On the heels of an alarming report that forecasts the economic losses of unchecked climate change at $7 trillion dollars, British finance minister Gordon Brown has announced a laundry list of new measures to address global warming. Included among the new initiatives is the hiring of Al Gore as advisor to the treasury on environmental issues. Other announcements include:
- Enshrine British climate change commitments in legislation, through a Climate Change Bill, including the goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60 per cent by 2050.
- Promote sustainable forestry through an international partnership with Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Costa Rica and the Coalition of Rainforest Nations, the European Union, and the World Bank (deforestation accounts for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions).
- Create a $20 billion loan and grant fund for energy efficiency through private sector partnerships.
- Promote the development of a sustainable regional biofuels industry in southern Africa by launching a joint task force with Brazil, South Africa and Mozambique.
- Form a new commission to keep Britain at the forefront of the global environmental market, projected to be worth close to $700 billion by 2010.
The announcement also outlines intentions to work towards tougher EU reduction targets and to expand the EU carbon trading market to include other greenhouse gases and to work with new markets in Australia, northeast American states and California.
