Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the Community Carbon Reduction Programme (Cred) (Cit 41a)
BACKGROUND
In August 2006 the Carbon Reduction (CRed) Programme
submitted evidence to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Select Committee (EFRA) enquiry into carbon reduction under the
title of the Citizens' Agenda. The submission led to CRed being
asked to host a day session of the enquiry at the University of
East Anglia.
This second written submission is designed to
distil, into bullet point form, the most salient issues from our
initial written evidence, and to factor in recent developments
in this fast moving field. Emphasis has been placed on public
the best means for engagement and progressing engagement into
long-term action on carbon reduction. Finally, we believe that
the bullet-points below should form the basic items for discussion
during the CRed Team's verbal evidence to the enquiry.
MAJOR ISSUES
TO BE
RESOLVED BY
GOVERNMENT IN
THE FIELD
OF CARBON
REDUCTION
— The joining-up of the plethora of,
largely pledge based, carbon reduction initiatives which produce
useful data on carbon savings should be a priority. CRed believes
that currently data is not always recorded intelligently, and
in many instances data is lost altogether. Moreover, there is
scant evidence to suggest that many organisations securing carbon
reduction commitments from the public are conducting any meaningful
analysis of whether these promises are being acted on, as little
or no evaluation work is carried out.
— CRed believes that whilst national
and international agencies can inform people about climate change
and the need for carbon reduction, it is engagement at the local
community level that convinces most of the public to undertake
carbon reduction actions. In an era when public trust in large
organisations is tending to decrease, activities such as the DEFRA
Climate Challenge Fund that focus on supporting local projects
are to be particularly welcomed.
— From our experience of securing carbon
reduction pledges from the public we are aware that many people
feel that they are a small cog in a very big wheel and their actions
will make little difference. This is exacerbated by the perceived
lack of action from the United States and China, which is often
cited by members of the public we speak to as reasons for inaction.
With the above points in mind we strongly suggest that the Government
seeks to internationalise the carbon reduction pledge activities
going on in the UK. This could be done by creating a database,
which would share carbon reduction data with other nations enabling
governments to hold information on global carbon reduction. This
could be fed back to the various groups and on to the public,
thus inducing a belief by doing their bit people are contributing
to a much bigger global effort. A truly global effort for a global
problem.
— The idea outlined at the end of the
above bullet point could also be used to induce a degree of healthy
competition between the people of participating nations.
— With the International element in
mind CRed ran a big switch of campaign at the University of East
Anglia (UEA) during the Spring of 2005 in collaboration with the
University of North Carolina (UNC). The campaign involved staff
being extra vigilant in switching off unnecessary devices, such
as computers, photocopiers and lights. The campaign was extremely
successful, and in some areas of the University energy use was
down by as much as 30%. However, the fact that events at UEA were
being mirrored by events at UNC gave the occasion a massive boost
and induced a real feeling of international collaboration. The
Government could look at using this type collaboration between
universities as a model for internationalising carbon reduction.
Indeed, universities with their reputation as hubs of knowledge,
and increasingly knowledge transfer, would appear
to be ideal catalysts for action on climate change in their host
communities both at home and overseas.
— Enabling individuals and communities
across the globe to join together to combat climate change reinforces
the "act local, think global" message underpinning responses
to climate change. Seeing other communities also embarking on
carbon reduction can be a powerful incentive and helps overcome
the perceived sense of insignificance of small actions. CRed is
showing that small things really do add up. The use of the internet
and new forms of communication, such as video conferencing, should
be employed to enable communities in different parts of the world
to share carbon reduction experiences.
— Once engaged in efforts to reduce
their carbon footprint, it is vital the public become hooked into
long-term action, which leads to substantial and lasting behavioural
change. One off actions are of little value, and to make the meaningful
cuts in carbon emissions required a series of measures are needed.
To achieve this it is vital that the public have a road map to
follow, and are made aware of all the carbon reducing options
available to them in every aspect of their energy use. This has
led to CRed creating an on-line tool, the CRed System, which outlines
a clear pathway of measure, designed to deliver, on an incremental
basis, ever increasing levels of carbon savings. These pathways
cover all aspects of our energy use (eg heating, lighting transport).
We recommend the adoption of this approach on a broader scale
in order to ensure the sustained involvement of the public.
The Community Carbon Reduction Programme (CRed)
University of East Anglia
January 2007
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