politics.co.uk Logo

In Focus

The North West Regional Assembly gets tough on climate change

Tuesday, 05 Jun 2007 09:03
With the publication of the Government’s draft Climate Change Bill, the North West Regional Assembly (NWRA) – the regional partnership working to improve the quality of life for people in the North West – has thrown down the gauntlet and promised to go further than any other region to tackle climate change.

The NWRA is developing an evidence-based inventory for green house gas emissions and renewable energy generation in the region and will use this database to develop ambitious 2010 and 2020 emissions reduction targets for different sectors such as housing, transport and industry, as well as targets for increased renewable energy generation.

The North West already has targets to increase the proportion of electricity supplied in the region from renewable sources, such as wind and solar power, to 10 per cent by 2010, rising to 15 per cent by 2015 and 20 per cent by 2020. The NWRA is looking to build upon these to ensure that the heating for homes, schools, offices and public buildings in the region also has less impact on our climate.

The targets will be launched later this year and will be an important step in meeting the objectives set out in "Rising to the Challenge: A Climate Change Action Plan for England's Northwest", which was developed in partnership with the Northwest Regional Development Agency, Government Office for the North West, and the Environment Agency in November last year. The Action Plan aims to stimulate and measure the progress of the region towards a low carbon economy, preparing it for the challenges of a changing climate and future energy demands, whilst protecting and enhancing its quality of life and rich environment.

Catherine Monaghan, Sustainable Development Manager at the NWRA, comments: “We are an ambitious and forward thinking region and take climate change very seriously. Now we want to prove that we are prepared to do what it takes to tackle this issue head on by setting ourselves tough targets for reducing emissions and increasing the amount of energy that is generated from renewable sources. If the Government is serious about legally meeting a 60 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, with real progress by 2020, it must recognise the regions as key to the delivery of domestic action.”

Further information about "Rising to the Challenge: A Climate Change Action Plan for England's Northwest" is available from the NWRA website: www.nwra.gov.uk/sustainabledevelopment.

Responses 

  • What the Conservatives want from a Climate Change Bill

    The shadow environment secretary Greg Barker hails the climate change bill as proof environmental concerns have now entered the Westminster mainstream, a development he attributes to David Cameron. But he questions the bill's effectiveness in its current form, advocating rolling targets on emissions set by an independent body not politicians. More...

  • Climate bill is not the radical action needed

    Dr Derek Wall, the Green party principal speaker, warns the climate change bill falls short of what is necessary to prevent climate change. He argues real action is needed now, or future governments will become "caretakers of catastrophe". Targets to reduce carbon emissions must be strengthened, while carbon reduction must become realistic for individuals.More...

  • Bill is no substitute for action

    The Liberal Democrat environment minister Chris Huhne outlines the Lib Dem's concerns with the climate change bill in its current form. Although welcoming it as a starting point to curb emissions, Mr Huhne warns the bill is weakened by a lack of yearly targets and is vulnerable to political interference – allowing governments to avoid responsibility for missed targets. More...

  • Decisive action needed on climate change

    The secretary of state David Miliband launched the draft climate change bill with the insistence there is no longer any debate that climate change is a reality and emissions are to blame. Working from this assumption, the climate change bill commits the UK to reducing emissions, based on a new system of carbon budgets and enforced by a climate change committee More...

Responses