Drastic action needed to combat climate change

As Gordon Brown announces a new drive to make electric cars commonplace, David Allaby reports from Public Service Events' Sustainable Development 09 conference on what is working and what isn't in the battle against climate change

The story goes that while Prime Minister, Tony Blair expressed his frustration when told that a certain government policy had not been delivered. "It's ridiculous," he protested, "I decided that three months ago." He had fallen into the trap of many political leaders who spend their time reaching a view and then moving to the next problem without waiting to see how or if the policy works.

The anecdote came from Jonathan Tillson, head of Defra's sustainable development unit, when considering what sustainable development action works. How do we get from high-level policy to practical progress on the ground? Speakers and delegates at Public Service Events' SD 09 conference – sponsored by EDF Energy – were invited to respond to that by chairwoman Lindsey Colbourne of the Sustainable Development Commission.

Tillson wanted to hear of successful actions that might be transferred to other fields. "There is a role for structures and policies," he admitted. "Government traditionally takes a top-down approach and I accept criticism of that at times. We need to be more responsive and take behaviour change more seriously."

Defra was trying to make changes in that direction – doing research into customer behaviour pat-terns, and it was praised by delegates for its work on this. He saw the benefits of symbolic change, of champions – Hadlow College spoke in its master- class about a passion for sustainable development – and for good old-fashioned persistence.

The conference, which was supported by Public Servant magazine, was certainly not lacking in passion. The shock of the credit crunch had prompted strong measures. The mood was for drastic action to combat climate change.

Some delegates called for leadership on a war footing that cut across party politics – a climate change cabinet of all talents. "We need big decisions from politicians," said a Peterborough delegate. There was a lack of common vision of what a sustainable low-carbon future looked like.

Speaking from the floor, Dr Mayer Hillman said we had to stop deceiving ourselves. The further contribution of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere could not be slowed by voluntary means. It required the intervention of governments internationally within a system of carbon rationing.

The head of Global Action Plan Trewin Restorick agreed, but asked: "How do you get politicians to agree to that? About 20 per cent might and 80 per cent would want to throw things at you." He called for stronger political action on climate change and criticised government for wasting its VAT cut when it might have invested in feeder energy tariffs. "The political leadership is not there," he said. "Members of the main non-government organisations also have to question what they are doing. We need pressure that bites. Policy moves like a sloth in snow boots through treacle."

Restorick said that at local authority level only about a third of councils were taking up carbon reduction commitments. Government tended to fall back on things it knows – it is happy to say we will buy so many energy efficient lightbulbs, but no matter how improved technology is it is "often wiped out by the way we use things. We are buying more and more stuff".

The sustainable development agenda had to be turned from the abstract to something tangible. Carbon simply did not mean enough to people. A tower of paper, for instance, can show how much waste has been created in a business day. A saints and sinners campaign is simple with gold balloons tied to computer monitors that are turned off at night and red for those left on.

He spoke of Eco Teams, groups of householders who create change – "a cross between Blue Peter, Alcoholics Anonymous or Weight Watchers". They can measure waste over a month. Blokes get obsessive with weighing their rubbish, he said.

In a masterclass, Brian Spires, director of sustainability at HLM architects, challenged government's declaration that all new school buildings in England would produce no carbon emissions from day-to-day use by 2016 and how the gap between ambition and performance might be bridged. Many schools were using two or three times the energy they were designed to use. Standards, such as those applied to natural light, were often smoke and mirrors.

Bill Stow, director general for strategy and evidence at Defra, spoke of the wider resources crunch and a population that must be fed without wrecking the environment. There was a great deal of analysis in government about coming out of the recession stronger and with the kind of economy we want. "It is plain to us that sustainable development is more important than ever," he said.

"Public sector performance was critical because it has to show leadership." Regulation and local government had a key role in creating the low-carbon economy, and in providing key services such as health and recreation. Councils had an important role in procuring better resource efficiency. Most local authorities wanted to tackle climate change in the community and not just in their operations, he said. The challenge was now to "embed it, sustain it in more difficult times and climb out of recession".