In the past, the UK was at the forefront of action on climate change. The Climate Change Act 2008 is legally binding and commits the UK to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. This goes beyond the EU as a whole’s pledge to the Paris negotiations of at least a 40% domestic reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
The policies of the 2015-17 Conservative Government undid a lot of good work, and took us in the opposite direction from what is needed. The 2017 Conservative manifesto does include a commitment to the Paris Agreement and the Climate Change Act, but continues to support for example fracking.
Whoever ends up governing the country, we need to remind them of what is important and that they act for us.
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Write to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Climate change mitigation means reducing the risk of climate change and its impacts. The big challenge is to reduce the carbon dioxide and methane emissions from the way we produce and consume energy, while ensuring energy security.
To ‘decarbonize’ our energy supply, we need to stop burning fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – and move to renewable energy as quickly as possible. This does not mean wasting time on fracking as a ‘bridging’ fuel.
Nuclear is touted as carbon free, but it will be decades before any new stations can be built, the ’embodied energy’ of constructing the stations is very high, few large stations are much less flexible on the grid than many small stations, it is more expensive than renewables, and there is of course the issue of safety and the problem of spent fuel storage and decommissioning over thousands of years.
The support should be for solar electricity, offshore wind, and other clean energy technologies. But the Government has instead attacked these while continuing to subsidise fossil fuels and nuclear to the tune of £billions.
The lead department on mitigation used to be the Department of Energy and Climate Change, but DECC was axed by Theresa May and climate change moved to the new Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Kwasi Kwarteng is the Secretary of State at BEIS. You can write to him at enquiries@beis.gov.uk or kwasi.kwarteng.mp@parliament.uk.
As at 14 June 2017, the new Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry has yet to be announced.
Write to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Defra, the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible for climate adaption, ie adapting to the predicted changes in the climate, weather, flood risk, etc. Also, agriculture contributes about one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and livestock farming is especially significant.
George Eustice is the Secretary of State at Defra. You can write to him at defra.helpline@defra.gsi.gov.uk or george.eustice.mp@parliament.uk.
Write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
The economy is entirely dependent on the environment. George Osborne never appreciated this, and viewed environmental care as red tape. His successors give every impression that they believe the same. If we spend a bit on avoiding climate change now, the UK will save more money in the long run. And if we create a stable environment for investment in renewable technology, we create jobs. Seems more sensible than outsourcing nuclear construction to China.
Rishi Sunak is the current Chancellor of the Exchequer. You can write to him at public.enquiries@hmtreasury.gsi.gov.uk or rishi.sunak.mp@parliament.uk.
Write to the Prime Minister
Boris Johnson is where the buck stops.
You can write to him at https://contact.no10.gov.uk/ or boris.johnson.mp@parliament.uk.
Write to your MP, MEPs and local councillors
Your MP can ask questions in parliament and work behind the scenes to represent your interests, but they need to know what those interests are. Governments are swayed by public opinion, and have been known to make u-turns.
MEPs have a lot of power via European policy, and champion their regions. For example, Molly Scott Cato, the Green Party MEP in the South West, is working very hard in the areas of climate change, energy and farming.
Your local councillors have influence over your local environment and carbon emissions through for example planning, transport, housing. Many councils pledged in December 2015 to become carbon neutral by 2050.
You can write to your MPs, MEPs and councillors at writetothem.com, and some are also on Twitter. It might be helpful to tailor your letter to your MP using the information about their activities and voting record at theyworkforyou.com.
