Chris Seeks Realistic & Achievable Approach to Climate Change
Christopher Chope Conservative, Christchurch
Is it not a cruel confidence trick to suggest that 1.5°C is still achievable, when it manifestly is not? Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency confirmed 2.9°C by 2100 as its central scenario and that a 2.5°C increase by 2050 was totally unrealistic and unachievable. Would the Government not be better off spending our taxpayers’ money on adapting to the realities—increasing resilience and ensuring we improve our flood defences and so on—and preparing for the inevitable, instead of continuing to punish the British people?
Ed Miliband The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
I have had this exchange with the hon. Gentleman before—he is too pessimistic. If we had taken that approach before, we would be heading for 4°C or 5°C of global warming. Yes, it is true that the central scenario is somewhere between 2.3°C and 2.5°C depending on which figures one looks at, but the whole point is to bring the numbers down. People talk about negative tipping points, and we are right to be worried about those, which is why, I am afraid, we cannot just let it happen—it would be a disaster. We should also think about positive tipping points. On solar energy in the past decade, for example, we have exceeded the forecasts that the IEA and others had. We need to move towards those positive tipping points.
I am not giving up on 1.5°C, but I make this point to the hon. Gentleman: every fraction of a degree that we reduce warming will save many lives across the globe, prevent many disasters and reduce the costs that future generations face. I agree with him about investing in adaptation, but we have got to do both.
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