Welcoming a European Union report on climate change, Mr Prescott said that the new waste strategy – which aims to reduce the UK’s reliance on landfill and to cut methane emissions – is one of the range of measures already introduced to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Commenting on the EU report he said: “This report, which confirms there will be overall temperature rises, warmer winters, hotter summers, more rain in northern Europe and sea level rises, comes amid the violent storms and floods we are experiencing. This is a further wake-up call to the serious threat posed by climate change.
“The UK is leading the way in assessing and planning for the potential
impacts, and we are taking a leading role in getting global agreement on
cutting greenhouse gases which cause climate change.
“The report underlines the need to make the forthcoming international
negotiations in the Hague a success, working in partnership to achieve
reductions in emissions and to develop global and domestic strategies to
combat and adapt to climate change.”
The Government established the UK Climate Impacts Programme in 1997 to help organisations in the UK assess their vulnerability to climate change and to plan appropriate adaptation strategies.
At Kyoto in December 1997, developed countries agreed to reduce emissions of a basket of greenhouse gases to 5.2% below 1990 levels over the period 2008-2012.
The European Community agreed jointly to an 8% reduction at Kyoto, with the UK agreeing to a reduction of 12.5%. The UK Government has also set a separate domestic goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2010.
The Government published a draft Climate Change Programme in March 2000, which showed how the UK plans to deliver its Kyoto target and move towards 20% domestic goal. The draft programme also considers how the UK might adapt to what is now unavoidable, and summarises action already taken by the government to build adaptation into its own policies.
The UK will be one of the few developed countries to meet the Rio target to return emissions to 1990 levels by 2000 – greenhouse gas emissions were 8.5% below 1990 levels in 1998.
Other features of the government’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions include:
– A new target to increase the proportion of electricity provided by
renewable sources to 10% by 2010, subject to the cost to consumers being
acceptable.
– A new target to double the capacity of good quality combined heat and power by 2010.
Copies of the draft UK Climate Change Programme and a summary are available from DETR Free Literature, PO Box No 236, Wetherby S3 7NB, tel: 0870 1226 236, fax: 0870 1226 237. They are also available on the DETR web site: www.detr.gov.uk
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