Alan clashes with Tories opposed to climate change deal
September 13th 2009
Yesterday in the Commons saw a major debate on the upcoming Copenhagen summit. Alan spoke in the debate in support of a strong and effective global deal to tackle climate change.
You can read Alan's full speech on Copenhagen here.
An extract from his speech is below:
"It is incumbent on us to underline with enthusiasm that vision for the kind of world that we want to live in, and the reasons why the British public should not fear it, but instead embrace it:
- Job opportunities will be created by changing our energy sources from predominantly mineral-based fuels to predominantly renewable fuels.
- We will have the opportunity to improve our quality of life and to tackle problems such as fuel poverty, thanks to the ambitious plans that are afoot—although I hope that even they will be superseded—to increase the energy efficiency of our homes and the standard assessment procedure ratings of our buildings.
- We will see changes to the way we transport ourselves around and the emergence of different forms of transport.
- If a considerable proportion of our energy is generated from wind and other renewable sources, energy will probably be more or less free to the customer at certain times of day.
Such changes will be fundamental to the way in which our economy works, and they will go with the grain of how the public wish to live and what they want for our economy's future prosperity. There will not be the hurt and pain that some people believe will be the result of such changes.
A combination of enthusiasm for those changes and enthusiasm for investment in those changes elsewhere in the world is at the heart of not only ensuring that Copenhagen is a success, but increasing understanding throughout the world that Copenhagen is essential to the future of the globe and that it can usher in a much better life for the globe. That must be an essential part of the negotiations, and I wish our negotiators in Copenhagen every success in that objective."
Debating climate change sceptics
For readers looking for guidance on how to rebut some of the arguments made by climate change sceptics, below is a useful exchange between Alan and Conservative MP Peter Lilley during the Copenhagen debate:
Mr. Lilley: I shall pray you in aid, Mr. Deputy Speaker, when people say that there is only a handful of dissenters and that the science is settled. I am very grateful to you for giving me your authority to do so.
The simple fact is that the science is not resolved. A lot of serious scientists think that although there is a measure of impact—I agree with that—the alarmist views are not upheld by the science. A majority may well disagree with the scientists to whom I have referred—
Dr. Whitehead: More than a majority.
Mr. Lilley: More than a majority? You cannot have more than a majority, can you?
A majority may disagree, but my point is merely that there is dissent, that the science is not settled and that argument and debate go on. We should not pretend otherwise.
Dr. Whitehead: The right hon. Gentleman has read out a very short list, but does he accept that it would take several days to read out the list of people who have the opposite opinion about the science of climate change?
Does he also accept that the whole idea of science is that it consists of hypotheses and disputes? There never is an absolute consensus, but is it not probably a good idea to take the advice of the large number of scientists who think certain things and have established a large amount of empirical evidence for, and understanding of, their hypotheses?
Alan's other interventions in the climate change debate are listed below:
On ensuring money to combat climate change is not syphoned off from existing aid budgets
On the need for more local councils to approve wind farm applications
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