The Age of Stupid

It's a humbling thing to see two children surviving the death of their father in the midst of the rubble of Iraq, in the full knowledge that his death was a direct result of the developed world's (read UK & USA) grab for oil. It's deeply moving to see the loss of a french glacier to climate change, and to hear the narrative of an 81 year old mountain guide who has lived there all his life. It's maddeningly frustrating to see the loss of a Devon wind farm application to local aesthetic fears (hey, what are motorways but a scar on our landscape? A scar that is creating part of the problem by carrying the very vehicles that are pumping damaging emissions. What an irony that we accept motorway expansion with so little fight, unlike the wind farm applications). It's challenging to view the contradictions of the oil worker who believed himself to be an environmentalist. These and other stories are the stuff of The Age of Stupid, the new movie from 'McLibel' Director Franny Armstrong and the Producer of the Oscar-winning 'One Day In September', John Battsek. Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite (In The Name of the Father, Brassed Off, Usual Suspects) stars as an old man living in the devastated world of 2055. He watches 'archive' footage from 2008 and asks: Why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?

There were few dry eyes at the end of the All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group sceening at Portcullis House yesterday afternoon. Such was the impact on an audience consisting of hardened environmentalists, seasoned campaigners and (a smattering of) concerned MP's. The Q&A session afterwards elicited some insightful responses. Colin Challen MP called for everyone to join the "Militant Green Tendency and go agitate your party of choice at every meeting you can until Climate Change is top of the political agenda". Franny Armstrong, the director, asserted that the only way forward is for there to be strong international laws put in place (a timely reminder just as the crucial Climate Bill, the world-first climate change law, is making its way through parliament). Roger Higman of Friends of the Earth, when asked whether we had enough time to turn things around, stated that he was optimistic it could be done. On a scale of 1 - 10, he put his personal belief at a 9 - 10. And Peter Postlethwaite (who forsook his normal actor's fee and stayed with chums rather than incur additional costs during filming)? Good news there: he's finally got the go-ahead for his own turbine to be installed at his eco-home in Shropshire.

Later in conversation with Mark Lynas over a pint, we nattered on the rapid evolution of knowledge on climate change. Even with a film that flags up best understanding on climate change at the beginning of 2008 (with Mark filmed in his garden shed - clearly the hub of much activity - succinctly explaining why 2 degrees is such an important figure), scientific understanding has already moved forward and the framing of the issues has shifted (see the controversial Kyoto 2 book by Oliver Tickell, due to land in book stores next week). The concept of 60 - 80% reductions of greenhouse gases has now been superceded by the general scientific acceptance that, as Mark put it, to ensure we get within spitting distance of getting no further than a 2% degree increase of temperature (and all the attendant climactic conditions that will bring) will mean that we must bring our emissions to 350 parts per million. Our emissions already stand at about 385 parts per million. Thus, we have in effect already overshot. Quite simply we need to progress to a zero-carbon world as soon as possible. That's not to knock the important message that The Age of Stupid is presenting, as Mark was quick to point out. It's valid, vital and very very good.

UK Climate Change Bill, Green Politics and You Tube

Meanwhile, back in the UK, environmental politics have been riding high on the political agenda this week. Sunday brought green flight proposals from the Tories, Monday evening saw Labour's Gordon Brown announce his environmental proposals to the Green Alliance, Tuesday 13th brought the laying of the all party endorsed draft Climate Change Bill.
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The Conservatives have launched their Greener Skies consultation on how to use environmental taxes to reduce the rapid growth in carbon emissions from aviation. Shadow chancellor George Osborne unveiled his environmentally responsible 'frequent flyer' package consisting of fuel duty, VAT on domestic flights, and scrapping of air passenger duty in favour of a tax per flight based more closely on carbon emissions. Aimed at frequent fliers rather than those enjoying an annual holiday abroad, the approach is based on a "pay as you burn, not pay as you earn" approach.

As things stand at the moment, carbon emissions from aircraft are taxed less than virtually any other form of carbon, yet because they are released high into the atmosphere, they can do most damage. The current Air Passenger Duty is not directly linked to carbon emissions and does not provide incentives for airlines to use more fuel-efficient aircraft.



To watch David Cameron speaking about the Greener Skies initiative, see: webcameron.
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Gordon Brown outlined Labour's policy framework on Monday evening, focusing on energy. Low-energy light bulbs are to become a requirement by 2011 and standby lights on appliances should be phased out. He is offering subsidies on insulation, advice on helping households reduce their carbon footprints, and incentives for a high-efficiency forms of decentralized generation, including micro-generation and combined heat and power.
Planning applications are to be improved to speed up the process for major infrastructure projects, such as wind farms and waste disposal facilities; recycling targets are to be cranked up and landfill emissions to be squeezed down. Investment in transport innovation was also promised, but no specifics were given, and mention was made of a personal ‘carbon calculator’ scheme in the pipeline.

To watch/listen/read Gordon Brown's speech "Meeting The Challenge", go to: Green Alliance
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13th March brought the publication of the draft Climate Change Bill, the first of its kind in any country, and accompanying strategy setting out a framework for moving the UK to a low-carbon economy.

Key Points of Climate Change Bill
Official targets: Establish five-year "carbon budgets," beginning in 2008, to reduce emissions by 60 percent by 2050.
Independent oversight: Create an independent body, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), to advise government on reducing emissions.
Legislative power: Increase government's power to introduce and implement new trading schemes for domestic emissions.
Accountability: Have the CCC produce an annual progress report for Parliament; require government to report to Parliament after every five-year carbon budget.

All great news, but - and these are big buts:
- Is this commensurate with the scale of the problem? Recent evidence suggests higher targets are needed.
- International aviation and shipping are not included, thus failing to recognise the full extent CO2 emissions
- This Bill still fights shy of setting the necessary annual targets - it merely proposes targets set for 5 year periods, which would present reporting after the government's term of office. Annual targets are vital if we are to stay on track. There is a danger that the five year approach will enable responsibility for failure to be shunted on from one government to another.


To watch David Miliband speaking about the Climate Change Bill, see his short video Greener Living on You Tube.

How do the parties stack up? See The Independent's article Which Political Party is the Greenest?

For a critical analysis of the problems lying ahead see George Monbiot's recent article The Target Wreckers