World leaders have been warned by the United Nations’ chief climate change scientist to “stick to” the shift from petrol and diesel to electric cars, and that opening new oil reserves was storing up “very difficult choices” for future governments.
In an exclusive interview with the Standard, Professor Jim Skea said that political leaders had a “particular responsibility” as the “ringmasters or ringmistresses” to lead the battle against global warming, which he warned may be happening faster than expected.
He also emphasised that they would be judged as global leaders, or not, on tacking climate change by whether “net zero pledges are backed up by credible actions”.
The professor of sustainable energy at Imperial College London was elected at the end of last month as chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the authoritative UN body on climate change science. In this role, he does not comment on the net zero plans of individual countries.
But his appointment came just days before Rishi Sunak sparked an outcry by backing hundreds of new oil and gas licences for the North Sea.
Professor Skea said that the IPCC had laid out that to limit global warming to two degrees above pre-industrial levels, 50 per cent of current oil reserves would need to stay in the ground. He explained: “If you continue to add to these reserves, it adds to the amount of oil you need to leave in the ground — if you’re going to meet the Paris (landmark 2015 climate summit) goals.
“Sure, we can add to reserves now for energy security reasons. But that means that somebody in the future is going to have to make the choice. Do we leave that oil in the ground? Or do we meet our Paris goals? Climate change is a chronic disease of the planet... so the decisions we make now really have consequences for the future.”
US president Joe Biden, China’s Xi Jinping, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, and Rishi Sunak are among the leaders facing growing calls to act.
Concerns are rising that the Prime Minister and Sir Keir Starmer may scale back on eco-commitments as the general election approaches, the cost-of-living crisis continues and after the Ulez extension to Outer London was seen to have handed the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election to the Tories.
A Cabinet debate is reported to be happening over milestones on the way to phasing out the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2030, a date Mr Sunak appeared recently to wobble over before reconfirming support for it. Professor Skea said: “Moving to electric vehicles is very much part of that transition (away from fossil fuels) that would need to be made if we’re going to reach the Paris goals. So, we need to stick to it.”
The UK’s own Climate Change Committee recently warned Britain’s leadership position on addressing global warming had been “very substantially challenged” by government chaos and actions over the last year or so.
Tackling climate change needs “society wide” action, including from governments, businesses, community groups and citizens. “But political leaders have a particular responsibility because they set the tone for it all,” he added. “They are the kind of ringmasters or ringmistresses that try to co-ordinate the different actions.”
As for how citizens could put more pressure on governments, he added: “Keep voting... is the key issue.” He highlighted how citizen assemblies had backed “far more ambitious recommendations than politicians appear to be ready for”, showing an “appetite for change” once economic and social impacts are explained.
For some parts of the world, including islands and developing countries, climate change is “absolutely an existential threat”, while other nations are less vulnerable and better able to mitigate against it so “the whole planet is not necessarily going to fall apart”.
But Professor Skea was clear: “Climate change is happening now. You can see it on your TV screens, you can see even looking out the window, deciding what clothes you need to wear when you go out. All of this was predicted, but perhaps it’s happening more quickly than was anticipated.”
Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion are “keeping the issue of fossil fuels on the agenda” but they may be “alienating” people with more moderate views who also have an “important” role to play in taking climate action.
