Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
A unilateral approach
With the realization that the UNFCCC negotiations have stalled, a number of countries and
regions have proposed carbon cuts way above those currently negotiated. The EU Council
of Ministers has agreed the 20:20:20 targets for 2020. That is, 20 per cent renewable energy
for all 27 EU countries; a 20 per cent improvement in energy efficiency; and a 20 per cent
cut in total GHGs. The first national climate change legislation mandating a targeted cut in
GHG emission was enacted in 2008 in the UK with their Climate Change Act. This binds
the UK government to reducing the country's carbon emissions by 80 per cent, using a
1990 baseline, by 2050. All three main political parties supported this Act. As part of this
new set of legislations the Climate Change Committee was set up, independent of govern-
ment, to monitor and advise successive governments on achieving this goal. Every five
years they are to provide carbon budgets for the sitting government and advice on how to
achieve these interim targets. This shows international independent leadership that if the
world's fifth largest economy can do it, then it is possible for other countries to follow. In
2012 Mexico became the second country in the world and the first developing country to
enshrine GHGs reduction into national law. Mexico have mandated reducing GHG emis-
sions by 30 per cent by 2020, and by 50 per cent by 2050. Other countries are also starting
to develop climate and energy laws with respect to cutting GHG emission. The Global Le-
gislators Organisation (GLOBE International) and the Grantham Research Institute at the
London School of Economics published a study in 2014 that audited climate legislation
across 66 countries, all of which produce 88 per cent of anthropogenic GHG emissions.
The study found that 64 out of 66 countries had enacted or were planning to enact signific-
ant climate or energy legislation. In all, more than 500 climate laws are now on the topics
in the nations most responsible for climate change. Emerging economies like Mexico and
China are leading the charge, and 'flagship legislation' was passed in eight countries, most
of them developing nations such as Bolivia, El Salvador, and Mozambique. The study also
shows that some countries such as Australia and Japan have 'backslid' and started to re-
verse climate legislation. But though the study brings good news, it also found that current
national policies around the world still fall short of the goal of limiting a global temperat-
ure rise to no more than 2°C. This suggests that internationally binding targets are required
to help focus and enhance these national laws.
Key regions have also produced climate change laws. California has mandated a 60 per
cent reduction by 2050. This may be very significant, as there is a history of innovative en-
vironmental laws in California being accepted as Federal laws in due course. If the Califor-
nian model were adopted by the whole of the USA, this would make a huge difference to
