Monday 21 January 2008

David Nussbaum, chief executive of WWF-UK, said: "The Government has a unique opportunity to set an example to the rest of the world by introducing groundbreaking legislation on climate change."

"Today some of Britain's most eminent climate and environmental scientists have added their voices to the growing calls for emission cuts based on the latest science - that means cuts of at least 80% by 2050," he said.

Open letter to Government: UK newspapers
The letter is written by the current Chair of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP), Sir John Lawton, and his predecessors, Sir Tom Blundell, Chair at the time of the 2000 report as well as Sir John Houghton and also the Foreign Member of the US National Academy of Sciences Professor Norman Myers. The scientists have signed the letter in their personal capacity.

The open letter to the leaders of the main political parties is published in today's The Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Independent.

The letter explains the need to cut the UK's CO₂ emissions by at least 80% by 2050, outlining how the Government's current target of a 60% reduction in the UK's CO₂ emissions by 2050 is based on an out of date report by the (RCEP) published in 2000.

Call for 80% CO₂ emissions cut
Sir John Houghton, the former Chair of Scientific Assessment for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said: "The UK has always been proud of its leadership in the issue of climate change. To keep in the lead, the Government needs to keep in step with the science that is now strongly pointing towards cuts in emissions of at least 80% by 2050 if we are to mitigate against dangerous climate change. Furthermore there is convincing modelling to show that these cuts are achievable and affordable."

Scientific reports
The recent report, 80% Challenge: Delivering a low carbon Britain, published jointly by WWF-UK, Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), found that it is technically feasible and affordable for the UK to cut its CO₂ emissions by at least 80% by 2050 - including our share of emissions from international aviation and without using new nuclear power.

Alternative solutions could lie in energy efficiency and a rapid roll out of renewable and decentralised energy, potentially combined with fossil fuel power stations equipped with working carbon capture and storage.

Recent statements by Sir Nicholas Stern, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and the UN Human Development Report 2007/2008 also make clear that developed countries must make emissions reductions of at least 80% by 2050.

WWF-UK is also calling on the UK Government to include emissions from international aviation and shipping in the Climate Change Bill.