VIEW FROM THE CPA CHAIRPERSON
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE COMMONWEALTH
Hon. Ian Liddell-Grainger, MP, Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee and Member of the United Kingdom Parliament. The future of our planet is at real risk. At long last this statement is no longer the exclusive rallying cry of committed environmentalists. It has become a sombre truth. Almost every nation on earth is now represented at the latest round of international talks, COP27, in Egypt. These annual conferences are growing in importance and influence. Even China, not noted in the past for enthusiasm to control its own industrial pollution, has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2060. The Chinese have sent fifty delegates to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt which may be an indication that the reluctant tectonic plates of world politics are beginning to move – too slowly, perhaps, but every small step is surely a sign of progress. Some of my Parliamentary colleagues, from developing nations within our Commonwealth family, may believe that the rate of progress remains stubbornly timid. I understand that frustration. For those from island communities directly threatened by rising sea levels and unpredictably violent weather such attitudes are understandable. The risks they face are already dangerously close to home. They may lack the economic prosperity to mitigate against climate disaster and they were not responsible for creating the pollution that has caused it. So the outcome of talks in Egypt may look more like ‘Catch22’ than COP27. However, it is unrealistic wishful thinking to expect every nation, rich or poor, to synchronise their actions and adopt identical policies all at once. The relentless nature of climate change may seem to demand that the world links arms and locks step. The balances of real life,
“The Commonwealth has long recognised the significance of climate change and taken action to help its most vulnerable members. Yet the Commonwealth family as a whole is responsible for only 15% of CO2 emissions worldwide.”
however, provide a more credible scenario. Some of the richer nations may be able to go faster beyond today’s pledges. But the overriding importance of all climate promises must be that they will be met in full, not watered down, weasel-worded or quietly ignored. My instinct is that world leaders now appreciate the complexity of the tasks ahead and are becoming more inclined to find practical solutions rather than convenient by-passes. At long last the rate of climate change and the impact of public opinion is injecting an overdue dose of honesty into this vital global debate. The Commonwealth has long recognised the significance of climate change and taken action to help its most vulnerable members. There are 56 Commonwealth nations of which 32 are small states (defined by the Commonwealth Secretariat as countries with a population of 1.5 million people or less), some requiring the greatest assistance. Yet the Commonwealth family as a whole is responsible for only 15% of CO2 emissions worldwide. We therefore have a vested interest in ensuring that actions must speak louder than words at COP27. I believe that the role of our many different Parliaments is also vital now and in the future. The spirit of cooperation and ethical democratic progress fostered by the network of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Branches will be important. There have been some signs of practical progress since the UK hosted COP26 in Glasgow last year. Parliamentarians in Australia, The Bahamas, India and Nigeria have all pushed legislation through which will help (see article by The Grantham Institute on page 320). But the results of such measures and the promises made at COP26 are likely to make only a marginal difference to the scale of dangerous emissions by 2030, according to the UN. In other words, the problem is not going away, and the efforts required to tackle it are still unmatched by action. That is why what happens at COP27 is of such importance. It must not become a climate COPOUT.
The Parliamentarian | 2022: Issue Four | 100 years of publishing | 293