The climate emergency will shape policy across the UK

There is already evidence of how emergency action plans related to climate change are driving shifts in approach at local authority level and new signs indicate that they will lead to the national strategy.

What does “climate emergency” mean?

Warnings about the implications of “global warming” for the Earth’s environment have been issued for decades. In 2015, through the Paris Agreement, world leaders made a historic commitment to tackle the problem.

The Paris Agreement, signed by more than 190 countries around the world, aims to limit global temperature rise to a maximum of 1.5 ° C above pre-industrial levels. This target has been widely interpreted as requiring global carbon dioxide emissions to reach ‘net-zero’ by 2050. According to the United Nations Environment Program, achieving the 1.5 ° C target would require a 7.6% global reduction in carbon emissions.

Despite the deal, many activists believe the pace of the change required has not been fast enough. Leading groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Fridays For Future have increased awareness, and since december 2016 a flood of local and national authorities around the world have issued “climate emergency” declarations in an attempt to raise awareness of the issues and use them to rally public support for increased mitigation measures .

There is no fixed definition of a ‘climate emergency’, but all statements made by local and national authorities focus on the need for ‘urgent action’ to reduce or stop climate change in order to prevent other environmental damage. These statements have an increasing impact on policy making.

Local

Across the UK, 308 of 408 local authorities, led by parties from all political backgrounds, have declared the climate emergency. Of the councils that have declared a climate emergency, 226 have set a target date of 2050 or earlier for action – 174 have set a target date of 2030. There appears to be broad political support for the climate emergency with councils led by all major political parties declaring the climate emergency.

All local authorities mention an ambition to reduce carbon emissions, but there is a significant difference in the language used and the commitments made. For example, Cumbria County Council insists on reducing emissions through waste management contracts and reducing landfill waste, while East Sussex County Council leads in highlighting its support for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Based on our own experience, Climate Change Emergency Action Plans (CCAPs) developed by local authorities who have declared a climate emergency are increasingly influencing behavior in all functions of local authorities, including including planning, transportation and recreation. “Local plans” – the development policies of local planning authorities for their territory – are also more closely monitored in terms of ways to reduce the carbon footprint of local authorities and increase sustainable development.

Planning decisions now also contain a climate change impact analysis. These generally refer to older local plans that do not yet include provisions compatible with a declared “climate emergency”, or to the national planning strategic framework. However, it seems inevitable that decisions will end up being scrutinized in light of PICCs, government policy updated as a result of setting the sixth carbon budgetor even international treaty obligations.

However, local authorities do not always act in a manner consistent with their declaration of a climate emergency. A number of local authorities that have declared the climate emergency have also opposed the development of renewable energies in their territory. These decisions have highlighted an inherent tension that exists – to achieve a future energy system based on a greater proportion of renewable energy sources, local planning authorities will have to accept that it will be necessary to develop renewable projects which necessarily have to be an impact on the landscape. This is recognized in various national energy policy statements issued by the UK government.

UK

• UK Parliament – the UK Parliament declared a climate emergency in May 2019 following a movement raised by the opposition Labor Party. Responding to the motion, then Environment Secretary Michael Gove said it is “actions, not words” that will determine success in tackling climate change. Despite Parliament’s declaration of a climate emergency, it has no binding effect on the UK government.

• Scottish Government – Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon declared a climate emergency in a speech at the SNP conference in April 2019. This was followed by the passage of the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) Act (Scotland) which committed the Scottish government to increase its target of reducing all “greenhouse gas emissions” to 100% by 2045, against its previous target of 80%.
• Welsh Government – in April 2019, the Welsh Government declared a climate emergency. The declaration commits the Welsh government to achieve a carbon neutral public sector by 2030 and coordinate actions to help other areas of the economy move decisively away from fossil fuels, involving universities, l industry and the third sector.
• Northern Ireland – in February 2020, the Northern Ireland Assembly declared a climate emergency and supported immediate action to reduce carbon emissions. He also called for the creation of an independent environmental protection agency in Northern Ireland. A new climate change bill is expected to be presented to Stormont shortly.

While the declaration of a climate emergency has been followed by adjusted targets and commitments in some of the decentralized countries, it is the UK government’s commitment to net zero by 2050, and the sixth carbon budget looming in under the Climate Change Act 2008, which is likely to be the main driver of comprehensive policy and measures to reduce carbon emissions in the UK economy.

Given the increased activity of non-governmental and other organizations and the growing number of climate-related legal challenges, it is important that UK authorities and other governments ensure the review and consideration of policies, processes and decisions against national and international legal commitments, as well as policy statements.

Europe

A number of lawmakers across Europe have tabled motions and voted on climate emergencies. Most of them were not binding, but there have been instances where governments have been called upon to adopt the term.

• European Parliament – the European Parliament has approved a resolution declaring a climate and environmental emergency in Europe and the world in November 2019. In this context, MEPs called on the European Commission to ensure that all proposals are aligned with the 1.5 ° C target of the Paris agreement. They also said the EU should reduce its emissions by 55% by 2030 to become climate neutral by 2050 and focused on global emissions from shipping and aviation.
• Austria – parliament voted for to declare a climate emergency in September 2019, again aimed at limiting the rise in temperatures to the target of 1.5 ° C. The vote was largely symbolic, but enjoyed parliamentary support from all parties except the far-right Austrian Freedom Party.
• France – The National Assembly voted the declaration of climate emergency in June 2019. It was a largely symbolic vote and does not impose any legal obligation on the French government.

• Ireland – Parliament passed the declaration of climate emergency in May 2019, calling on the Irish government to do more to reduce biodiversity loss. On top of that, 17 councils in Ireland have declared a climate emergency.

• Germany – 60 cities across Germany have declared a climate emergency, led by Constance and followed by larger cities such as Munich and Berlin. The federal government continues to stick to its commitments in the Paris Agreement, but national opinion is divided on the distance to be covered and the associated costs.

• Spain – the Spanish parliament voted in September 2019 measures which were subsequently approved by the Spanish government.

While not specifically motivated by its resolution declaring a climate and environmental emergency, the European Commission has proposed that at least 25% of all EU spending for the budget period 2021 to 2027 “contribute to the climate action “. This commitment also applies to the 750 billion euros recovery plan against the coronavirus that he described. In addition, the EU has set up the € 40 billion “Just Transition Fund” under the EU Green Agreement and a public sector loan facility from the European Bank of investment with 10 billion euros in loans backed by 1.5 billion euros from the EU budget.

In the UK, however, the government has come under fire for underinvesting in measures to meet its ‘net zero by 2050’ target, and much more investment is needed to put the UK on. a level playing field with the investments of other major European economies such as France and Germany in their national stimulus plans.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s new “ten point plan for a green industrial revolution” is, however, a further sign that actions and not just words will follow declarations of climate emergencies.