Party policies on the environment
Individuals can agitate against climate change and act to mitigate its effects. But it's politicians who presently hold the purse strings and develop public policy frameworks. How've they been doing, and what are their plans for the future?
The UK's Labour government boasts it has been at the forefront in the global fight to curb emissions.
"We have led the way internationally on climate change: we were the first to put climate change at the heart of the G8, the first to call a UN Security Council meeting on climate change, and the first to introduce a Climate Change Bill which binds the UK government by law to reduce carbon emissions by a third by 2020 and by 80% by 2050," it says.
Result? UK CO2 emissions fell by 10.8 million tonnes last year (though the recession helped) and greenhouse gas emissions were 66 million tonnes lower than in 1997, the Government says. UK greenhouse gas emissions are now 21 per cent below 1990 levels, "beating our Kyoto target."
Acknowledging there's still much to be done, Labour says: "Our ambition is to reduce our CO2 emissions by at least 20 per cent by 2020."
How will this be achieved? Through a £100bn blueprint to triple renewable energy production to provide 30 per cent of electricity needs, up to 10 new nuclear power stations and the use of 'clean' fossil fuels – new coal driven power stations with built-in carbon capture and storage.
These are "the trinity of low carbon fuels of the future" according to Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Milliband who recently unveiled for consultation six draft national energy policy statements.
Linked to these, a controversial new Infrastructure Planning Commission has been created to fast-track major projects – a vital tool to avoid unnecessary and bureaucratic delay says the Government; a potential threat to local democracy according to critics.
Then there's a target to make all new homes zero-carbon from 2016; five million households have already received help towards insulation with plans to aid five million more, while recycling has quadrupled since 1997. A 'waste strategy' for England should deliver reductions in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to at least 9.3 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2020.
Britain now has more offshore wind capacity than any country in the world, says Labour. Last year it provided electricity for 2m homes, with more on and off-shore sites planned.
And 100m low energy light bulbs are being distributed and other energy saving products will be provided to 4 million homes, while businesses with an energy bill of more £1m a year must comply with new legislation to reduce carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency (The Carbon Reduction Commitment) from next year. Carbon reporting will be mandatory for many firms from 2012.
However, international carbon 'cap and trade' schemes backed by all main parties and aimed at curbing industrial emissions are ineffective and possibly sowing the seeds of future financial crashes, according to Friends of the Earth.
Meanwhile, the Government has pledged that emissions from aviation will not be above 2005 levels in 2050 and has allocated £250m to hasten the arrival of electric cars, although the chairman of the government's own Climate Change Commission Adair Turner said the CCC wants £800m of public money invested in a network of charging points. Lord Turner also believes that it will cost between £10,000 and £15,000 to turn each existing household into energy-efficient, low-carbon units.
The Government says: "In the teeth of a recession we had a budget which found £1.4bn for new investment in developing a low carbon economy. More than 20 per cent of public investment since last November has been on sustainable and green projects and more than 1.2 million people will be in 'green jobs' by 2020."
Looking ahead to the UN's December climate change meeting in Copenhagen, Ed Miliband says: "The stakes couldn't be higher."
He wants a deal to limit climate change to 2 degrees by ensuring global greenhouse gas emissions peak and start to reduce by 2020, with strong monitoring, reporting and verification guaranteed, while support is given to the poorest countries to cut emissions and adapt to climate change.
In Scotland, talk of the Copenhagen meeting is like a red rag to a bull.
The ruling Scottish National Party – it steered through the Scottish Parliament a Climate Change Bill which a target of an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050 with an interim target of 42% reduction by 2020 – is campaigning for a Scottish Minister to be part of the UK delegation in Denmark.
SNP MSP Shirley-Anne Somerville said: "Our bill is world-leading and it is achievable but there must be an international agreement that ambitious targets must be set. It is ridiculous that despite the example Scotland has set to the world the UK Government refuses to allow a Scottish Minister to join the delegation."
The SNP opposes any extension of nuclear power, arguing that Scotland has the natural resources (including wind and wave-driven power plants) to generate clean, green energy.
And a state-backed community project, PURE, on the Shetland Island of Unst, has produced among other pioneering work a hydrogen-charged electric car as an alternative or supplement to Lord Turner's plans.
"The creation of an infrastructure to refuel road vehicles with hydrogen means that there will be a realistic alternative to petrol and diesel," says SNP MSP Rob Gibson. "The prospect of a 'Hydrogen Corridor' between Aberdeen and Inverness is an exciting first for Scotland and the UK."
Like the SNP, The Liberal Democrats are also opposed to any extension of the nuclear programme although their 2009 Conference did pass an amendment recognising that 'clean coal' would be part of the planet's energy sources.
However, Liberal Democrats alone dare to talk openly about so-called 'green taxes', albeit in the form of inducements. They will create 'real incentives' for businesses and individuals to go green. "Through our green tax switch and changes in general demand, environmentally friendly technology can become a booming market."
On Transport, Liberal Democrats propose a Future Transport Fund to invest in a UK-wide high speed rail network; to work with the EU to introduce steadily-tougher mandatory vehicle emissions targets with zero-carbon emission for all new cars by 2040; to require at least 10 per cent of all transport fuels to come from renewable sources by 2015 and to ensure that the UK emissions target in the Climate Change Bill includes aviation and shipping.
Energy proposals include the production of bio-gas energy from waste while "we will invest in a Grid upgrade to provide incentives for massive expansion of renewable projects in the North Sea."
Predicting that current Government policy could soon lead to power cuts for the first time since the 1970s, The Conservative Party says: "With our energy supplies increasingly sourced overseas, and with urgent action needed to combat climate change, it's time to rethink the way we supply and consume energy in Britain."
The answer, say the Tories, is urgently to move to a low-carbon economy "in order to strengthen our economy, help guarantee our energy security and protect our environment for future generations."
So any future Conservative Government pledges to make the development of renewable and low carbon energy sources a priority.
The Tories plan to create 'a decentralised energy revolution' by introducing a system of 'feed-in tariffs' to encourage the micro-generation of electricity. This would be accomplished by transforming electricity networks using 'smart grid' and 'smart meter' technology that automatically matches supply and demand, "allowing a huge increase in renewable power."
This would be coupled with an expansion of offshore wind and marine power which would see government backing for a network of large-scale Marine Energy Parks.
There are also pledges of up to £6,500-worth of home insulation improvements, enabling households to reduce their gas and electricity bills, not to mention emissions.
The Conservatives will only permit coal-fired power stations to be built with clean carbon capture and storage technology and while nuclear power will be part of the energy mix, "it is not an alternative to developing and expanding renewable forms of energy."
Regarding transport, the Tories say they will cancel all moves to a third runway at Heathrow; deliver a national recharging network to boost greener driving choices and the switch to electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, while ushering in a "high speed rail revolution."
Looking ahead to Copenhagen, Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary Greg Clark recently told the House of Commons: "It is vital that a clear message goes out from the UK that there is complete unity of purpose between the British Government and the Conservative Party in securing a deal that is fair, ambitious and binding."