Climate Counts

View from my back garden

The past week has seen an amazing number of climate change stories - almost too many to keep up. From extraordinary sights in nature and a forthcoming European Commission report on climate change's likely impact on Europe, to an extraordinary outburst from an environment minister at airlines' reluctance to take climate change seriously.

It's tempting to comment at length on all - and be assured I have my opinions! But instead, I'll take a step back and ponder those experiences that will really stick in the mind from this most unusual first week of 2007.

First, the government's hypocrisy, or lack of joined-up messaging. A junior minister in Defra sounds off about Ryanair's recalcitrance on the climate change front as other branches of the same government maintain their determination to expand our country's airports. What I'll remember most from this week is my kids jumping up and down as they saw aeroplanes' vapour trails cross the sky, on the approach to Luton airport. 'What's that, Mummy? What's that, Mummy?' they cried. 'It's the aeroplanes' pollution', I said. 'Oh...' in reply, completed gutted. How can the government possibly justify their policy of airport expansion to our younger generation?

Second, the eery emptiness of my back garden. I don't feed the birds much, only the occasional peanut cake in a cold snap. But I have lots of weedy, shrubby bits and an expanse of lawn, with good pickings for worm-loving birds. Normally, my garden would be heaving with blackbirds in the winter months, feasting from this abundant natural spread. The garden also has a history of redwing visitors in the depth of winter; they are drawn by the hordes of berries in the neighbour's patch.

I haven't seen any blackbirds at all in my back garden this December-January. Bird researchers at the RSPB, who know more than I do about such things, say it's because the UK normally receives continental migrants from Germany and the low countries at this time of year. Due to mild condition, those blackbirds have probably stayed put. My similar disappointment at lack of my beloved redwings is probably due to the birds' finding adequate berry food in Scandinavia (see October's blog).

This month's hot links: Big Garden Birdwatch 2007 podcast and blog.

Image credit: RSPB Images - The usual sight in my garden in winter.

Great white hope for 2007

The US government has given climate campaigners - and people and wildlife the world over - cause for celebration as we see out 2006. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to list the polar bear as threatened under its Endangered Species Act because the bear's icy habitat is threatened with destruction by climate change. If the proposal is adopted in 2007, the US government has to adopt measures to halt habitat destruction, which means it will have to declare measures to halt climate change. This milestone decision is the fruit of tenacious work by American green groups NRDC, Greenpeace and the Center for Biological Diversity.

Such a turn of events may resonate strangely to Britons; many will wonder why the plight of the polar bear should have prompted US government attention, rather than - for instance - the economic analysis of the cost of inaction on climate change presented by Sir Nicholas Stern, or the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. Katrina demonstrated the kind of future the US could face if climate disruption takes hold (cf. Al Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth). Surely hard-headed economic analysis or actual and potential human fatalities make a stronger argument for climate action?

The reason that the polar bear's future has provided the 'teeth' to skewer the US administration on climate policy is the relative robustness of the legal framework for endangered species, and the determination of American NGOs to use it to mount a legal challenge.

A process of government consultation on the proposal follows in the New Year; then it will become clearer how the US government will rise to the challenge.

Links: see Treehugger; Department of Interior press release.

(Photo credit: Steve Hillebrand, USFWS)

Latitude 57:40N

We peeled out of the train carriage in Inverness on Friday, parting company with cheery Scots, English, Russian and Canadian folk, small children and dogs, to an astonishingly mild night. It still registered 10 degrees Centigrade on the mercury, even at 8:30pm.

Today, Christmas Eve, feet crunched on frosty grass at last, but it is only the second frost of the whole winter - here, north of Inverness, Latitude 57:40 North.


Links:

• This year probably Britain's hottest since records began; sixth hottest for world- BBC; Telegraph; Guardian.
• Scottish snow cover: 'There has been a significant decrease in the number of days with snow lying since the late 1970s' - Scottish Executive.

Climate Counts 12 Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a sign up to green energy
On the second day of Christmas...two solar cells
On the third day of Christmas...three offsets
On the fourth day of Christmas...four bike lights
On the fifth day of Christmas...five A-starred goods
On the sixth day of Christmas...six turbines turning
On the seventh day of Christmas...seven shirts line drying
On the eighth day of Christmas...eight stand bys fading
On the ninth day of Christmas...nine lasses hiking
On the tenth day of Christmas...ten lads recycling
On the eleventh day of Christmas...eleven folk composting
On the twelfth day of Christmas...twelve gardeners planting

Let's celebrate!

I'm a little riled by eco-columns that preach about our wastefulness at Christmas. Yes, it's a problem and we should all cut back on junk and increase re-use and recycling. But who's in the mood for preaching in the run-up to Christmas? (Except churchgoers trundling off to hear the local vicar, who are most welcome, of course!)

I say let's celebrate all the fun we can look forward to these holidays - fab ways to enjoy Christmas that happen to be eco-friendly.

1. Sing carols.
2. Gather around the fire (get your wood from a sustainable source); even better, cosy up with someone else by the fire.
3. Indulge in the best locally produced, seasonal produce you can get your hands/computer mouse on. There's something really satisfying about digging into traditional local fare.
4. Make Christmas decorations you can eat! Gingerbread stars, popcorn strings - hey, if they're stale when you're done, you can feed them to the birds.
5. Walk it all off with a rousing march to your local park/green space/nature reserve and see what wildlife you can discover.

I'm looking forward to it already. Carbon footprint? Very low. Cheers.

What the world needs now...is forests that pay
Nicholas Stern reported that one fifth of the world's greenhouse gas emissions arise from deforestation, and that tackling the problem was one of the cheapest ways to curb climate change.

So where is the money we need? Clearly not in the developing countries which are home to many of the world's remaining forests and struggle to provide development services for their people. That is why much of the recent climate debate in Nairobi centred on the possibility of including a mechanism in the next phase of the Kyoto Protocol for 'avoided deforestation' payments. Such payments would provide developing countries with compensation for preserving their forests, instead of cutting them down. Key countries in the rainforest debate are now clashing over the detail of how such a mechanism could work and behind the scenes, much work is being done to find a way forward.

Meanwhile, conservation groups like the RSPB and its partners in the BirdLife International network are trying to set up sustainable financing mechanisms that could provide flows of payments over time to developing countries (both to governments and local communities) as compensation for preserving specific areas of forest. This is hard work.

Take the large swathe of rainforest the RSPB/BirdLife hopes to protect in the central part of Sumatra, Indonesia. The RSPB and BirdLife need to find at least US$13 million to create a trust fund that will generate annual interest payments sufficient for management of the forest; even then, additional funds will be needed for sustainable livelihoods and education programmes in and around the forest.

The RSPB/BirdLife's Sumatra initiative is a reaction to an urgent threat and is the kind of project that could qualify for Kyoto funding in the future. However, given that the next phase of Kyoto begins in 2012, the only way there will be any forest left to save (and 'avoid deforestation') is if the project receives adequate funding from alternative sources, now. To find out more information and to help, visit www.rspb.org.uk/sumatra

In summary: we desperately need avoided deforestation to be included in the next phase of Kyoto (agreement on this must be reached in the next year), and we desperately need donors to step in and provide substantial funding to protect the most threatened forests in the meantime.

Whack 'em - festive game
In the continuing festive spirit, try out the Stern Review Smack 'Em! online game from FUTERRA, which lets you whack the climate sceptics with a copy of Nicholas Stern's report! Just make sure not to whack the good guys...

Brilliant foil to old bores...

Are you afraid of being stuck in a deadly conversation with climate sceptic relatives (or cocktail guests) this Christmas? I've discovered a brilliant guide that will arm you against any climate sceptic.

Coby Beck's comprehensive guide cites the most authoritative references on the reality of global warming to confound climate sceptics, no matter what wacky angle they are coming from. Recommended reading if there's a sceptic on your social horizon!

Great Green Hope?
I can see this working with enough sustained political will. Gordon Brown laid out plans for the British economy yesterday in his pre-budget report and his proposals for reducing car use by taxing fuel were pretty wimpy. But his announcement on low carbon buildings gave me hope: Brown has pledged for all new homes in Britain to be zero-carbon within ten years' time, and announced a temporary exeption on stamp duty for zero-carbon homes.

That sounds like a big deal to me, hard on the heels of the Barker report on planning that reminded us just how many houses the UK needs to build in the coming decade to meet our needs (answer: during the period 2003-2026, the government expects 209,000 new households to form every year).

My family has been settled in our home for a couple of years but the excruciating search for an affordable, big-enough home in the expensive southeast of England is still front of mind. In particular, I remember acutely the search for decent properties falling beneath the 3% stamp duty threshold.

Three percent of, say £260,000 (just over the threshold) is a whopping £7,800. These are sums that could make a real difference to people's choice of property. The real questions are: 'Will zero-carbon homes cost more to build and will that cost outweigh a stamp duty saving?'
(An RSPB report found that bringing new homes not to zero-carbon but to Eco-homes Excellent Standard cost just £160 per home.)

The Daily Telegraph suggests that the current Bed-Zed development is having problems in attaining zero-carbon emissions; the combined heat and power unit has foundered. Back to political will: I'm optimistic we can make such pilot schemes work and expand them if we're committed.

For old homes...
The Independent reports that Energy Performance Certificates will become mandatory from next year. When you sell your home, you will need an inspector to evaluate how energy efficient it is-the inspector will rate your home on a scale of A (best) to G (worst), similar to the rating currently seen on fridges, washing machines and the like. So, would you buy an old home with a bad rating?

Seasons Greetings!

'Tis the season to be jolly, and send greetings to friends and family. Why not do it the eco-friendly way (on your green-powered computer) by sending an e-card.

Here are my top picks of the e-cards, the most beautiful around:
RSPB Images
Friends of the Earth UK
The Nature Conservancy Last Great Places

This extraordinary site even allows you to set music to your e-card:
Oscar Gutierrez Photography

Send me your recommendations! mairi.dupar@rspb.org.uk