Reducing carbon emissions is now paramount

As the clocks go back and evenings shorten the hazy optimism of last summer's Make Poverty History campaign, with its string of Live8 concerts all over the world, seem but a distant memory. Yet during that time we were constantly reminded the UK was in a position to instigate change at home and abroad, holding the Presidency of both the EU and the G8 group of the world's richest nations.

That remains true. The UK government is still in a powerful position, ideally placed for Tony Blair to tackle a problem he has declared a priority for his government: climate change. Environment ministers of the G8 group have just met in London, following one of our warmest Octobers ever recorded, to discuss ways to reduce carbon emissions. Much has been made of the USA's refusal to sign up to the Kyoto protocol, yet we need to look closer to home for climate change failings, since for all of Tony Blair's rhetorical commitment emissions here in the UK are actually rising.

The effects of global warming are not to be taken lightly. 40% of Arctic sea ice has now disappeared, which has very real consequences for London life. The Thames barrier was designed to be raised once every six years. It is now being raised six times a year. And let us not forget the more immediate effects of the air pollution which contributes to it. The UK has the highest number of teenage asthma cases in Europe, with almost one third of 13 and 14 year olds affected, two and a half times as many as in France and Germany. It will come as no surprise to residents of North West London, especially those who cycle, that the Marylebone Road is one of the most polluted roads in the country.

London's air quality is in breach of EU air pollution laws, and the UK even breaches the minimum standard that air pollution can exceed legal limits for only 35 days per year. The increasing availability of cheap flights has led to a rapid rise in carbon dioxide emissions which are going straight into the stratosphere. However, instead of focusing on developing a sustainable transport and aviation policy, the government is backing the expansion of Heathrow airport which would see pollution levels soar. Four hundred flights a day already cross Hampstead and Highgate on their way to Heathrow, bringing damaging air and noise pollution to previously unaffected parts of London.

Nor is the picture brighter at local level. Although it is universally acknowledged that being energy efficient greatly reduces the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, local councils across London are struggling to meet targets. Under a ten year old law sponsored by then Liberal Democrat MP Diana Maddock, councils have to ensure that energy use in households in their area reduces by 30% by 2010. If they are to meet that target, they should now have achieved a 16% reduction on 1996 figures, yet Camden has reduced energy consumption by just 9.5%, and Westminster by a shameful 7.0%.

So what can be done? Real progress on global warming is being made at EU level. The European Commission recently announced that airlines would be included in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, which is a significant step forwards. This scheme works on the principle that each Member State has a quota for the amount of carbon its industries can emit, which it then allocates between its national companies. The consequent requirement to pay money to buy more "quota" for carbon emissions provides a useful financial incentive to find more environmentally-friendly methods of operation.

The EU is also in the vanguard of attempts to find more renewable energy sources. The European Parliament has recommended that by 2010, 6% of road transport fuels should come from "biofuels." These fuels are made from things like wheat, potatoes and sugar beet, and cause only a fraction of the environmental damage that conventional fossil fuels do. In Germany, these fuels are tax free, making them highly attractive to drivers, and in the Austrian city of Graz plans are being implemented to convert the entire bus network to run on bio-diesel fuels.

There are indications that, in London at least, the will is there among the public to make such things a reality. A recent survey revealed that we are the most environmentally friendly of the UK's residents, with 52% of us willing to cycle or walk rather than use cars, and 82% of us happy to recycle household waste. However, unless the government is prepared to take its obligations seriously, we may see little return for our individual efforts.