By Ben Rawlings, Head of Economic Development and Climate Change
20 years after the Earth Summit brought the world together to rethink economic growth and strengthen environmental protection, the world returned to Rio de Janeiro last week to see how far we have come. In some ways, the answer is ‘not far enough’: climate change is still a major threat and is perhaps, as the Foreign Secretary has said, this century’s biggest foreign policy challenge. But there has been progress. Gone are the days when climate change and global warming were niche issues, relegated to specific interest groups and the occasional big event: now climate change is centre-stage, incorporated into different parts of our lives from construction to financing to culture.
In November 2008 the UK became the first country in the world to introduce a Climate Change Act – a legally-binding, long-term framework for tackling climate change in the UK. We are bound, by law, to cut emissions by at least a third by 2020 and by at least 80% by 2050. But this isn’t just about stopping doing things that cause emissions – it is an opportunity to build a new, more sustainable path to growth and prosperity.
The UK has proven that it is possible to achieve economic growth and lower emissions: our economy has grown by 48% since 1990, while actual emissions have reduced by 20%. Economic opportunities abound: the low-carbon market is worth £112billion in the UK alone, with a workforce that will rise to 1.2 million by 2015. Globally, this market is estimated to be worth more than £3,2 trillion. Countries around the world are seeing the opportunities the transition to a low-carbon economy offers.
The UK is well-placed to take advantage of this: we are a global leader in offshore wind energy production and research, with more offshore wind turbines than any other country (including the world’s biggest off the Kent coast). We lead in assessing carbon footprints and strategic advice on removing carbon from supply chains. Our innovative Carbon Calculator helps people explore and understand the impact different policies can have on emissions. And London 2012 will be the world’s first truly sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games, featuring iconic sports venues that have set new standards in sustainable design and construction.
According to research by the Tyndall Centre, Peru is the third most vulnerable country to climate change in terms of the impact on water availability. But Peru is also looking to the positive opportunities a green, low-carbon economy presents. The PlanCC project, launched in April this year, brings together Government Ministries, businesses, academics, NGOs, trade associations and youth organisations in a public-private initiative to establish a firm basis for the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy. Our Embassy and University College London have been supporting the Municipalities of Lima and Callao to look at how they manage transport and mobility – not just as a way of tackling emissions, but also as a way of unlocking economic development and delivering positive social impacts on health and wellbeing.
Over the coming months we will continue to support this work to improve Lima’s transport network, develop green zones to create more sustainable communities, and take this learning out to other cities across Peru. On climate change, as in many other areas, the UK and Peru have a valuable partnership that can help us both to step up our efforts to tackle climate change, making the most of the opportunities a more sustainable, greener economy offers. Together we can help convince the rest of the world that this is an urgent and vital cause that is in all our interests. Together we can show them that going green can be great.
“The UK has proven that it is possible to achieve economic growth and lower emissions”
This is not true, not even by UKs own standard. UK, like most western countries, has moved the emissions, not reduced them. From a carbon/climate perspective UK is less sustainable today that it was 1990. See the good work by DEFRA that is still too optimistic about UKs impact.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/environment/green-economy/scptb01-ems/
UK is still also pushing GDP growth as the overall target although there is a broad agreement that GDP is not a good indicator.
In many cases it is probably Peru that should educate UK about sustainable lifestyles.
Still UK is better than many other western countries (especially by having government agencies recognizing the need for a global perspective on climate action). Other counties, especially the US but also other countries that think they are leading like Sweden, have even less understanding when it comes to the climate challenge.
The fact that few western governments realize that they are still on the wrong path and that transformative solutions are needed is worrying. The fact that all countries must work together, and no one can claim to sit on any significant solutions, should however be seen as something positive.
all the best and good luck
/Dennis
PS
this blog post came into my inbox due to the combination of Rio+20 and low-carbon development. I’m happy to see UK look forward and I hope my comment is seen as an attempt to move the discussion from incremental to transformative action. Although UK is still part of the problem, there is leadership in UK of the kind that is needed.