Monday 14 July 2008

Why everyone should know more about the EAC

If the title of most green organisation were to be discussed the usual names would come up, Greenpeace, FOE, WWF, CPRE etc. But there is one contender whose work is often quoted but whose praises are rarely sung. I am, of course, taking about the Environmental Audit Committee (parliament.uk/eacom). Although they technically are part of Parliament they rarely spout the same sort of greenspeak that is expected from DEFRA or DBER and often are outright critical of our government's claims to environmental awareness. The importance of this is that this is a committee from inside parliament that consistently rubbishes the government's claim to cutting our greenhouse gas emissions.
An article in todays Guardian shows just how little our government has done. (guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/14/carbonemissions.climatechange) The most interesting thing is how small a contribution from renewables government buildings have. Couple this with the issue of ministerial cars being kept as petrol-guzzling Jaguars rather than more efficient models (also a criticism from the EAC) then what we hear from the government is 'do as I say not as I do'. Many people get confused by parliamentary language and protocol yet the message is quite clear. This government is unable to tell the truth when it comes to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and this is there own committee telling us this not someone outside the political world or anyone who happens to dislike the Brown administration.
The history of the EAC as a thorn in the side of the government is getting quite long now. There are several important things which it has reported on which help undermine a failed policy. Firstly, there is the matter of our Kyoto target (10% less emissions than our 1990 rate by 2012). The myth that we had miraculously reduced our emissions having consumed more fossil fuels and invested in less carbon neutral sources slipped under the radar till the EAC stepped in. Accessing the government's own materials they found out how this miracle had occurred. In the early 90's a lot of dirty coal-fired power stations were replaced with slightly cleaner gas ones. Problem solved, Kyoto Protocol assignment complete. Secondly, the EAC has helped us to realise that we should no longer be following the conservative estimate on the impacts of change and the increases in GHG emissions. Having drawn up report after report that stated that temperatures and emissions were rising on a median level between the conservative and radical estimate, the EAC kept plugging at it, hoping that the government and the opposition would start to take the issue seriously now rather than promise to be serious about it in the future (when they would conveniently not be around to have to deal with it).
So, i doff my cap to the fine members of the EAC, a job well done.

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