CLIMATE
CHANGE
1. Mr Meacher told the Committee that the
judgment by the Government is that globally we should be looking
for maximum concentrations of 550 parts per million and that this
would require a reduction of 60-70 per cent (Q.3). Is this percentage
figure in terms of a reduction against global emissions in 1990?
The percentage figure refers to the reduction
required in global anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide relative
to 1990 levels.
2. What do the EU countries' shares amount
to in total? Is this total greater than the 8 per cent required?
Is there a contingency margin?
On the basis of data available to the Presidency
at the time of the June 1998 Environment Council agreement, the
EU total amounts to 8.008 per cent. There is no contingency margin
as such but, given the legally-binding nature of the targets under
the Protocol, Member States (and other developed country Parties)
can be expected to build such a margin into their programme to
ensure compliance. Four Member States (Austria, Denmark, Germany
and the UK) have national targets significantly above their legally
binding targets and, if these are met, then Europe should do better
than its 8 per cent.
3. In response to questions on European measures
Mr Meacher told the Committee that "we would nevertheless
expect national measures to be the main means of achieving Kyoto
targets" (Q.32). Will the forthcoming programme set estimates
of the contribution that will be made by the implementation of
these European measures?
The forthcoming consultation paper will discuss
the range of policy options that could be used to deliver the
UK's climate change targets. It will cover national measures as
well as options where there is a prospect of European-level action.
It will look at the scope for savings from individual measures,
rather than giving a cumulative estimate of reductions which might
be delivered through European measures.
4. Mr Meacher told the Committee that if
the country overshoots its legally binding target it would be
permitted to bank that against future targets (Q.34). Are we correct
in understanding that the EU would report actual emissions to
the Convention including actual emissions in the UK? Although,
as Mr Meacher says, we could still expect other countries to achieve
their targets is it not correct that they would not be legally
required to do so because the legal requirement is for joint implementation?
Is the "banking" arrangement formally agreed within
the EU? With the Convention? Could the UK or indeed the EU trade
on the basis of surplus emissions reductions.
The UK reports its annual emissions to both
the European Commission and the Climate Change Convention (secretariat)
on a regular basis. The Commission is similarly required to report
regularly to the Convention on emissions from within the Community,
including the UK.
In the event that the UK or any other Member
State "overshoots" its legally-binding target, and one
or more undershoot theirs, Article 4 of the Protocol provides
that all parties to the joint attainment agreement will be deemed
to have met their commitment if their total emissions are not
greater than their combined assigned amount. This provision could
affect the ability of Member States to "bank" fully
any overshoot in accordance with Article 3.13 of the Protocol.
Further consideration is likely to need to be given within the
EU, and under the Convention, to this question.
Article 17 of the Protocol allows any Party
included in Annex B to participate in emissions trading: but "surplus
emission reductions" could not be both traded and used to
offset a shortfall by others.
5. Mr Meacher told the Committee that the
three yearly reports on Climate Change are verified externally
and that there are review teams visiting each country who meet
Government officials, technical experts, business, non-governmental
organisations and other groups (Q.45). Is the verification by
these review teams? How frequent are the review visits? What is
the output from the review team's work? In particular:
— has each and every basis for calculating
emissions and projections been reviewed and approved under the
reporting conventions?
— do the reporting conventions require
a minimum level of certainty over estimates and projected figures?
— are the accuracy figures within
the tolerance allowed under the Convention?
— how does the accuracy of the UK
figures compare to those of other countries?
Each National Communication submitted by a developed
country Party under the Convention is subject to an in-depth review
by a team of independent experts under the authority of the subsidiary
bodies to the Convention. For the UK, the review of the first
National Communication was carried out in 1995, and the review
of the second National Communication is scheduled for later this
year.
The reviews provide a thorough and comprehensive
technical assessment of the implementation of the Convention commitments
by individual Parties, and result in published review reports.
It is not feasible to verify every emission
and projection calculation, but the review teams do undertake
verification and cross-checking of emission inventory estimates
and projection calculations, for example using international data
sets, looking for self-consistency and consistency with the inventory
guidelines developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC).
The reporting requirements for National Communications
do not require a minimum level of certainty for emission estimates,
but do require that Parties use methodologies consistent with
the IPCC guidelines. parties are required to report the level
of uncertainty in their emission estimates and are encouraged
to show how projections would be affected by changes in key assumptions.
UK inventory estimates and projections are thought
to be at least as accurate as those of other developed countries.
6. Mr Meacher told the Committee that he
did not think there is much difference in the impact effect within
the EU between having 2010 and the wider budget period . . . [and
that there are] four years finally to deliver (Q.55). What does
the Convention require—delivery of emissions limits on a
date, either the beginning or end of the budget period or to achieve
emissions limits as an average across the budget period or some
other formulation? Where is this set down?
Article 3.7 of the Kyoto Protocol sets out how
the assigned amount for each Annex 1 Party under the first quantified
emission limitation and reduction period from 2008 to 2012 is
determined. In effect, this is the Party's target percentage of
its 1990 level of emissions of the "basket" of gases
listed in Annex A to the Protocol, multiplied by five. For the
UK, this means that total emissions in the commitment period must
not exceed 1990 emissions x 87.5 per cent x 5.
7. What does Mr Meacher mean when he says
that "flexible mechanisms should be supplemental to domestic
actions and that should be interpreted as less than or subordinate
to action which is taken domestically" (Q.61)? Does this
mean that domestic actions should be sufficient to meet the legal
requirements? And, if so what will be the incentive to take part
in flexible mechanisms?
This means that domestic action should be the
main means of achieving emission reductions to meet a target.
There is still an incentive to take part in flexible mechanisms
but the contribution which "credits" can make towards
achieving the target would be subject to a ceiling.
8. The UK is on course to meet the Climate
Change Convention aim of returning greenhouse gas emissions to
1990 levels by the year 2000. What other countries will also meet
this aim?
Within the European Union only the United Kingdom,
Germany and Luxembourg are certain to achieve the Convention aim.
Outside the EU, Switzerland, Russia, the Ukraine and the eastern
European countries with economies in transition are expected to
do so.
9. Can you provide a table showing those
countries with the highest carbon dioxide emissions?
Countries with the highest emissions of
carbon dioxide from industrial sources, 19921
