Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Climate change - are we doing enough?

23 April 2008 - Are plans to cut carbon emissions by 60 per cent enough to stave off the worst effects of climate change?

The latest draft of the Climate Change Bill may be riddled with unclear and insufficient targets for carbon reduction, but its defenders across all parties agreed that it’s the best option at the moment for meeting the ambitious 60 per cent reduction in carbon emissions promised by Gordon Brown last year.

The issues were debated by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn, Conservative spokesman Peter Ainsworth, Lib Dem Steve Webb, and Friends of the Earth (FoE) director Tony Juniper at a joint FoE/Evening Standard event in central London on 22 April. The bill has been amended by the House of Lords, and will be put to the Commons within this legislative year. More >>>