Welcome to the all-new
All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group (APPCCG) Bulletin.

The APPCCG now comprises about 180 parliamentarians and almost 200 associate members, and is one of the largest, fastest-growing and most active parliamentary groups.  The APPCCG has confirmed its place at the centre of the climate change debate through an exciting series of meetings on controversial topics ranging from renewable energy and overpopulation to carbon trading and geoengineering, and featuring a diverse group of UK and international speakers, including UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer, Jonathon Porritt, Lord Adair Turner, Professor Thomas Homer-Dixon, the Rt. Hon Douglas Alexander MP, and DECC ministers Joan Ruddock MP and Lord Hunt of King’s Heath OBE.  The APPCCG has further developed its global connections through the Climate Change Partnership with the German Embassy in the UK and through attending the University of Copenhagen’s international scientific conference this past March (held in preparation for the UNFCCC’s Conference of the Parties in December).  APPCCG Chair Colin Challen MP has also launched his new book, Too Little, Too Late:  The Politics of Climate Change.

This autumn, the APPCCG is pleased to announce an innovative joint parliamentary inquiry, undertaken with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change and Environment within the Bangladeshi Parliament:  ‘Climate Change Equity:  Is It a Plan, an Aspiration, Or a Fashion Statement?’  Please see below for further details.

The APPCCG continues to take pride in its robust cross party consensus, in its thriving associate membership, in the breadth of topics tackled by meetings and in the APPCCG’s continuing commitment to raising awareness of the threat of climate change and to promoting policies to counter that threat.

Joint Parliamentary Inquiry

The APPCCG and the Bangladesh All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change and Environment have convened an inquiry into the concept of equity in climate change negotiations:  “Climate Change Equity: is it a plan, an aspiration or a fashion statement?”  This inquiry will produce a report to be presented at the UNFCCC COP15 conference in Copenhagen in December 2009.

Developed and developing countries are deeply concerned about how to share the burden of tackling climate change, and this issue is the greatest barrier to success in the UNFCCC negotiations.  Bangladesh will be one of the first countries to suffer badly from the impacts of climate change; the UK is one of the countries that have contributed most to the problem.  If Parliamentarians from these two countries can bridge these differences, we could propose a model for the developed and developing worlds.

We are now seeking evidence for this inquiry.  Submissions must be made by 12 October 2009.  If you are interested, please contact Catherine Martin at the APPCCG Secretariat on catherine.martin@carbonneutral.com or 0207 833 6035.

The APPCCG in the News

Here is a small selection of news coverage of the APPCCG’s activities this year:

  • Colin Challen MP launches his book, Too Little, Too Late:  The Politics of Climate Change.  ‘“You can buy a dozen books on what you can do as an individual, but few that tell you what politicians must do,” he said. But individual actions that were good in themselves, he noted, became dangerous if used to displace decisive political measures.’  Full article (from OneWorld UK) here.
  • The APPCCG meets with the UK Photovoltaics Manufacturers’ Association to promote solar energy and a ‘clean energy cash back’, or feed-in tariff, scheme.  ‘Colin Challen, Chairman of the All-Party Climate Change Group… has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM 689) urging the UK Government to further acknowledge solar PV and Feed-in Tariffs.’  Full article (from The Ecologist) here.
  • Lord Redesdale speaks out at the APPCCG meeting on carbon emissions.  ‘The [APPCCG]’s vice-chairman, Lord Redesdale, said the UK would never reach its climate change targets unless it radically improved policies on existing homes.  He said: "A billion tonnes will have failed to be saved from domestic carbon emissions…We can either heat our homes and have hot baths, or fly but not both.”’  Full article (from BBC News) here.
  • Tina Davy gives her take on the University of Copenhagen’s international scientific conference.  ‘There are some reasons to be cheerful: the science conference warned us that we must take action, and also presented examples of ways to clean up the dirty act that some industries insist on continuing to follow.’  Full article (from The Guardian) here.
  • The APPCCG teams up with the Bangladeshi All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change and Environment to launch a unique parliamentary inquiry.  ‘Chairs of the two parliamentary groups, Saber Hossain Chowdhury of Bangladesh and Colin Challen of the UK, yesterday launched the inquiry, which seeks to gain a better insight on how the two countries view the challenges of climate change equity.’  Full article (from Bangladesh’s Daily Star) here.

Recent Meetings

Spring Session 2009:

  • Meeting with the Rt. Hon Douglas Alexander MP, Secretary of State for International Development, in conjunction with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development, on climate change mitigation and adaptation and the Millennium Development Goals
  • Meeting on brokering a global deal on climate change with Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, and Joan Ruddock MP, DECC minister, in conjunction with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development
  • Meeting with Jeremy Rifkind, President of the Foundation of Economic Trends, and Kevin Anderson, Director of the Tyndall Centre,in conjunction with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development, on fostering economic growth in the shift to a low-carbon economy
  • Launch of Colin Challen’s new book,Too Little, Too Late:  The Politics of Climate Change
  • Seminar on concentrated solar power and prospects for sharing renewable energy across borders, in conjunction with the Associate Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group
  • Meeting on adaptation planning through scenarios, in conjunction with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development
  • Meeting with the Carbon Disclosure Project and Lord Hunt of King’s Heath OBE, DECC minister, on carbon reporting and public procurement
  • Meeting on forests in future international climate agreements, in conjunction with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development
  • Youth rally and lobby on climate change with We CAN
  • Meeting with the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management celebrating the Journal of Flood Risk Management
  • Meeting with Professor Sir David King of Oxford University and Gordon MacKerron of the University of Sussex, in conjunction with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development, on renewable energy and the developing world
  • Meeting with Gunilla Carlsson, Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation, and Professor Barry Smits of Guelph University, in conjunction with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development, on adaptation to climate change
  • Meeting with Dr. Vicky Pope, Head of Climate Change Advice at the Met Office, on the latest science of climate change
  • Meeting with Professor Thomas Homer-Dixon, in conjunction with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil, on the converging crises of the 21st century
  • Meeting with the Climate and Health Council on the effect of climate change on human health
  • Meeting with the Aldersgate Group on Defra’s new carbon reporting guidelines
  • Meeting and reception on the evolution of climate change and international development,in conjunction with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development
  • Annual General Meeting, with a special presentation by Jonathon Porritt on population and climate change
  • Meeting with construction industry leaders on domestic carbon emissions
  • Meeting on the role, governance and future of voluntary carbon offsetting
  • Conference on the Mediterranean Solar Power Initiative, in conjunction with the Italian Embassy in London and theGerman Embassy in the UK
  • Meeting with the WWF on the variability of renewable energy
  • Meeting with the UK Photovoltaics Manufacturers' Association on solar power policy
  • Meeting on the potential for geoengineering to fight climate change
  • Meeting on population issues, peak oil, and climate change, in conjunction with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil

For further information on any of these meetings, please contact Catherine Martin at the APPCCG Secretariat on catherine.martin@carbonneutral.com or 0207 833 6035.

Upcoming Meetings: Autumn Session 2009

  • Panel discussion with speakers from the WWF on the Copenhagen Climate Treaty – an agreement drafted by international NGOs, laying out the elements of an effective deal at Copenhagen.  (Wednesday, 28 October)
  • Meeting with Shiloh Fetzek, Head of the Climate Change and Security Programme at the Royal United Services Institute, on the implications of climate change for security (Wednesday, 11 November)

For further information on forthcoming events and to register, please contact Catherine Martin at the APPCCG Secretariat on catherine.martin@carbonneutral.com or 0207 833 6035.

Interaction with Other Organisations

The APPCCG has also been developing links with other organisations, to maximise exposure for the APPCCG and to develop opportunities for APPCCG members. Members have been invited to:

  • Business for New Europe’s launch of its latest publication, ‘A Climate Mission for Europe :  Leadership & Opportunity’
  • An All Party Parliamentary Lighting Group Event with DEFRA minister Dan Norris MP
  • The UK film premiere of ‘Taking Root:  The Vision of Wangari Maathai’, with a special appearance from Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, hosted by Amnesty International UK and the Green Belt Movement
  • The UN Association UK conference ‘Thinking Outside the Box:  Borderless Strategies to Combat Climate Change’
  • Policy Exchange’s seminar on the future of carbon markets
  • An event hosted by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations on climate change and the voluntary and community sector
  • The Intelligence Squared Green Festival on Climate Change

Innovation

The APPCCG hosted the Climate Change and International Development Speaker Series, a season of collaborative events between the All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development and the APPCCG.  The series included meetings with prominent speakers such as Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change; Lord Adair Turner, Chair of the UK government's Committee on Climate Change; Jeremy Rifkin, President of the Foundation on Economic Trends; Gunilla Carlsson, Swedish Minister of Development Cooperation; and Surya Sethi, Chief Energy Advisor for the government of India.  Find out more about the Climate Change and International Development Speaker Series, including reports and recordings of the events, here.

 For more information on any of these items, please contact Catherine Martin at the APPCCG Secretariat on catherine.martin@carbonneutral.com or 020 7833 6035.  For up-to-the-minute information on the APPCCG, please visit the APPCCG website:  www.carbonneutral.com/appg.

 
Colin Challen MP                                                                 
Chair
APPCCG