International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander answered questions on the threats of climate change to poor countries and what the UK wants from this month’s EU Council and the Copenhagen conference.
- Find out more on DFID’s climate change webpages or on the Act on Copenhagen website.
Read the transcript:
Moderator says: Thanks for all your questions so far. Douglas Alexander is still a few minutes away, but we will be getting started shortly.
Nick Hoskinson: Alexander. Do you really think you can get Global agreement on this important issue? Because I reckon you have a VERY uphill struggle.
Douglas replies: Hi, it’s Douglas here. You are right that Copenhagen isn’t a done deal and it remains in the balance. But we are determined to try and get the right deal. The US, China and India are now engaged and all seem to want to get a Copenhagen deal. Timing is tight and the deadline is helping to concentrate minds.
Jason Jones: How big a setback would it be for Copenhagen were Europe not to be able to agree a common negotiating position this week at the European Council?
Douglas replies: Climate change is a defining political test for our generation. We have a moral responsibility to the developing world to work out a fair deal on climate change. I remain of the view that EU leadership on climate finance this week can be essential to unlocking the negotiations.
Nadav Atik: Ed Miliband, Gordon Brown and yourself are making good promises ahead of Copenhagen in regards to reducing CO2 emmissions; but to what extent are other government departments (eg those involved with business and industry, transport, food, defence, trade, housing and finance)on board with these targets?
Douglas replies: Just last Thursday I was at a meeting here in Whitehall to discuss what more we can do to secure a deal in Copenhagen. That meeting wasn’t just with Ed, but with other Ministers from across Government. We simply wouldn’t have been in a position for the Prime Minister to make his speech on climate financing back in June unless there was broad support right across Government to get a successful conclusion to the Copenhagen talks.
Rowena Quantrill: given the devasating affect that climate chane is already having on the lives of peole in developing countries, what will it take to get the government to take real action such as increasing green taxes and persuading voters that they may have to make lifestyle changes such as flying less and eating less meat?
Douglas replies: It’s important if we are to build the public support and momentum to tackle climate change that politicians are clear with the public about the choices that are required. If, for example, as a society we are going to fly more in the future then we’ll have to engage less in other activities that generate carbon. Of course, technology has a role to play, but so do the choices made by individuals, companies and governments. I also think it’s significant that campaigners like Al Gore make the case for action in terms of opportunity rather than simply austerity. As my colleague Ed was told recently at a public meeting “if Martin Luther King had stood on the mall and said “I have a nightmare” instead of “I have a dream” the civil rights movement might not have been quite as effective.”
Dina: What is the future plan for climate change and how can the general public have their say on their future?
Douglas replies: The public can have their say in a lot of different ways. Encouraging retailers to source sustainable products, following the kind of advice contained in the Act on CO2 campaign, and campaigning on these issues. On Friday evening I took part in a public meeting in my constituency that Oxfam had organised ahead of Copenhagen to discuss the need for a fair, effective and ambitious deal. My hope is that in communities across the country we’ll see more of that engagement, not less, in the weeks and months ahead.
Joanne O’Reilly: What will be your priority in Copenhagen?
Douglas replies: As the British Government we want a deal that is fair, effective and ambitious. As Development Secretary my focus is making sure that the voices of developing countries are heard in these negotiations, because many developing countries are already being hit first and hit hardest by dangerous climate change.
Jiesheng: Why are we so concerned with climate change’s linkage with povery? A main facto for poverty is the biased trade barriers of the EU and other Western nations as well as the neo-liberal ideas in aid packages, DFID’s included.
Douglas replies: Jiesheng, of course getting a fairer set of global trade rules is vital to tackling extreme poverty around the world. But climate change is literally a game-changer in the battle against poverty. Many of us came together in 2005 to campaign to make poverty history – unless we now address climate change it will make poverty the future for millions of our fellow citizens.
Eion Begley: John Prescott has said “Unless Copenhagen recognises that the agreement must be about social justice, it will fail.” Do you think that the US can be persuaded on this?
Douglas replies: I welcome the fact that there has been a real change in the approach of the American Administration to climate change with the election of Barack Obama. Of course all countries need to make compromises to reach agreement in Copenhagen, but my sense from talking to Ed regularly over recent weeks is that there is a real willingness on the part of the Americans to work to try to secure the global deal. I think for that deal to be acceptable to many developing countries it will need to recognise the particular responsibilities of developed countries as well as the particular vulnearbilities of many developing countries.
Joe: What will the modalities for Climate Change Adaptation finance so that it can be both additional to ODA but also complimentary to it?
Douglas replies: Additional funding is going to be key to both getting a deal and making it work. Some ODA will meet both poverty reduction and climate change objectives, but developing countries want to know that we are also sticking to our commitments on poverty reduction. We are working with our EU colleagues this week and in the run-up to Copenhagen to secure this extra funding to help developing countries tackle climate change. NGOs, campaigners and civil society all have a responsibility in the weeks ahead to work on these issues both because it’s the right thing to do, and it may hold the key to a deal.
Richard Hincks: Some commentators have said that the best result from Copenhagen is that actually it would be to delay the meeting for 1 year. This would give more time for discussions about the best way forward and in the end, get a better deal in the future or get a (possibly) mediocre deal in December. Do you agree?
Douglas replies: The truth is I don’t think it’s credible to talk about a plan B given our focus is rightfully on trying to secure agreement in December. I struggle to see why if the world fails to come together towards the end of this year it’s any more likely to happen in a year’s time. That’s why not just political leaders, but civil society have such a key role to play in the run-up to Copenhagen. We should be working for, planning for, campaigning for success rather than anticipating failure.
Essayas: How politically and materially (emissions) important will the voices of African countries be in Copenhagen? How is Britain partnering with Africa on climate change?
Douglas replies: We’re supporting the ability of African governments to be represented in Copenhagen and participate fully in the talks, and we’re also supporting civil society within Africa to raise awareness and campaign on these issues. African leaders like Paul Kagame and Prime Minister Meles are already making their voices heard on these issues.
James Knight: Have you signed up to the tck tck tck campaign?
Douglas replies: Yes, and I recently spoke at a meeting organised by the tck tck tck campaign alongside Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland and climate advocates from the developing world.
Daniel Vockins: Great news that you’ve signed up to 10:10. What will your department be doing to reach 10%?
Douglas replies: The 10:10 campaign can be a powerful symbol of the commitment of individuals and institutions to tackling climate change. I’ve signed up the Department for International Development and we have already put in place systems to monitor the carbon emissions from our buildings here in the UK and offset our air travel. The White Paper I announced in July commits us to making all of DFID’s operational activities both in the UK and overseas carbon neutral by 2012.
While these campaigns and actions are important, so too are actions by governments internationally, which is why a global deal in Copenhagen is so important. I’m going to have to sign off now. Thanks for all your questions, sorry I couldn’t get to them all. I commit to keep working on these issues between now and Copenhagen.