10 Propositions on reducing carbon emissions

(Prepared for a BBC R4 Today programme discussion with Michael Meacher, 30 December, 2003)

1 The IPPC consensus says we need way upwards of 60 percent reductions. Dream on. Minimal economic growth in the third world alone will make that impossible.

2 In the rich world shaving a few percent off the carbon emissions would be easy. An extra sweater, turn the central heating down, sell the 4 X 4 to a farmer. Build some wind turbines. That would make no serious dent in emissions.

3 Making slightly bigger reductions, in the short term, would be harder work: cancel your foreign holidays, take your kids out of distant university, take whatever job you can near home.

4 Bigger changes might be needed: reverse the trends of history - go and live in a commune in a city.

5 Longer term, perhaps we'll have some form of nuclear power, and surely new forms of solar power and perhaps even a carbon free-economy. Maybe that could happen worldwide in two or three generations.

6 Maybe all that matters is stay rich, and pay for poor countries to have a less carbon-hungry economic growth.

Government policy
7 The most democratic governments can do is: speak the truth as it sees it, and see if the electorate will "buy" a carbon-lite policy.

8 Is government telling the truth? Yes when it says it wants to reduce carbon. No, when its says it's trying to: Kyoto's all but meaningless (not adhered-to, not ambitious enough).

9 How to incentivise carbon-reduction? Use taxation to treble fossil fuel costs (or more accurately, carbon emissions). Ban gas-guzzlers. Trade carbon emissions nationally (and internationally).

10 Will we buy it? Not if it hurts - except if we believe our pain will definitely help someone whose suffering we can see on TV. And not when we see North Americans each using at least five times the carbon emissions of a European.