Speech by Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP to the Local Government Association - 5 July 2007
Thanks very much for your kind invitation to David Miliband which has enabled me to be here today. They say a week is a long time in politics and it has been a long first week for me in this new job.
Talking of new jobs can I congratulate you Simon on yours, can I thank Sandy Bruce-Lockhart for all that you have done, and can I say to every single one of you – I look forward very much to working with you in this new job.
Last year I visited a refugee camp in Wajid, Somalia. Home to about 11,000 people – who had been forced to flee their homes because it had not rained where they were living for months. They were living in makeshift shelters made from bent over sticks of wood and scraps of clothing taken from the town rubbish tip.
Last week, hours after leaving DFID and starting this job I got on a train to Doncaster to meet people affected by the recent floods and to thank those working very hard to help them.
In Toll Bar, which was under several feet of water, I talked to people whose homes have been ruined, businesses wrecked, and to parents and children staying in, and being brilliantly cared for, in a temporary rest centre run by the council.
Yes, there was anger and frustration. When you see your home under water and there is nothing you can do about it, it’s an understandable reaction.
But there was also real gratitude for the hard work of the emergency services, the Environment Agency, local council staff and many others.
I know there are a lot of tired people out there. People who, without thinking twice, have done everything they can to help those affected by the floods and make sure that our response – at national, regional and local levels, but above all in the streets affected, the communities affected – is as effective as possible.
And I want today to do what I did in the House of Commons on Monday, which is to thank all your staff in all the parts of the country affected – and there are many – for what you have done, are doing and will do as the clear-up operation continues. As you know, John Healey is now co-ordinating our support to the recovery effort – he’s in Hull today which has been very badly affected – and when all of this is done we must, and will, learn the lessons.
These floods have been incredibly unusual. Last month was the wettest June on record. But we all fear that the floods of last week will happen more and more often as a result of climate change, just as the people living in those shelters in Wajid were there because of drought. Too much water. Not enough water. This is the future we face on this very small and fragile planet of ours as we come to terms with the reality of climate change and as we come to find the will to act to prevent it.
I am here today to say one thing above all other. Tackling climate change is the greatest challenge of our generation. And we cannot do this without you. Local government is not just a partner in this fight. You are one of the leaders of this fight. And I know that it is a challenge that you are more than up for.
After all, we are meeting in a city whose local history is one full of innovation, all the way back to Mayor Joseph Chamberlain’s work in the late 19th Century to clear slums, reform local gas and electricity supplies, and build new libraries, swimming pools, public parks and schools. Local leadership that meets the challenge of the 19th century.
And we need the same leadership in the 21st century to defeat climate change. Time is not on our side.
The evidence on global warming is now clear. The earth has warmed by 0.7 degrees C since the beginning of the century; about 0.4 degrees C of this has been since the 1970s. Climate change is with us now.
We can be absolutely certain that global warming has been caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, deforestation and agriculture. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere has risen its the pre-industrial value of about 280 ppm to 380 ppm last year.
We have to ensure that global emissions peak and then decline within the next ten to fifteen years, if we are to avoid warming of above 2 degrees C.
Above this threshold, the impact on people and nature is dangerous. What will rising temperatures mean? They will mean major declines in crop yields, up to one third in Africa, with rising numbers of people at risk from hunger.
Some areas will see water shortages. Sea level rises will threaten major world cities. Whole eco-systems from coral reefs to the rainforests face collapse and many species could face extinction. Storms, droughts, forest fires and flooding will have a major impact on our human life.
The poorest countries and the poorest people – wherever they happen to live – will suffer most, and the costs will fall on the countries which have done least to cause climate change, and are least able to adapt to its effects.
What are we going to do when people start fighting – not over political ideas – but over water? What will we do when thousands arrive at our shores to seek shelter, fleeing not persecution but environmental catastrophe?
What will we do if, as Nick Stern told us, catastrophic climate change has a greater economic impact than two world wars and the Great Depression put together ?
The truth is that dealing with the consequences of climate change – after it’s happened - will cost between five and twenty times as much as acting now to stop it. That’s the choice and therefore the question we have to ask ourselves is what do we need to do?
First to understand that we are currently consuming three planets’ worth of natural resources, and that we need to move towards what WWF call ‘One-Planet Living’ – living within our means.
This is as big a challenge to this generation as the movement for social reform was in the 19th century. But it is about the same issue that gave birth to local government in britain: social justice. It is unacceptable that the poorest people in our country often experience the worst air quality, the highest flood risks and the least access to public space. Just as it is unacceptable that it is the poorest people in our planet that will suffer.
Secondly, according to MORI, in 2002, just 1 person in 36 thought that the environment was one of the most important issues facing our country. Last year, it was 1 in 10. So far this year, it’s 1 in 7. This shows how far we come.
But many of you might have seen the other poll by MORI this week where 56% of people thought scientists were still questioning climate change. This shows how far we have yet to go.
Thirdly, tackling climate change has to be a priority – both in doing all we can to stop it happening and to adapt to its effects. The floods this week should make that clear to every single one of us. And on this we have to work together – you and I, DEFRA and local authorities, businesses and consumers, government and people.
Fourthly, each of us has to play our part. We in national government can do a lot, not least in getting international agreement to tackle climate change. That’s why what happened at the G8 at Heiligendamm mattered so much. We can also lead - and we are doing – through the climate change bill which will make Britain the first country in the world to legislate for carbon budgets to achieve a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions between by 2050 compared with 1990.
But it’s a task for all of us – G8 leader or council leader alike – and for each of us in our everyday lives. That’s why we launched the carbon calculator earlier this year to help people work out their carbon footprint. We won’t tackle climate change, or improve the environment that we all share, without local government leading the way. That’s why I was so pleased to see your Commission’s interim report on climate change published this week. Because this is all about doing practical things and showing that change is possible.
Over the past few days I’ve heard about the impressive work councils are doing. You all know about the Nottingham Declaration and the London Congestion Charge, but the point is that all over the country, local councils are innovating.
Guildford Borough Council has converted a disused water mill into a hydro electricity generator – which involved tracking down a suitable water wheel to a field in Ireland and renovating it. That sounds fun! This not only provides enough electricity to supply 50 homes and will pay for itself in ten years and what it does is help spread the message about renewable energy through school and public visits.
In the building next door to this, Birmingham City Council has installed a combined heat and power engine – weighing 16 tons – that will provide enough electricity to power 25,000 60W light bulbs, and use the heat generated to warm several Council buildings. It’s just one way that 1 city is aiming to meet its CO2 emissions reduction target of 20% by 2010. In Lancashire, all new schools will be carbon netral. And in Hackney they are exploring a scheme where by parking charges will vary according to the car’s CO2 emissions.
Tackling climate change and improving our environment is vital for our future. But it also makes good business sense for your local economies too. More than 400,000 people are employed in environmental goods and services in the UK, with an annual turnover of £25 billion. By 2015 it will be £46 billion. And if the UK continues to lead the way internationally in developing low carbon technologies, the global market for our environmental goods and services could be enormous.
And that is why I want Defra to be a department that is just as trusted by business as it is trusted by the green movement. A department that puts Britain’s long term interests at the heart of everything it does.
That’s why we’re funding, for example the Carbon Trust, which is helping British businesses lead the world in green technologies. The trust has supported CMR to develop a fuel cell that is up to 90% smaller and 80% cheaper to produce than most competing technologies. Harvard Business School has said they are one of the 25 companies 'most likely to change our world by 2010'.
And it’s why I want to encourage you as local authorities to work closely with local businesses to raise investment in environmental technologies. And one way to do this, of course, is by the decision you make about what to buy.
But there is are other truths here we have to face up to. Even if national and local government play their part, unless we as citizens play our part we will not succeed. This is the new politics. Personal responsibility. Not leaving it to others. I am my planet’s keeper.
And we can help people to make this choice so we’re launching a new TV campaign next week to raise public awareness. After all, people care about the quality of their local environment, whether it’s litter, clean streets or attractive public spaces; and the LGA research shows that the environment is one of the most important factors in shaping what people think about their council.
Take waste. We have made progress together. Recycling has quadrupled since 1997, up from 7% to nearly 27%, with local authorities leading the way. But we can – and we must – do better, and that’s why the Waste Strategy aims to provide you with the right policy and the tools you need to do the job.
But that’s why you must be committed to widening the range of materials you collect; if plastic isn’t collected, for example, how many households will save it separately and make that journey to the nearest re-cycling centre? And that’s why we most be committed to getting those who produce that plastic packaging significantly to reduce it.
The final point I want to make is about the sharing of power.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister set out a range of constitutional changes in his statement to the House of Commons. I know that Hazel Blears, with whom I have been working closely on the floods over the past few days, will talk about these a little later, but at the heart of what Gordon Brown said was a commitment to take power from the executive and share it better with Parliament, local authorities, and above all with the people.
It’s not just the right thing to do. It’s also good politics. Because the way people want to engage in our democracy is changing. All of us know that people want more say about what happens to them, more influence over what happens in our communities. As politicians, we must never forget that power is something people lend to us, and that our duty is to serve. And that means listening – you and me.
So my offer to you is this: what can I do as Secretary of State to help you?
I want to be absolutely straightforward about this. Where you think something is going wrong, or could be improved, I want you to tell me. And where you are doing good work that others could learn from, I want you to tell them. Because what matters is getting things right and learning from each other.
And judge us by what we do.
On waste, you asked for powers to provide financial incentives for households to recycle more. We’re consulting on giving you that power right now.
On climate change, you asked for more flexible licensing arrangements for energy generation. That’s in the energy review.
On the National Performance Indicators, you asked us to reduce the number of them. That’s what we’re doing in publishing new draft indicators today.
We’re proposing 13 indicators and we want to know what you think. Some of them are new – such as reducing CO2 emissions. Others are familiar. All of them focus on outcomes – things changing, being different, being better – and not processes. All of them are specific rather than vague.
But there are real questions about the detail, and we need your views to get them right. So please read them and please tell us what you think.
I’m also pleased to launch today the Joint DEFRA-LGA Environmental Prospectus. We have developed it together and I hope it will help you prioritise your work on the environment, and help you challenge your council and your local strategic partners. Like all the best documents, it’s short and to the point.
I’m committed to listening to what you have to say. Because the best relationship between central and local government is one that shares power, and helps local government to do its job. Because having spent 20 years in local government, this experience has taught me that this is absolutely crucial.
That’s what you do best.
That’s the way that politics changes things.
And, that’s how together we can both serve the people who elected us and save our planet.
Thank you very much.
Page last modified: 6 July 2007
Page published:
6 July 2007