, costed plans for the next 10-15 years.
• The Parliament must unlock finance for low-carbon growth, by ensuring a stable carbon price and long-term incentives for investment, and by establishing a Sustainable Infrastructure Bank to lower the cost of investment capital. 
• There is an urgent need to green our communities, through an immediate drive to upgrade existing housing stock. A new mechanism is needed, which allows local companies, voluntary bodies, community groups and local authorities to bid for funding, replacing the current CERT scheme.

Quotes from panel members:

Jonathon Porritt
“We need to legislate for the low-carbon economy that this country so urgently needs. Parliament has a good track record: it passed the Climate Change Act with cross-party support. They willed the end; now politicians need to will the means.”

Barbara Stocking
“Climate change is already threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of the world’s poorest people. The UK must push for new and innovative ways of raising the cash needed to help poor countries cope, rather than repackaging old aid commitments. Raiding tomorrow’s schools and hospitals to pay for flood defences and drought resistant seeds is not the answer and must be avoided at all costs.”

James Cameron
“The transformation to a low-carbon economy is a huge opportunity. Investment in low-carbon means investment in skills, jobs and communities.”

Steve Holliday
“Business is ready to invest, but it needs a clear framework from government. We can replace our high-carbon infrastructure with low-carbon solutions for electricity, for transport and for buildings – if the incentives are there.”

Stephen Hale
“This is achievable. MPs could help to build the foundations for a prosperous, low-carbon economy. But the truth is, if it doesn’t happen now, it may be too late. We want to tell the new Parliament they are the Last Parliament.”

Ends

 
Notes to editors:

1 This urgent timeframe for action is based on the key findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stating that global emissions of carbon dioxide need to peak during the current decade and decline steeply thereafter. Failure to stabilise emissions within this timeframe will drastically reduce our chances of keeping warming within the crucial threshold of two degrees centigrade.

2 Green Alliance is an environmental think tank and charity working to ensure UK political leaders deliver ambitious solutions to global environmental issues. Green Alliance was named Think Tank of the Year in the 2009 Public Affairs News awards.

3 To download the report: www.green-alliance.org.uk

The Report will be presented to politicians and opinion formers at an event on Thursday 25 March 2010 3.30pm – 5.00pm at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, 2 Savoy Place, London WC2R 0BL. The launch will begin with the screening of the film presented and followed by a panel debate featuring Jonathon Porritt, Professor Lord Robert May, James Cameron, and Stephen Hale. The Chair is Rebecca Willis, Green Alliance Associate and Vice-Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission.

4 To embed the Last Parliament film with Trevor McDonald on your website you can go to Green Alliance's page on vimeo and use the embed feature found on the video.

The film will available from 2pm on Sunday 21 March. Please note the film is under the same embargo as the report: 00.01 Monday 22 March.

5 For more information or to interview Jonathon Porritt, James Cameron, Steve Holliday or Stephen Hale contact:

Matthew Davis, 3C, Green Alliance media adviser: 07758 300 007;
matthew@3-c.uk.net

Biographies on panel members

Jonathon Porritt
Jonathon Porritt, Founder Director of Forum for the Future, is an eminent writer, broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development. He stood down as Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission in July 2009 after nine years. He is Co-Director of The Prince of Wales's Business and Environment Programme and a Non-Executive Director of Wessex Water and of Willmott Dixon Holdings. He is a Trustee of the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy and was formerly Director of Friends of the Earth and co-chair of the Green Party.

Barbara Stocking
Barbara Stocking joined Oxfam GB as Chief Executive in May 2001. Since January 2008 Barbara has been Chair of the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR). She is also a member of the UN Inter Agency Standing Committee for Humanitarian Action (IASC), and of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) High Level External Committee on Millennium Development Goals. Barbara was previously a member of the top management team of the National Health Service.

James Cameron
James Cameron is Climate Change Capital’s Vice Chairman responsible for strategic and sector development and representing the firm at the highest levels of business and government. Prior to CCC he was Counsel to Baker & McKenzie and was the founder and head of their Climate Change Practice. James has spent much of his legal career working on climate change matters, including negotiating the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol as an adviser to the Alliance of Small Island States. He has held academic positions at Cambridge, London, Bruges and Sydney and is affiliated with the Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy.

Stephen Hale
Stephen has been the Director of Green Alliance since June 2006. Prior to joining Green Alliance he was a special adviser at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2002-06, focusing on climate change. He worked in the private sector as an adviser on environmental and social issues from 1997 – 2002 and is a trustee of Christian Aid.

Steve Holliday
Steve Holliday is Chief Executive of National Grid plc and has also been a Non-executive Director of Marks & Spencer plc since 2004. Steve is also currently Chair of the Talent and Skills Leadership within Business in the Community.  Prior to joining National Grid he was on the Board of British Borneo Oil and Gas. Steve spent much of his early career with Exxon, where he held senior roles in the refining, shipping, logistics and international gas parts of the business.

Robert May
Lord (Robert) May holds a Professorship jointly at Oxford University and Imperial College, London and is a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was until recently President of The Royal Society (2000-2005), and before that Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government and Head of the UK Office of Science and Technology (1995-2000).