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A new UN report which says 'it is now or never' to limit global warming is further proof that next week's debate on Jersey's Carbon Neutral Roadmap is one of the most important the Assembly has ever faced, according to the politician overseeing the strategy.
Assistant Environment Minister Jess Perchard said that a recent paper by UN scientists which concluded that global emissions of CO2 would need to peak within three years to stave off the worst impacts of climate change made the task facing Jersey even more pressing and important.
Next week, States Members will be asked to back the ‘Roadmap’, which sets out how the island will emit no more carbon than it captures by 2050.
Jersey still had a “mountain to climb” to meet the international target it has adopted to cut carbon emissions – but the Roadmap would get it there, she added.
In order to meet that target, Jersey needs to achieve a 68% reduction in emissions compared to 1990 levels by 2030, and a 78% reduction by 2035.
The island has reduced its carbon emissions by 37% since 1990, which means it broadly has to do twice as much as it has done in the last three decades, but in the next eight years.
“The latest findings of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are really concerning; clearly, the Roadmap has already been lodged so we're not going to update it now but there is plenty of flexibility in the plan and scope for future assemblies to go faster,” she said.
CLICK TO ENLARGE: The proposed Carbon Neutral Roadmap for Jersey.
“Our emissions peaked in 1998 and have been falling since then, but there is an urgent need to accelerate that decline. For now, however, the biggest priority is to get the Roadmap through the Assembly.”
Deputy Perchard added: “A key aspect, in terms of the initial stages, has been getting buy-in from the community. Generally, there is a clear desire among islanders to play their part, whether that stems from watching Blue Planet or listening to Greta Thunberg or sharing a recognition that burning fossil fuels has to end.
“We also have a mandate from the Assembly following Deputy Ward’s proposal to declare a Climate Emergency, and we followed that with a people-powered approach to drafting the Roadmap, and the wider Climate Conversation.
“The rationale was to get buy-in from the community, and I think we have achieved that.”
Deputy Perchard said that, even though Jersey was not a major emitter of carbon dioxide, it was important that it fulfilled its role as a global citizen.
The finance industry also had a key role to play in ensuring that its practices, clients, investments and relationships supported the drive to decarbonise, she added.
Pictured: The Roadmap proposes introducing subsidies for electric cars, in exchange for taking a fossil-fuel-burning vehicle off the road.
The Roadmap sets out clear policies covering now to 2026. Those that require funding – such as providing subsidies to buy an electric car and electric heating systems – have been covered by a ‘climate emergency fund’ which has a £23m balance, mostly from fuel duty.
Beyond that, it sets out the decisions that future governments will have to make to achieve to the ‘net-zero-by-2050’ target, which was set by the international community in Paris in 2015.
One of its most significant medium-term proposals is a total ban on new diesel and petrol vehicles from 2030, although the island is far from alone in setting that target.
This week, Scrutiny has published its own appraisal of the Roadmap, as well as lodging an amendment proposing the setting up of an independent Climate Council to keep a check on its progress.
The Government has approved this change, although with tweaks to the proposed frequency of reporting back.
Constable Mike Jackson, Chair of the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Panel, which conducted the review, said: “We have concluded that the Government needs to ensure that there is an effective process in place for longer-term governance, oversight, scientific input, monitoring, and reporting to appropriately inform and oversee the process going forward.
“Among the number of key recommendations outlined in our report, our amendment seeks to address the absence of a framework for long-term governance and oversight through the establishment of an independent, scientific Climate Council, and we hope that, if approved by the States Assembly, this is set into motion before the new Government term of office begins.”
Another amendment, by Senator Sarah Ferguson, which calls the Government to put its drive to net-zero carbon emissions on hold until the war in Ukraine is over, is being opposed by ministers.
Express previously spoke to Steve Skelton, the Government's Group Director, Strategy and Innovation, about the new Carbon Neutral Roadmap...
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