CLIMATE BILL
Reacting to reports that emissions from aviation and shipping will be included in the Climate Bill, Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said:
"Ed Miliband should be congratulated for a move that will affect government policy for decades to come. It is simply inconceivable that Labour's expansionist aviation policy can withstand the demands that the Climate Act will now make. A statement on Heathrow expansion is expected within weeks, but one wonders how Geoff Hoon will be able to announce hundreds of thousands of new flights when the subsequent emissions will now count towards the nation's shrinking carbon budget. The case within government for a high-speed rail network just got a lot stronger."
Miliband recently announced that he will commit the UK to an 80% cut in Co2 emissions by 2050. But research from the respected Tyndall Centre shows that if the aviation industry is allowed to expand as predicted, emissions from aviation alone would destroy any hope of hitting this target (see K, Anderson, A Bows, P, Upham (2006) Growth scenarios for EU & UK aviation: contradiction with climate policy, Page 42).
The case against Heathrow expansion can be downloaded here.
ELECTRIC CARS
Responding to the Department for Transport's announcement of new money to promote the use of electric cars in the UK, Greenpeace transport campaigner Anita Goldsmith said:
"Electrifying our transport network is a vital step in the fight against climate change and will be key to reducing our dependence on foreign oil, so it's very encouraging that the Government has recognised this.
"If the Prime Minister is truly committed to this then he will introduce things like free parking and cheaper road tax for individuals that choose to go electric, as well as closed-loop battery recycling schemes and a renewed focus on improving public transport. While a hundred million pounds sounds like a lot of money, it's the same amount as the Government spends on widening a mile and half of motorway."
"If ministers get this right then Britain's ailing car industry could become a trailblazer in this emerging technology, creating thousands of green collar jobs and exporting zero emission cars to developing countries around the world."
NOTES
According to the Government sponsored King review, 22% of the UK's emissions are from transport; 13% of these emissions are from private cars.
King estimates that the UK would need to generate just 16% more electricity in order to electrify the entire road transport network. Gordon Brown has committed this country to generating between 30 and 40% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 alone, and the UK has the best renewable energy resources in Europe.
Enforcing tough standards on car makers is key to reducing our emissions in the short term, before the use of electric cars has become widespread. At a European level, the Prime Minister and Transport Secretary should push for an EU wide limit of 120gm of Co2 per km on all new engines by 2012.
The Government should attempt to emulate California, where legislators adopted a zero-emission vehicle mandate in 1990 as part of an attempt to reduce smog-forming emissions such as nitrogen oxide. The rule required that 10 percent of new cars sold in the state by the country's six leading auto manufacturers be completely nonpolluting by 2003. This ambition has since been scaled back, and the revised 2003 rules set a goal of putting at least 25,000 zero-emission cars on the road in California by 2014.
A closed loop battery system, where manufacturers are obliged to recycle batteries which have reached the end of their life, is key to ensuring the sustainability of this industry. The money the Government has committed to research and development of electric cars should also be spent on developing this system.
For more information please contact Greenpeace on 0207 865 8255.
