SERA News

Labour's London Mayor Candidates on the Environment

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:43:00 +0100

London Labour Mayoral hopefuls Ken Livingstone and Oona King have written open letters to SERA members.

Read Ken's letter
Read Oona's letter

Ballot papers should be dropping on the doorsteps of London SERA members in the next few weeks,�to vote for Labour's candidate for London Mayor.

A slick approach to renewable energy

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:04:00 +0100

It should be an auspicious occasion: the presentation of the first ever energy statement to parliament. In reality, the statement will be overshadowed by the latest boardroom twists in BP and a failure of Chris Huhne to shake off concerns about Tory plans for cuts.

SERA Co-Chair Andrew Pakes posted a comment piece this week on the Progress website about the Government's first energy statement and the BP oil disaster. To read the rest click here:

http://www.progressives.org.uk/articles/article.asp?a=6479

SERA Annual General Meeting

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 15:12:00 +0100

Notices have now been sent out to members about our forthcoming AGM which will be held at 11am on Saturday 4 September on central London

What lessons can we learn from the BP oil disaster?

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:02:00 +0100

With the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico now within touching distance of Florida, the BP disaster speaks to a larger story of private enterprise and our thirst for precious resources.

To read more about Andrew's opinion piece on Labour List about the BP oil leak and its implications for climate change and the environment click here:

http://www.labourlist.org/bp-oil-leak-big-corporation-pakes-andrew

Coalition Government announces misguided waste scheme

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:44:00 +0100

Conservative Communities minister Eric Pickles announced today that the coalition Government should treat people with respect as he removed one of the tools that was available to local government for reducing waste.

Localism is perhaps as much a victim in this case as the �pay as you throw� (PAYT) scheme originally proposed by Labour. If we are to really change the way that we deal with our waste, we need to reduce, reuse and recycle. PAYT gave local authorities the option of linking part of council tax to the amount of waste produced. Those who produced large amounts would have been charged more, but those who reduced their total waste, either through recycling or through consuming less, would have been rewarded. Now this tool is no longer available. ��

The irony of the Conservatives favoured scheme is that householders are rewarded for recycling more, which perversely can come from consuming more. When rewards are based on the weight of your recycling, then why not buy the biggest and heaviest weekend paper you can find. And then use your rewards to buy more stuff that you can recycle to get more rewards.

To think that rewards will not increase consumption is naive when one thinks about how they are funded. Gary Porter of the LGA said this morning on the Today Programme that the scheme in Windsor and Maidenhead is paid for by the main sponsor, Marks and Spencer. While M&S is changing its own behaviour it is unrealistic to think it is also paying for council recycling schemes out of the goodness of its heart. ��

Incentives have a place to play in changing behaviour, that much is clear. But rewarding good behaviour by encouraging consumption will not help us reduce and reuse, only recycle. Those who genuinely seek to consume responsibly, and reduce their waste, will not be rewarded as much as those who consume more. Households that drink from cans and read red-tops, will find their recycling weighs less than those who drink wine and read broadsheets, even if they recycle a greater percentage of their waste. To be successful in bringing about change we need to work on all fronts, we need to reduce, reuse and recycle. Waste policy has just taken one step forward and two steps back. �

Tories could put climate agreement at risk - Independent

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 08:24:00 +0100

Writing in The Independent today, Nicholas Stern, the climate change economist, Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general, and the Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Maathai, warn David Cameron that using the aid budget to help nations cope with climat change would be "unacceptable" and that all money designed to fight climate change in poor areas should be additional.More here

Labour Launches Green Manifesto

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 08:20:00 +0100

New website challenges Tory green credentials

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:32:00 +0100

RateMyTory challenges green credentials of Cameron�s candidates

A new website that aims to profile every Conservative candidate ahead of the election and give them a progressive rating has questioned the green credentials of Cameron�s party.

Ratemytory.org.uk launched last week and has already had over 15 000 hits from users seeking to find out what their Tory MP or PPC thinks on issues including gay rights, fox hunting and climate change.

RateMyTory has highlighted a worrying trend amongst Tory candidates who, beneath their green pledges, contradict themselves with stubborn objections that do little to support the environmental agenda. The site is calling for readers to contribute information on their local candidate to help accurately profile Tory attitudes to climate change and other progressive issues.

To read the full story, and find out how to get involved with the RateMyTory project, visit: http://ratemytory.org.uk/2010/04/09/meaner-than-green/

Follow RateMyTory on Twitter: @ratemytory

Budget backs up plans for low carbon future

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:05:00 +0000

SERA has welcomed yesterday�s budget announcement. which unveiled a number of measures designed to tackle the causes of climate change and to support the move to a low carbon economy. �Last year the government launched their ambitious plans for a move to a low carbon economy. This budget backs that up with the money to help make it happen� said Sera co-chair Andrew Pakes. �That this is happening in the face of challenging economic times, shows how far things have moved on � that Labour now really understands that measures to tackle climate change will also help us build a competitive, sustainable economy for the 21^st Century,� added co-chair Leonie Cooper. Green measures in the budget include:

Green investment back �To support investment in low carbon infrastructure projects, with the early focus on wind energy, then high speed rail and electric vehicles. The government will start by investing up to �1billion, with at least �1billion of private sector match funding being sought.
�60 million to develop UK port sites to support offshore wind turbine manufacturers looking to local new facilities in the UK
Halving the rate of company car tax for ulta-low carbon cars
A commitment to reduce government departments� carbon emission by at least 30% by 2020
�60 billion savings to be made by Department of Health by reducing energy consumption
�8 per ton increase in the standard rate of landfill tax from April 2014, to encourage alternatives to landfill

SERA on Labour List - The gap between rich and poor is based on respective priorities - only technology transfer holds the key

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:41:00 +0000

With so much information bombarding us from the Copenhagen Summit it can be frustratingly difficult to get a sense of the core issues and discussions taking place at the conference. There have been alarming developments, not least the chasm that appears to be widening between the rich and poor worlds , forcing talks to be suspended on Monday. But the key to any deal remains effective funding for green technology in poorer countries.

Looking at the crisis on Monday - rich countries are reluctant (or believe it is politically impossible) to achieve Kyoto-style internationally binding emission reduction commitments. Instead, they are reported to favour an all-inclusive 'pledge and review' system that so far would result in a ludicrously low level of cuts in emissions.

Poorer countries, on the other hand, demand deep and binding emissions cuts from rich countries but appear unwilling to accept limits on their own emissions, fearing this will curtail economic growth and development.

So what's the solution? The key has to be technology transfer to facilitate �green� economic growth in poorer countries. There are, of course, huge costs associated with this. But until this funding is in place poorer countries will resist emissions limits, in turn making their argument that rich states must accept deep and binding reductions unacceptable to the developed world. Politicians from the rich world will be acutely conscious of having to 'sell' any agreement on cuts to a public and legislatures back home - impossible without being able to show that every country is taking their fair share of 'pain� in terms of emissions cuts.

Funding for technology transfer becomes the crucial lubricant allowing the other pieces of a deal to more easily fall into place. The question is, how to achieve this?

It's easier said than done, but leaders must remember that failing to act will cost the world more in the long run. One thing is certain - the negotiators won't be getting much sleep over the coming days.

Comment here:

http://www.labourlist.org/gap-rich-poor-respective-priorities-technology-transfer-key?utm_source=taomail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2616+Communication%2C+Wed+16th+Dec+2009&tmtid=25580-2616-2-8-93241