The spectre of the Greenland ice shelf collapsing has once again focused the world's attention on the threat of global warming. Fresh evidence that this gargantuan ice cube is sliding into the Atlantic Ocean twice as fast as a decade ago was not the only bad news. Last week, we also heard the first-ever forecast of how rising global temperatures will change our weather to the end of the millennium. It warned that seas could rise by more than 11 metres, so changing the face of the planet.
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Against this dramatic backdrop, we might expect the government to be doing something extraordinary to protect its citizens. Instead, it is obfuscating, prevaricating, politicking.
Carbon dioxide is the biggest manmade cause of global warming, so it is a good benchmark by which to judge government actions to tackle the problem. And it is true that Britain is one of the few countries on course to meet its target to cut carbon dioxide under the beleaguered Kyoto agreement (though more by luck than design and, in recent years, Britain's carbon dioxide emissions have been rising again).
Otherwise, there is little to be proud of. The Prime Minister, who once worked hard to get the wider world to act, appears to be vacillating. A review of climate-change policy has been repeatedly delayed, reportedly because some departments refuse to pull their weight. A recent study by the government's Sustainable Development Commission revealed that some ministries were failing even their internal environmental targets. Apparently small, potentially cost-neutral suggestions, such as council tax rebates for home efficiency improvements and bigger gaps between car tax bands to encourage motorists to buy more environmentally friendly models, have still not been accepted, despite studies showing that they can be powerful agents of change.
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http://politics.guardian.co.uk/green/comment/0,,1713004,00.html