Learning To Tackle Climate Change

By Stephen Cirell and John Bennett

The subject of climate change was thrust back into the news on 16 July 2008 when Minister Hilary Benn provided an update on the Carbon Reduction Commitment, indicating that the government has now decided that schools should be included. This will have the effect of drawing far more local authorities into the scheme than had previously been thought. However, it is not clear how the scheme will work in the delicate balance between the local authority and individual schools.

The Carbon Reduction Commitment was originally included in the Energy White Paper of May 2007 (Meeting the Energy Challenge). This indicated that legally binding carbon targets for the whole UK economy would be introduced. The mechanism to do this is the Climate Change Bill which is still currently before Parliament and which will see the UK commit to a 60% reduction in emissions by 2050. The Carbon Reduction Commitment programme will cover public bodies and