Citizens' Climate Lobby UK

Lobbying for a carbon fee and dividend

News

The Climate Damages Tax proposal.

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A new Climate Damages Tax report has been published by Stamp out Poverty. The first was published in 2018 before the Loss and Damage Fund was agreed at COP28 which was kick-started by the UAE’s $100 million pledge. By 2 December 2023, a cumulative total of $655.9 million had been pledged to the Loss and Damage fund, some of the monies pledged, such as the UK’s £60 million, were not however new funds and the fund is deemed to be inadequate to address the need of developing countries worse hit by the growing climate crisis.

The Climate Damages Tax report suggests that an additional tax on OECD fossil fuel companies could raise $900 billion by 2030 if the tax were introduced 2024 at an initial rate of $5 a tonne of CO2 equivalent, increasing by $5 a tonne each year. 80% (£750 bn) would be earmarked for the Loss and Damages Fund and the other $180 bn could be a domestic dividend to support the just transition away from fossil fuels in the contributing OECD countries. Even if limited to the G7 countries, the report argues that it could still raise $540bn for the loss and damage fund by the end of the decade, with a $135bn domestic dividend.

There is a need for a realistic level of funds to be raised for climate mitigation and adaptation. This approach has merits, we shall see how it is received. The reimbursement will not be aimed at individuals as with Climate Income so there are the issues of fairness as people perceive that they are paying the cost through rising prices. It also doesn’t seem to offer any financial disincentive for developing fossil fuel resources in the global south.

There have been a couple of reports in the last five years which have demonstrated how the Climate Income, if applied globally ((imposing a gradually rising price on all fossil fuel production, including that of the global south) would obviate the need for special funding schemes. This approach would feel far less unequal removing the feeling of dependency on the largesse of richer nations.

Protecting the poor with a carbon tax and equal per capita dividend (Nature Climate Change 2021), stated that…We find that if all countries adopt the necessary uniform global carbon tax and then return the revenues to their citizens on an equal per capita basis, it will be possible to meet a 2 °C target while also increasing wellbeing, reducing inequality and alleviating poverty. These results indicate that it is possible for a society to implement strong climate action without compromising goals for equity and development..

  • The revenues from a carbon tax capable of achieving a 2 °C target will be large enough to fund substantial policies that can promote equity and protect vulnerable populations.
  • An equal per capita redistribution of carbon tax revenues within countries — a relatively straightforward policy to implement — can increase wellbeing, reduce inequality and alleviate poverty.
  • These benefits occur in countries at all levels of development, primarily accrue to individuals at the bottom of the income distribution, and are even greater with global equal per capita redistribution.
  • Large benefits will occur even if some revenues are lost to administrative costs or are saved to fund other programs, and they can make the poorest citizens net beneficiaries this decade.
  • Given an equal per capita refund, the optimal timing of global greenhouse gas mitigation is characterized by rapid initial reductions, followed by a slower climb towards net zero emissions.

The Autonomy 2022 report TOLL GATES AND MONEY PUMPS: Why carbon taxation could be a simple, fair and transformative policy instrument stated that ….

  • A global carbon tax dividend would disproportionately benefit countries in Latin America, South Asia, SubSaharan Africa and many other countries in the Global South.
  • A global scheme, if tuned properly, would effectively end extreme poverty globally and would also serve to lift more than a billion people above more ambitious poverty lines of $3.2 and $5.5 a day. 
  • 3.8bn people would see their income increase by at least 10% with a global carbon dividend scheme.
  • The global scheme would see individuals in the group of heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) receive a total of $438bn in dividends annually, outperforming today’s schemes for development assistance and debt relief combined.
  • Emerging economies such as Brazil and India would also profit substantially from such a global carbon dividend, receiving a net gain of more than $37bn (1.9% of GDP) and $696bn (24% of GDP) respectively for Brazil and India.

Canadian economists defend the Canadian Climate Income Policy – it remains the most cost effective way to decarbonise.

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CCL Canada activists are currently having to campaign hard against the claims of opposition supporters that carbon pricing is hurting citizens, even though the rebate more than covers the rising costs for most income groups. Here’s the CCL Canada Press Release and a statement from Canadian Economists which supports the continuation of the Greenhouse Gas Polluting Act and Climate Action Incentive and responds to some common criticisms of Climate Income.

Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada Stands Firm in Support of Carbon Pricing:

Here’s Why

For Immediate Release: March 27, 2024

(Sudbury): Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada reaffirms its staunch advocacy for carbon pricing as an effective tool in the fight against climate change. Responding to prevalent criticisms, the organisation underscores the pivotal role of carbon pricing in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, driving innovation, and safeguarding economic competitiveness.

Since September 2010, Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteers have been working towards a livable world. From 2010 to 2018, they expanded to over 100 ridings, lobbied parliamentarians 939 times, and garnered 2895 media hits in newspapers. On their thirteenth lobbying effort in Ottawa, luck was on their side. On October 16, 2018, just before PM Trudeau’s announcement that it would no longer be free to pollute in Canada, now-retired Senator Grant Mitchell said to them, “You are one of the most successful lobbying groups I have worked with because you are about to get what you lobbied for.”

Citizens’ Climate Lobbyists are everyday citizens who relay expert information to their communities and their politicians. The following information is from the recent Open Letter from Economists on Canadian Carbon Pricing (see below) which has currently been signed by approximately 200 Canadian economists and growing.

Carbon pricing has proven instrumental in curbing emissions while maintaining economic viability. Since the inception of federal carbon pricing in 2019, Canada has witnessed a notable decrease of almost 8 percent in GHG emissions, with projections indicating that carbon pricing will contribute substantially to emissions reductions by 2030.

Evidence from the Bank of Canada indicates that carbon pricing has a negligible impact on overall inflation. Factors such as disruptions from climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions have primarily influenced inflation rates. Moreover, the majority of carbon-pricing revenues are rebated to households, ensuring that most Canadians are economically unburdened by the policy.

The combination of carbon pricing and rebates provides a dual incentive for emission reduction while safeguarding households’ purchasing power. By rewarding emission reduction efforts with rebates, the policy encourages environmentally conscious behaviour without unduly burdening consumers.

Canada’s carbon pricing framework is designed to promote emission reduction without compromising business competitiveness. Through an output-based pricing system, industries are incentivised to adopt low-carbon practices while remaining economically viable in the global marketplace.

While alternatives exist, carbon pricing remains the most cost-effective means of reducing emissions and fostering green innovation. Abandoning carbon pricing would entail higher costs and fail to offer a comparable solution to combat climate change.

“As the National Director of Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada, I strongly advocate for the adoption of economically sensible policies by governments to effectively reduce emissions while keeping costs low, addressing affordability concerns for Canadians, maintaining business competitiveness, and facilitating Canada’s transition to a low-carbon economy. Our country’s carbon-pricing policies are exemplary in achieving all these objectives,” says Cathy Orlando.

The Climate Action Network Canada is an umbrella group for over 200 climate organisations. Here is an excerpt from their recent open letter, “The carbon price serves as an important price signal to consumers and companies, while giving the vast majority of Canadians back more than they pay. Many Canadians have come to depend on the quarterly rebates to meet their basic needs. The government should proceed with the planned April 1st increase in the carbon levy, which will also increase the rebate payments that benefit eight out of ten Canadians.”

As economists from across Canada, we are concerned about the significant threats from climate change. We encourage governments to use economically sensible
policies to reduce emissions at a low cost, address Canadians’ affordability concerns, maintain business competitiveness, and support Canada’s transition to a low-
carbon economy. Canada’s carbon-pricing policies do all those things.

There is plenty of discussion about carbon pricing in Canada today. Healthy public debate is good, but it should be based on sound evidence and facts. Let’s examine some of the claims made by critics of carbon pricing and compare them with what the evidence shows. 

Critics’ Claim #1: Carbon pricing won’t reduce GHG emissions.

What the evidence shows:  Not only does carbon pricing reduce emissions, but it does so at a lower cost than other approaches.  

Since federal carbon pricing took effect in 2019, Canada’s GHG emissions have fallen by almost 8 percent, although other policies were also at work. A new report from the Canadian Climate Institute shows that federal and provincial carbon pricing, for industries and consumers, is expected to account for almost half of Canada’s emissions reductions by 2030. 

The reason carbon pricing works is simple: when something costs more (in this case fossil fuels), people use less of it. That is basic economics, and common sense.  

Carbon pricing is the lowest cost approach because it gives each person and business the flexibility to choose the best way to reduce their carbon footprint. Other methods, such as direct regulations, tend to be more intrusive and inflexible, and cost more. 

That is not to say that carbon pricing should be Canada’s only climate policy. Other complementary policies are also needed. But the more we use the lowest-cost policies to achieve our climate goals, the more resources will be available for other important things—like health care, education and other social programs.

Critics’ Claim #2:  Carbon pricing drives up the cost of living and is a major cause of inflation.

What the evidence shows:  Canadian carbon pricing has a negligible impact on overall inflation.

The sharp increase in inflation between 2021 and 2023 was caused by several factors, mainly related to the COVID-19 pandemic (disrupted supply chains, rapid growth in the money supply, and pent-up demand), and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on commodity prices. These forces are global, which is why most advanced countries—whether or not they have a carbon price—experienced very similar inflation. According to the Bank of Canada, carbon pricing has caused less than 1/20th of Canada’s inflation in the past two years.

In addition, a central feature of the federal carbon price is that approximately 90 percent of the revenues generated are rebated back to households. Most families receive more money in rebates than they pay in carbon pricing, particularly those with low or medium incomes. Rural residents get an additional rebate. In other words, the policy is designed to ensure it does not raise the cost of living for most Canadians. (My emphasis).

Climate change, on the other hand, poses a real threat to Canadians’ economic well-being. For example, it increases the risk and severity of natural disturbances, such as fires, floods, and severe storms. A conservative estimate is that the impacts of climate change will cost our economy at least $35 billion by 2030, and much more in future decades. 

Critics’ Claim #3:  It makes little sense to have both a carbon price and rebates. 

What the evidence shows:  The price-and-rebate approach provides an incentive to reduce carbon emissions (due to the price), while maintaining most households’ overall purchasing power (due to the rebate).

Carbon pricing works by raising the price of carbon-intensive products, so consumers and businesses are incentivised to adopt lower-carbon options, such as smart thermostats, heat pumps, or hybrid/electric vehicles. 

Giving back most of the carbon-pricing revenues in rebates doesn’t undermine this goal; consumers still have the incentive to reduce emissions. The rebates just ensure that most households come out ahead, because they receive an amount back that is slightly above what the average household spends on carbon pricing. Those that reduce emissions the most will come out further ahead; they will pay less in carbon fees but still get the full rebate. 

Critics’ Claim #4: Carbon pricing harms Canadian business competitiveness.

What the evidence shows:  Canada’s carbon-pricing scheme is designed to help businesses reduce emissions at low cost, while competing in the emerging low-carbon global economy.  

For large emitting sectors in most provinces—like oil, steel and cement—there is an “output-based” carbon pricing system. In effect, it means most large industries pay the carbon price only on the last 10-20 percent of their emissions. The lower-emitting firms pay less while higher-emitting firms pay more—creating a strong incentive for all firms to reduce emissions. 

The output-based system is designed to maintain industries’ competitiveness: ensuring that the carbon price does not hamper their ability to stay profitable and generate jobs in Canada while competing internationally. 

In addition, carbon pricing stimulates innovation by encouraging the development and adoption of low-carbon technologies. These incentives help Canadian businesses—in all sectors—stay competitive in the global transition to a low-carbon economy.

Critics’ Claim #5:  Carbon pricing isn’t necessary.

What the evidence shows:  Here the critics are right. Canada could abandon carbon pricing and still hit our climate targets by using other types of regulations and subsidies—but it would be much more costly to do so.

Unfortunately, the most vocal opponents of carbon pricing are not offering alternative policies to reduce emissions and meet our climate goals. And they certainly aren’t offering any alternatives that would reduce emissions at the same low cost as carbon pricing. 

Canada has many economic challenges to address. In a world of scarce resources, it seems imprudent to abandon carbon pricing, only to replace it with more costly methods of reducing emissions—or, worse still, take no measures to reduce emissions.

In short, carbon pricing is the least-cost way to reduce emissions, drive green innovation, and support Canada’s transition to a clean and prosperous economic future.

For more research on carbon pricing in Canada, see https://ecofiscal.ca/reports 

 

CCL UK statement on the Labour green investment pledge.

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Politics in the real world is hard. As an international organisation working to influence politicians and policy makers across the globe Citizens’ Climate Lobby understand the pressures, even in countries where Climate Income is established like Canada and Switzerland. It is not our place to discuss and speculate on the decision of Labour to drop the 28 billion climate spending pledge, this statement given by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves in an interview with the Guardian explains their reasoning….

“We cannot properly fund our public services and put more money in people’s pockets without economic growth, and we cannot grow our economy without investing in Britain’s future. That is why our green prosperity plan remains central in our mission to grow the economy and deliver clean power by 2030, and will be a central plank of our manifesto. It will lead to tens of billions of pounds of private sector investment in green hydrogen, carbon capture, clean steel, renewable-ready ports and gigafactories unlocked through a new national wealth fund that will create half a million good, well-paid jobs…None of us could have predicted the damage the Conservatives would do when they crashed the economy…It is not the inheritance we would have chosen, but it is the inheritance we will face if we are elected. It means we will not be able to announce additional investments under the green prosperity plan.”

Climate Income would go a long way in resolving this dilemma. Climate Income would provide revenue from a carbon price rather than taxation or borrowing. Redistributing this revenue to householders, coupled with the predictable and steadily rising cost of fossil fuels and other government incentives (grants for EVs and retrofitting) would encourage industry to decarbonise and middle and higher income families to decarbonise their homes and transport, as is described in a Canadian report.

CCL UK already has a study produced at the height of the Cost of Living crisis which explains the effect Climate Income could have in the UK. It is the fair, redistributive and economically prudent way to decarbonise.

 

Climate Change Committee gives verdict on the implications of COP28

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Yesterday the Climate Change Committee released its summary of the implications of the Cop28 outcome for the UK. The CCC warns that the government’s “mixed messages” did damage its reputation on the world stage and decarbonisation progress beyond electricity generation is lagging. Non energy generation emissions must quadruple to meet the UK’s target under the Paris agreement of 68% reductions in emissions by 2030……..

COP28 outcomes must lead to acceleration of action in the UK  – Climate Change Committee, 30/1/24

2023 was the hottest year on record, with worsening extreme weather events across the world. With global greenhouse gas emissions at an all time high, COP28 took important steps to try to change the direction of travel.

For the first time, there was global consensus for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner”. The new Framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation has set targets adapting to climate change and the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund was another important step towards building resilient global communities.

As a developed country and a champion of international climate ambition, the COP28 agreement brings implications for the UK’s domestic and international policies. The UK must now support the COP28 global goals to triple renewable capacity and double the annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. There is also an obligation on the UK to support the acceleration of the global transition away from fossil fuels.

Piers Forster, Interim Chair of the CCC said “The UK played an important role in this hard-fought COP28 outcome. We may be further into the decarbonisation journey than many nations, but the obligation on every country is now to push even harder. This also frames the economic challenge for the UK. We must rapidly replace fossil fuels with low-carbon alternatives to get back on track to meet our 2030 goal. 

“The UK could set a powerful example of tackling climate change and reducing our insecurity to climate impacts. The new global adaptation framework goes further than our own so I urge the Government to lean into its global role with an even stronger demonstration of domestic ambition.”

The UK’s international role

The UK Government maintained a strong presence at COP28, especially within the negotiations and through the sectoral initiatives started during the UK presidency at COP26. The UK continues to implement strong climate policies, like the new Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. However, the international perception of the UK’s climate ambition suffered from mixed messages following announcements on new fossil fuel developments and the Prime Minister’s speech to soften some Net Zero policies.

The UK is still defining its post-EU, post-COP Presidency role in UNFCCC negotiations. The Committee urges a continued visible presence at future COPs and
even greater domestic climate ambition to reinforce the UK’s international standing.

Next steps for the UK

In June 2023, the Committee noted a significant delivery gap to the UK’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of reducing emissions by 68% by 2030. The agreements made at COP28 require a sharper domestic response and time is now short for the gap to be bridged.

Achieving the 2030 NDC will require the rate of emission reductions outside of the electricity sector to quadruple from that of recent years. Addressing these gaps in a transparent way remains one of the most important ways for the UK to show climate leadership. On adaptation, the new Framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation goes beyond the UK’s current National Adaptation Programme (NAP3). NAP3 must therefore be updated within this policy cycle if it is to fulfil the targets within the Framework.

The CCC will continue to support the UK’s efforts through independent scrutiny of UK climate action. Its next assessment of UK climate progress will be published in June.

Climate Income would go a long way in incentivising the push for decarbonisation needed in business, transport and the home for the UK to achieve its NDC.

Why we don’t need the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill

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Green Party MP Caroline Lucas has written an article in Business Green (paywall), (summary in Carbon Brief) about the pointlessness of the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill. She points out that annual licensing rounds can and already do happen, so no new legislation is needed; it is just “a political stunt that will harm the UK’s ability to push for high climate ambition on an international stage”….“And the idea that it would somehow deliver energy security to the UK, help the millions of people struggling with soaring energy bills and boost the transition to net-zero, as the government claims, is simply untrue…Not to mention the fact that any oil or gas which is extracted will be sold on the global market to the highest bidder.”

The planet has passed 6 of the 9 planetary boundaries and here in the UK we have just had devastating floods. The recent National Audit Office report highlighted the effect of reducing spending on flood preparedness and the fact that more homes are increasingly at risk from flooding. Now is not the time to push for more North Sea oil and gas development, contributing both to global warming and to the message that it is ok for governments to carry on promoting and subsidising fossil fuel development – if we won’t stop so how can we tell anyone else to?

CCI Laser Talk: Transforming the economy ……

Takeaway: Governments must enact specific policies that will redirect financial flows to ensure our planet’s continued prosperity.

Full version: As of 2023, humanity has crossed 6 of the 9 planetary boundaries necessary for our continued survival on this planet. Crossing these boundaries increases the risk of generating large-scale abrupt or irreversible environmental changes.

Unfortunately, our current economic system sacrifices nature and human health for quick economic gains. We need to change this harmful way of thinking, and we can do it.

The path forward is clear. We must redirect financial flows towards a thriving and equitable planet.

Governments should swiftly enact subsidy and tax reforms, ensure polluters pay for greenhouse gas emissions, and reform financial systems to cease supporting fossil fuel projects. These policies must align with the science of a 1.5°C planet, requiring a 40% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 and true net-zero by 2040. Citizen engagement as well as all human rights must be embedded into the ongoing development of all policies.

This won’t be simple, but we’ll need everyone around the world to work together to make this happen.

Citizens’ Climate International review of the year

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Happy New Year – for inspiration and encouragement for the new year look no further than this extract from the CCI review of 2023 (actions where CCL UK was involved in bold).

As we look back on 2023, the hottest year in recorded history, we see the undeniable impact of climate change being felt by more and more of our fellow human beings. Not surprisingly, that impact was felt hardest in the world’s poorest countries that have contributed the least to planet-warming emissions responsible for the deteriorating condition of our climate. However, increased awareness of our collective plight led this year to breakthroughs that hold the possibility of better days to come. At the COP28 conference in Dubai, the nations of the world agreed for the first time on the need to transition away from fossil fuels, and the first contributions were made to a global fund for loss and damage to help nations struggling with the devastating effects of climate change. How quickly the world moves forward with these and other solutions in the coming year depends on the political will generated in every nation to take action. Based on what our volunteers did this past year, they appear up for the challenge.

CCI chapters convened, lobbied in 2023

From Africa to Mexico to Europe and to Canada, Citizens’ Climate International volunteers gathered to learn about climate solutions and acquire the skills to be effective advocates. They then engaged elected officials to voice their concerns about climate change and urge them to take actions to avert the worst consequences of a changing climate. Some of the highlights:

  • In October, 33 volunteers in Nigeria held meetings with 10 legislators, asking for a carbon tax and dividend. They also extended an invitation to participate in the inter-parliamentary dialogue on climate change in Washington this June.
  • In September, CCL Canada hosted a breakfast at Queen’s Park in Toronto and 30 climate advocates met with 13 provincial parliamentarians and four staffers in total throughout the day. 
  • CCL Canada volunteers held their “Undaunted” conference in Ottawa to do strategic planning, attend a Natural Resource Committee meeting that included oil and gas executives and met with six members of Parliament Hill in Ottawa and another dozen parliamentarians in the weeks following. 
  • In August, young volunteers in Mexico met with 22 lawmakers to move the nation toward a clean energy economy.
  • Just months after launching their Bucharest chapter, CCI volunteers met with members of the Romanian Parliament to discuss carbon pricing.
  • CCI volunteers in Germany held a conference in Berlin and met with 25 members of the Bundestag. 

Parliamentarians from Ghana come to Washington: In June, CCI welcomed the first ever visiting parliamentary delegation from another country to the 2023 Citizens’ Climate Lobby conference in Washington, DC. The Honorable Yves Hanson-Nortey and the Honorable Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi (Above, center rear) were designated to represent the Parliament of Ghana. They joined CCL volunteers in select plenary sessions and had meetings on Capitol Hill and with multilateral institutions. They inspired a group of students who were eager to ask questions and discuss emerging directions in climate-related policy around the world. Later in November, volunteers in Ghana received advocacy training from CCI and then lobbied members of Parliament.

Citizens’ Climate Europe joins carbon pricing group: Our European group has been selected as a member of the expert group for the topic of Emissions Trading System Two (ETS2) implementation by European Commission Directorate-General Climate Action. The ETS2 is the expansion of the European Union Emissions Trading System to cover buildings, roads, and additional sectors. This second ETS might make room for other modes of carbon pricing to drive decarbonization. In particular the policy creates some options for member states that enable greater climate ambition and public engagement.

International actions

Redirecting financial flows, one of the keys to transition away from fossil fuels and help nations adapt to climate change, was a big focus for Citizens’ Climate International in 2023. We invited stakeholders around the world to voice their concerns and ideas relating to this and other topics in a series of Talanoa Dialogues. In the most recent dialogue, released just before COP28, our leaders from across the globe shared their passionate conversations in a series of short videos about shifting money in a way that makes our planet prosperous and fair for everyone. You can view a compilation of those videos here.  

CCI took further action on financial flows in 2023 by asking World Bank executive directors for fair and sustainable development. Volunteers from many nations sent letters asking the Bank to:

  1. Invest to support the health of all human beings and all of nature.
  2. Recognize human rights, and don’t punish the vulnerable.
  3. Support multilateral cooperative arrangements to accelerate integral human development.
  4. Include stakeholders in design, delivery, and tracking of development finance.

CCI followed up those letters by attending regional meetings of the World Bank to provide input on the Bank’s practices and priorities going forward, input that will prove valuable as the World Bank assumes responsibility for the Loss and Damage Fund to compensate and help poorer nations struggling with the impact of climate change. Check out CCI’s briefing note submitted to the World Bank in the summer.

As policy lags behind the accelerating pace of climate change, and recognising the window for successful climate-resilient development is closing, CCI endorsed the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. We helped recruit participants and actively participated in their facilitated events for developing principles of the FFNPT for the North American and Gender constituencies. At the June UNFCCC meetings, Citizens’ Climate International was cohost alongside Stand, WWF, FFNPT for the event  Delivering a fossil free, 1.5˚C aligned energy system: the role of the Global Stocktake. On December 7, at COP 28, CCI Program Director Cathy Orlando attended the FFNPT convening of NGOs to strategize for 2024. 

At COP28, as part of CCI’s emerging work on Food, Finance, and Democracy to enhance national climate action strategies, we signed on to the Non-State Actors Call to Action for Transforming Food Systems for People, Nature, and Climate. CCI’s commitment in answering the Call to Action is to provide education and empowerment to citizen volunteers, policy-makers, media, and other key stakeholders, and to support transformative efforts, so that food systems can be part of the transition to a climate-resilient economy that improves lives and livelihoods.

CCI leadership utilizing the levers of political will

To move climate solutions forward, CCI volunteers employ five levers of political will to influence decision makers in their countries: lobbying, media relations, grassroots outreach, grasstops engagement, and chapter & volunteer development. Here are a few examples of our volunteers using those levers in 2023:

  • At COP28, CCI volunteers Marin Chaveyriat and Alba Pena engaged with national delegations — the grasstops — to promote Canada’s Global Carbon Pricing Challenge. Marin produced and distributed a brochure about the challenge.
  • To raise public awareness about  climate change and to influence elected officials to act on solutions, CCI volunteers pulled the media lever, and in August CCI Senior Communications advisor Steve Valk trained volunteers in Africa to write and submit letters to the editor in their local newspapers.
  • In Mexico, Alba Peña pulled the grassroots outreach lever by leading a series of presentations to hundreds of young people on the EnROADS policy simulator, which enables users to develop their own solution to climate change with a combination of policies.
  • Pulling again on the grassroots outreach lever, on  December 1 volunteers in Mutare, Zimbabwe participated in a national day of tree planting and planted 270 trees. They also launched a newsletter called Voices this year too. 
  • Prior to and during COP28, Canadians lobbied elected officials by sending 374 letters about climate solutions, like carbon pricing that rebates revenue to citizens.
  • In an example of grasstops engagement, CCL UK member Jane Renwick made connections at a climate conference hosted by the Women’s Institute, one of the most trusted and influential groups in Great Britain.
  • In another example of grasstops engagement, in March CCL Colombia participated in the United Nations Water Conference in New York City. 
  • More grasstops engagement: Roland Olivier Dedi—our CCI volunteer leader Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire—was selected by the World Bank as a youth delegate for the fifth meeting of the World Bank Group’s International Corruption Chasers Alliance from June 14 to 16!
  • In June, CCI Nepal leader Hement Raj Kaphale was honored with the Everest Climate Action Award for his work as Nepal Director of 8 Billion Trees, an organization carrying out large-scale tree planting and tree conservation operations.
  • In August, Ann Grace Akiteng, CCI Teso Group Leader in Northern Uganda, received an award for Outstanding Female in Climate Action at the Grassroots Level.
  • In June, CCL Chile pulled the chapter & volunteer development lever by holding a planning and strategy meeting for their national team. 
  • Internationally, CCI launched chapters in Bucharest, Romania, Tel Aviv, Israel, Belgrade, Rural Saskatchewan, Serbia, Nepalganj, Nepal, Nairobi, Kenya and Harare, Zimbabwe.

CCI’s take on COP28

The big “breakthrough” that made headlines coming out of COP28 was language in the final agreement about “transitioning away from fossil fuels,” the first time the need for such a transition has ever been articulated in a COP agreement. It affirms what we have known for decades: Fossil fuels are at the root of the climate problem and must be phased out. But, as CCI acknowledges in the final dispatch from the conference, “many nations are not honoring that implicitly understood reality, which has been the legal reality since the Convention was agreed in 1992.”

Looking past the headlines, CCI saw several areas where real progress was made:

  • The first Global Stocktake since the Paris Agreement, aimed at assessing progress, identifying urgently needed areas of improvement, and setting in motion the upgrading of national climate plans;
  • A new Framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation, aimed at providing needed targets, metrics, action detail, and expanded resources for reducing harm and building resilience against climate shocks;
  • A series of food systems advances (more on this below), including language in the formal outcomes of the Global Stocktake and the Global Goal on Adaptation processes.

“In all three of these areas, what will count is real-world implementation. The GGA Framework is not itself sufficient to achieve the comprehensive vulnerability reduction and resilience building required to secure a livable future for people, communities, and countries. Action is what follows: How we convert the legal decision text into policy, investments, everyday practice, and outcomes.”

For a comprehensive assessment of COP28 and the actions needed going forward, read the Dec. 19 dispatch.

Transforming food systems

One of the more encouraging developments at COP28 was the progress made toward transforming food systems to be more sustainable and equitable. 159 nations have signed on to the COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action, committing those nations to integrate food systems and agriculture into their Nationally Determined Contributions to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts. 

CCI co-hosted a side event at COP28 — Cooperative Financing for Healthy, Climate-Resilient and Inclusive Food Systems — to report on the establishment of the Good Food Finance Facility, which will serve as both a coordinating mechanism and a mechanism for delivery of finance. The Facility will “bring a multitude of players and innovation together to foster good food finance optimising investment cost and risk sharing with climate and soil-friendly best practices fostering productivity.”

Watch the COP28 side event

CCI leader featured in documentary

CCI’s Africa Regional Coordinator, David Michael Terungwa, is featured in a recently-released documentary, “Shifting Power.” The film illustrates the harm being done to Africa by fossil fuels and efforts by citizens to bring about change. “One thing that is lacking to solve climate change is political will,” said Michael. “Before now, it used to be us civil society organizations versus the policy maker, and this results in protests which never yield any results. Another approach is to build that relationship through which we lobby the policy makers to make laws that will help solve the climate crisis.”

 

Reith Lecture asks for a redistributive carbon tax!

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Ben Ansell’s final Reith Lecture on ‘Our Democratic Future’, called for a truly democratic responses to the problem of climate change and emphasised the need for a  fair, redistributive carbon tax. (Extract below, note that Ben Ansell is citing the earliest examples of CI implementation which have been more widely analysed in the academic literature).

To avoid the direst risks of climate change, of a rise in temperatures that we can’t mitigate, we will first need to overcome the shadow of the present, and
that’s not going to be easy because reducing emissions means restricting people like us, the democratic public, from doing things we like to do. And today’s a
defining moment in the politics of climate change because right now, pollsters can find enormous support in the abstract for ‘net zero’ policies, but when we
come to specific policies, where the short-term costs veer up suddenly, well, then politics seems to get rather harder.

In London, a recent parliamentary by-election was swung by discontent with the expansion of an ultra-low emissions zone. In the Netherlands, the Farmer-Citizen party came from absolutely nowhere to win the most seats in the Dutch Senate on, get this, a policy of removing a ban on nitrogen-producing insecticides, which seems like a pretty niche manifesto policy. They do seem like small-bore policies, but the thing about them is they hit particular groups – they hit drivers or farmers with limited incomes to absorb the costs. And the proponents of such policies often preach about the importance of climate change and air pollution, as if a sermon alone should stop all opposition.

The politicians need to accept that there are short-term costs to achieving a long-run net zero future. It’s no use berating people, especially when they can vote you out, so the most effective policies are going to be those that give with one hand while they take with the other.

So, in Switzerland, for example, their carbon tax falls if the country meets its emissions targets, so it’s a nice incentive to burn less gas. In British Columbia,
the proceeds of their carbon tax are used to reduce business taxes, provide tax credits to low-income families, and tax rebates to every resident. So, if you want
to cut carbon, you need to learn to cut deals.

For a summary of the CCI analysis of COP28 delivered by Cathy Orlando, CCI Program Director on 20/2/23, see blog.

UK Government announces Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

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Announcement from the Treasury and Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP…….

The UK is to implement a new import carbon pricing mechanism by 2027 to support the decarbonisation drive. (The EU is introducing its CBAM in 2026).

  • imports of iron, steel, aluminium, ceramics and cement from overseas will face a comparable carbon price to those goods produced in the UK
  • reduces the risk of ‘carbon leakage’, avoiding emissions being displaced to other countries because they have a lower or no carbon price

Goods imported into the UK from countries with a lower or no carbon price will have to pay a levy by 2027, ensuring products from overseas face a comparable carbon price to those produced in the UK. 

The UK has a track record to be proud of on decarbonisation. We were the first major economy to legislate for net zero and we are reducing our emissions faster than any other G7 country.

Decarbonising UK industry forms an important part of delivering the energy transformation needed to achieve net zero. But these efforts will not succeed if decarbonisation in the UK simply leads to higher emissions abroad.

The carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) will ensure highly traded, carbon intensive products from overseas in the iron, steel, aluminium, fertiliser, hydrogen, ceramics, glass and cement sectors face a comparable carbon price to those produced here.

The new rules will tackle ‘carbon leakage’, reducing the risk of production and associated emissions being displaced to other countries because they have a lower or no carbon price. Carbon leakage undermines the country’s efforts to decarbonise as the world transitions to net zero.

The charge applied by the CBAM will depend on the amount of carbon emitted in the production of the imported good, and the gap between the carbon price applied in the country of origin – if any – and the carbon price faced by UK producers.

Taking this action will ensure the environmental integrity of our decarbonisation policies and will give industry in the UK the confidence to continue to invest in decarbonisation, with the knowledge that it will result in a true net reduction in global emissions.  

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said:

This levy will make sure carbon intensive products from overseas – like steel and ceramics – face a comparable carbon price to those produced in the UK, so that our decarbonisation efforts translate into reductions in global emissions.

This should give UK industry the confidence to invest in decarbonisation as the world transitions to net zero.

Today’s news comes as the government publishes its response to a consultation on a range of domestic carbon leakage mitigation measures – which found 85% of respondents said that carbon leakage is a current or future risk to their decarbonisation efforts. This is because not all jurisdictions are moving at the same pace with the risk that UK emissions reductions do not translate into global emissions reductions, but rather that UK emissions get displaced to other less climate ambitious countries. The action announced today will help address that risk.

The design and delivery of the CBAM will be subject to further consultation in 2024, including the precise list of products in scope. The government will also engage with trade partners, including developing countries, and affected businesses and organisations, to minimise the impact on trade and the necessary compliance steps.

Alongside a CBAM, the government is also announcing its intention to work with industry to establish voluntary product standards that businesses could choose to adopt to help promote their low carbon products to customers; and to develop a framework which measures the carbon content of goods, that could support other decarbonisation policies in future.

And today, in addition to the government announcing a UK CBAM, stakeholders including power, aviation and industrial sectors have been invited to offer their views on proposed changes to the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, that will ensure it continues to support the UK’s progress to net zero.

A CBAM will work alongside the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to mitigate the risk of carbon leakage. The ETS Authority is consulting how to better target free allocations of carbon allowances for industries most at risk of carbon leakage, under the ETS. The Authority will also review whether free allocation should be adjusted to reflect any changes to carbon leakage risk for given sectors. (See previous news item, note the UK emissions reduction owes much to the Carbon Price Support (CPS) levied on coal powered electricity generation. The CPS resulted in coal-fired electricity generation falling from 40% of total GB electricity generation in 2013 to only 3% in 2019.)

It is also setting out plans to ensure the ETS market continues to offer an effective financial incentive that drives its participants to decarbonise, following a call for evidence last year, with industries being asked for their view a range of potential measures – including on the design of a new Supply Adjustment Mechanism.

The government remains committed to supporting industry to decarbonise including with the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio and £20 billion investment in development of carbon capture and storage.

The announcement was welcomed by industry bodies..“With over 90% of global steel production facing no carbon cost, it is only right that a new carbon border policy is put in place. However, implementing the UK scheme one year after the EU CBAM starts is hugely concerning.” Gareth Stace, director general of industry group UK Steel.

Jerome Mayhew, longtime champion of CBAM, told the Guardian.. “Applying a cost to carbon unlocks the power of the free market to find cheaper, lower-carbon production techniques,” and Robert Buckland, pointed out that “CBAM will take further financial burdens off the taxpayer and put them on the polluter, [as] the revenue can be recycled for domestic net zero projects or support households with energy bills,”. 

Citizens’ Climate International statement on the outcome of COP28

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13/12/2023 — The following is a statement from Citizens’ Climate International Executive Director Joe Robertson about the recently-completed COP28 climate conference in Dubai.

The agreement reached at COP28, which recommends “transitioning away from fossil fuels,” is an historic breakthrough, acknowledging for the first time that we cannot maintain a liveable world unless we stop burning coal, oil and gas. But, as former Vice President Al Gore said, “Whether this is a turning point that truly marks the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era depends on the actions that come next.”

We welcome the COP citing fossil fuels as a primary driver of global heating, for the first time, but the COP28 went deep into over-time, because some still hope to profit from pollution. No nation has the right to decide that another nation will be extinguished. That is effectively what happens when major emissions exporters decide they will continue to emit at levels inconsistent with maximum global heating of 1.5ºC. Low-lying island nations and other vulnerable countries are right to say the transition away from fossil fuels must be consistent with their physical survival.

With emissions still rising, we know the only way to limit global heating to 1.5ºC and secure a liveable future is a full phase-out of fossil fuels. A steadily rising price on carbon can deliver an orderly and decisive phase-out of fossil fuels; returning revenue to households will facilitate the transition without imposing economic hardship on people.

The COP28 achieved other historic successes:

  • Delivering the first Global Stocktake (GST) and activating the Loss and Damage Fund, though initial contributions are only a fraction of what is needed.
  • More than 140 nations have now signed onto the Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action, agreeing to link food systems to their national climate plans, and negotiations on the Global Goal on Adaptation have recognised the need for shifting to resilient regenerative food systems.
  • The GST text recognises “the importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, including in forests, the ocean, mountains and the cryosphere, and the protection of biodiversity…”

We thank the COP28 for recognising the need for “meaningful and effective social dialogue and participation of all stakeholders,” and we look forward to the rapid scaling up of non-market international cooperation to link national efforts, align prices, and support the alignment of all trade and finance with 1.5ºC.

Additional CCI resources on COP28

Citizens’ Climate International will be running 3 zoom meetings on the 20th December to discuss the implications of COP28 and the path forward, members are welcome to join, please see recent newsletter, posted the 12th December…..What happened at COP 28? What do we need to do in 2024? What comes next? Please give us a week to process what just happened then join us on Wednesday, December 20, where together we will explore some of the ramifications of COP 28 and begin visioning 2024 together.

Join Us

 

IMF head reminded COP28 of the sensible solution to pay for and incentivise global decarbonisation 

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While we anxiously await the final outcome of COP28 here’s what IMF head Kristalina Georgieva said earlier about the obvious solution to finding the finance to decarbonise the world.

It has been estimated that developing countries will require $2 tn pa to decarbonise, mitigate and adapt (the IMF estimates the global economy is worth about $450 tn) but the IMF has calculated that fossil fuels are subsidised to the extent of $7 tn pa without taking the health costs of fossil fuel pollution into consideration. The IMF has consistently argued the need to put a price on carbon (as of 2021 26% of the world put a price on carbon), the logic of this was again put forward by Kristalina at the COP28 Finance and Trade day, (she also argued for regulation and replacing fossil fuel subsidies with renewable energy subsidies as an alternative approach).…..“We have been slow on a very important policy thought, which is the incentive for investors by still tolerating high levels of fossil-fuel subsidies,” she told the Guardian in an interview. “And [the world has made this worse] by being still fairly slow on introducing carbon pricing, and giving a trajectory for this carbon price upward.” ….. “The evidence is first it works,”. “When you put a price on carbon, decarbonisation accelerates. The Europeans introduced the emission trading scheme [in 2005] and they have been growing and yet emissions went down by 37%. You see the same thing in Canada with their carbon tax.”……“When we talk about the need to support the transition to the green economy, where the money could come from – well, here is the source,” .

It is also worth pointing out that those calling for future fossil fuel use to be abated by carbon capture and storage(CCS), will need a carbon price for CCS to be viable.