Blair initiates an international agreement to reduce global warming * The report on the economic effects of climate change made grim findings and predicted an unprecedented economic downturn
Britain has called for urgent action to be taken on climate change - this following a dire report that paints an apocalyptic picture of the consequences of global warming. The report states that an increase of up to 5 degrees Celsius in temperatures is expected in the next century, which will cause floods and severe droughts and force about 200 million people to leave their places of residence. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said following the report that the consequences of global warming are "disastrous", and called for urgent action. "We don't have time," said Blair.
A gloomy forecast regarding an irreversible change in the world's climate and an unprecedented economic depression - this is the assessment published at the beginning of the week in a report by the British economist, Sir Nicholas Stern. Following the report, the British government decided to lead an initiative to sign a new global agreement that will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere.
The British government is in a hurry to promote the issue because the Kyoto Protocol (an international treaty aimed at preventing global warming) expired in 2012, and there is no binding agreement to extend it. Blair's office aims to determine the contours of the agreement with the G8 countries and five key developing countries next year, or by 2008 at the latest.
Tony Blair will try to convince the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, to make international cooperation on climate change the focus of Germany's activities as the president of the G8, starting this January. There is unanimity regarding the issue between the Prime Minister's Office and the Minister of Finance, Gordon Brown, who will work to create a change of mind in the UN and the World Bank. In Brown's opinion, these organizations are not properly equipped to oversee agreements on dealing with global warming, including overseeing the principles according to which the carbon emission quotas will be allocated to the various countries.
Sources in Tony Blair's office said that the Prime Minister wants to obtain a framework agreement that will include a target goal for stabilizing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the air, a global plan for carbon emission quotas, and the trading of these quotas, investment in a global fund for the development of green technologies and action to stop deforestation. The agreement will include three countries that are not part of the Kyoto Protocol - USA, China and India.
At the presentation of the report at the beginning of the week, compiled by the economist Stern, and dealing with the economic effects of climate change, the Prime Minister said: "There is convincing evidence that without drastic measures to reduce carbon emissions in the next 10-15 years, we will lose our ability to control global warming" .
The report also states that if the current trend continues, the result will be an increase of 5 degrees Celsius above the temperature that was in the pre-industrial era - something that will lead to a 5-20% cut in the standard of living in the world. Finance Minister Brown, who sat next to the Prime Minister during the presentation of the report yesterday, said that it is not enough that the economic policy focuses on growth and creating full employment, but that "in the 21st century our goals will be threefold: growth, full employment and care for the environment."
The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance agreed that taxation for the sake of environmental quality would be part of the solution to global warming. The treasury is also sending Stern on a trip to China, India, the USA and Australia to spread the message that emerges from his report: the future expenditure to deal with the consequences of global warming will be much higher than the price that will be incurred to act now to stop it. Brown is expected to replace Blair as Prime Minister next year, and curbing climate change will be at the center of his policy.
In an attempt to improve the impression of the government's actions on climate change, the Minister for the Environment, David Miliband, stated that he would work in the next parliamentary session to approve a law that would set a long-term goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by 60% by 2050. He refused to set interim goals or a pace Annual reduction, as demanded by opposition members and some members of his party.
The bill also includes the establishment of an independent body that will work with the government to reduce carbon emissions. Also, the powers to take the necessary steps to achieve the goals were defined. However, given the speed with which the government backed the law, government sources were unable to say what sanctions would be imposed on the government or British industry if the targets were not met.
