The Committee on Climate change: A Policy Analysis

Domestic action on climate change is increasingly important in the light of the difficulties with international agreements and requires a combination of solutions, in terms of institutions and policy instruments. One way of achieving government carbon policy goals may be the creation of an independent body to advise, set or monitor policy. This paper critically assesses the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), which was created in 2008 as an independent body to help move the UK towards a low carbon economy. We look at the motivation for its creation in terms of: information provision, advice, monitoring, or policy delegation. In particular we consider its ability to overcome a time inconsistency problem by comparing and contrasting it with another independent body, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England. In practice the Committee on Climate Change appears to be the ‘inverse’ of the Monetary Policy Committee, in that it advises on what the policy goal should be rather than being responsible for achieving it. The CCC incorporates both advisory and monitoring functions to inform government and achieve a credible carbon policy over a long time frame. This is a similar framework to that adopted by Stern (2006), but the CCC operates on a continuing basis. We therefore believe the CCC is best viewed as a “Rolling Stern plus” body. There are also concerns as to how binding the budgets actually are and how the budgets interact with other energy policy goals and instruments, such as Renewable Obligation Contracts and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. The CCC could potentially be reformed to include: an explicit information provision role; consumption-based accounting of emissions and control of a policy instrument such as a balanced-budget carbon tax.Climate change, Carbon policy, Independent body, Time Inconsistency

Regional uptake of direct reduction iron production using hydrogen under climate policy

The need to reduce CO2 emissions to zero by 2050 has meant an increasing focus on high emitting industrial sectors such as steel. However, significant uncertainties remain as to the rate of technology diffusion across steel production pathways in different regions, and how this might impact on climate ambition. Informed by empirical analysis of historical transitions, this paper presents modelling on the regional deployment of Direction Reduction Iron using hydrogen (DRI-H2). We find that DRI-H2 can play a leading role in the decarbonisation of the sector, leading to near-zero emissions by 2070. Regional spillovers from early to late adopting regions can speed up the rate of deployment of DRI-H2, leading to lower cumulative emissions and system costs. Without such effects, cumulative emissions are 13% higher than if spillovers are assumed and approximately 15% and 20% higher in China and India respectively. Given the estimates of DRI-H2 cost-effectiveness relative to other primary production technologies, we also find that costs increase in the absence of regional spillovers. However, other factors can also have impacts on deployment, emission reductions, and costs, including the composition of the early adopter group, material efficiency improvements and scrap recycling rates. For the sector to achieve decarbonisation, key regions will need to continue to invest in low carbon steel projects, recognising their broader global benefit, and look to develop and strengthen policy coordination on technologies such as DRI-H2

Scottish climate change policy : an overview

Despite much of energy policy being a reserved issue for the UK Government, Scotland has pursued its own distinctive energy policy (Allan et al, 2008a), particularly in relation to climate change. The Climate Change Act (Scotland) was passed in 2009 and outlines Scotland’s commitment to tackling climate change. It requires Scottish greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2050 to be 80% less than their 1990 levels, with an interim target of a 42% reduction by 2020. Climate change is an international problem which appears to require a global solution and it is therefore not clear that the appropriate spatial scale for policy action is the regional or even national level. The Scottish Government is aware of this, but claims that such emissions’ reduction targets can be used as a means of supporting the UK’s international commitments and also showing leadership to encourage other nations to tackle climate change. However, Scottish climate change policy must also be considered in the context of Scottish energy policy as a whole. The Scottish Government has other energy policy goals, notably security of supply, affordability and economic growth through the development of low carbon technologies, notably renewables. This paper is intended to provide a brief overview of the main issues involved in Scottish climate change policy. We give a brief background, in Section 2, on international, EU and UK climate change policy. In Section 3 we provide an overview of the main features of the Scottish Climate Change Act and highlight particular differences with the UK equivalent framework. In Section 4 we discuss the issues surrounding low carbon technologies and their impact on climate change policy in Scotland. We consider the policy instruments available to the Scottish Government while functioning within EU and UK frameworks in Section 5. In Section 6 we conclude and identify avenues for future research

Location location location: A carbon footprint calculator for transparent travel to COP27

Addressing the large carbon footprint of conferences such as the UN Climate Change Convention Conference of the Parties (COP) will be important for maintaining public confidence in climate policy. Transparency is also a vital aspect of creating equitable outcomes in climate policies, as often those most likely to be affected or who are able to create change on the ground are often unable to attend in person because of the high financial costs as well as having a large carbon footprint. The selection of host locations for the regular meetings of the UN Climate Change Convention is based on a rotation in amongst the five UN regions, which for 2022 is Africa. Here, we present UCL’s own carbon footprint calculator and use it to weigh the benefits of certain modes of transport to the 2021 COP 26 in Glasgow, UK and the 2022 COP 27 to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The calculator demonstrates the well-known carbon-efficiency of coach and rail over flights, but shows that these benefits are only partly mitigated in the case of COP 27 due to insufficient transport links from Europe to the conference location. However, we also highlight some of the benefits of hosting a COP in the global South, particularly in the context of climate justice. Incorporating these principles into the calculator, we invite visitors to COP this year to carefully consider their options for carbon offsetting and how the tenets of climate justice could be integrated into the carbon accounting framework

Africa and climate justice at COP27 and beyond: impacts and solutions through an interdisciplinary lens

Climate justice is not just a financial transaction to protect the environment. It needs to be seen as the protection of the most vulnerable in society after centuries of resource exploitation. African countries disproportionately face impacts of climate change on their environments, their economies, their resources and their infrastructure. This leads to greater vulnerability and increased exposure to the negative effects of a changing climate. In this article, we highlight the importance of climate justice and its role within the United Nations negotiations, and ultimately in concrete action. We discuss current climate impacts across key sectors in the African region, with a focus on health, infrastructure, food and water scarcity, energy and finance. All sectors are affected by climate change. They are interconnected and under threat. This triggers a ripple effect, where threats in one sector have a knock-on effect on other sectors. We find that the current set of intergovernmental institutions have failed to adequately address climate justice. We also contend that a siloed approach to climate action has proven to be ineffective. As we head towards the next set of negotiations (COP27), this paper argues that the economic and social conditions in Africa can be addressed through financial and collaborative support for adaptation and localised solutions, but that this will only be achieved if climate justice is prioritised by the decision makers. This needs to include a global-scale transition in how climate finance is assessed and accessed. Climate justice underpins real, effective and sustainable solutions for climate action in Africa

The Role of Whole Blood Impedance Aggregometry and Its Utilisation in the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Patients with Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and Sepsis in Acute Critical Illness

Objective: To assess the prognostic and diagnostic value of whole blood impedance aggregometry in patients with sepsis and SIRS and to compare with whole blood parameters (platelet count, haemoglobin, haematocrit and white cell count). Methods: We performed an observational, prospective study in the acute setting. Platelet function was determined using whole blood impedance aggregometry (multiplate) on admission to the Emergency Department or Intensive Care Unit and at 6 and 24 hours post admission. Platelet count, haemoglobin, haematocrit and white cell count were also determined. Results: 106 adult patients that met SIRS and sepsis criteria were included. Platelet aggregation was significantly reduced in patients with severe sepsis/septic shock when compared to SIRS/uncomplicated sepsis (ADP: 90.7±37.6 vs 61.4±40.6; p<0.001, Arachadonic Acid 99.9±48.3 vs 66.3±50.2; p = 0.001, Collagen 102.6±33.0 vs 79.1±38.8; p = 0.001; SD ± mean)). Furthermore platelet aggregation was significantly reduced in the 28 day mortality group when compared with the survival group (Arachadonic Acid 58.8±47.7 vs 91.1±50.9; p<0.05, Collagen 36.6±36.6 vs 98.0±35.1; p = 0.001; SD ± mean)). However haemoglobin, haematocrit and platelet count were more effective at distinguishing between subgroups and were equally effective indicators of prognosis. Significant positive correlations were observed between whole blood impedance aggregometry and platelet count (ADP 0.588 p<0.0001, Arachadonic Acid 0.611 p<0.0001, Collagen 0.599 p<0.0001 (Pearson correlation)). Conclusions: Reduced platelet aggregometry responses were not only significantly associated with morbidity and mortality in sepsis and SIRS patients, but also correlated with the different pathological groups. Whole blood aggregometry significantly correlated with platelet count, however, when we adjust for the different groups we investigated, the effect of platelet count appears to be non-significant

The 2020 report of The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: responding to converging crises

The Lancet Countdown is an international collaboration, established to provide an independent, global monitoring system dedicated to tracking the emerging health profile of the changing climate. The 2020 report presents 43 indicators across five sections: climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerability; adaptation, planning, and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement. This report represents the findings and consensus of the 35 leading academic institutions and UN agencies that make up the Lancet Countdown, and draws on the expertise of climate scientists, geographers, and engineers; of energy, food, and transport experts; and of economists, social and political scientists, data scientists, public health professionals, and doctors

The economic and environmental impact of the introduction of a carbon tax in Scotland : a computable general equilibrium analysis

Since devolution, the Scottish Government has increasingly adopted a distinctive environmental and energy policy. The Scottish Climate Change Act included a target to reduce CO2 emissions to 42% below 1990 levels by 2020. This is stricter than the 34% CO2 emissions reduction adopted by the UK Government in 2010. Moreover, the corresponding Scottish Government target for renewable electricity generation in 2020 is equivalent to 100% of electricity consumption in Scotland and preliminary data suggest that the interim 2011 target of 31% was exceeded by 4 percentage points. However, whilst Scotland has adopted challenging targets, many key policy instruments are reserved to the UK government. At present the main “green” elements of the tax system remain reserved to the UK Government. Many economists regard a carbon tax as the most efficient way to reduce carbon emissions (e.g. Tullock, 1967; Pearce, 1991). It is of therefore of interest, and highly relevant in the context of the more demanding environmental targets set by the Scottish Government and present discussions around increased fiscal autonomy in Scotland, to consider the effect of a Scottish specific carbon tax. In this paper we therefore use an energy-economy-environmental model of Scotland to simulate the impact of the Scottish Government imposing such a tax on carbon emissions