Conservatism in a changing climate Security, prosperity and a low carbon future B Conservatism in a changing climate Conservatism in a changing climate 1 Conservatism in a changing climate © Green Alliance 2010 Security, prosperity and a low carbon future Green Alliance’s work is licensed under a Creative Commons Contents Attribution-Noncommercial-No Edited by Thomas Lingard and Ben Caldecott derivative works 3.0 unported license. This does not replace Published under Green Alliance’s Political Leadership theme, copyright but gives certain rights without having to ask Green Alliance which focuses on securing political action to tackle climate for permission. change and other environmental problems. Under this license, Green Alliance’s work maybe shared freely. This The views expressed in this publication remain those provides the freedom to copy, Sponsor’s foreword of the individual authors alone, and do not necessarily distribute and transmit this work on to others, provided Green Alliance is Gearóid Lane, British Gas 6 reflect the views of Green Alliance or its partners. credited as the author and text is unaltered. This work must not be Introduction £5 resold or used for commercial purposes. These conditions can be Thomas Lingard and Ben Caldecott 8 ISBN 978-1-905869-27-5 waived under certain circumstances with the written permission of Green Alliance. For more information 1 Climate change and security about this license go to http:// Green Alliance creativecommons.org/licenses/ Green Alliance is an influential, independent organisation by-nc-nd/3.0/ Moving towards a low carbon economy: the national security rationale working to bring environmental priorities into the political Baroness Neville-Jones 13 mainstream. We work collaboratively with the three main Internationalism and green conservatism parties, government, the third sector, business and others to ensure that political leaders deliver ambitious solutions Peter Ainsworth MP 17 to global environmental issues. 36 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0RE 2 Delivering a low carbon future tel: 020 7233 7433 fax: 020 7233 9033 The need for a credible climate technology policy email: [email protected] Tom Burke 22 www.green-alliance.org.uk The costs and financing of the transition to the low carbon economy Green Alliance is a registered charity 1045395 Professor Dieter Helm 26 Company limited by guarantee 3037633 3 Prosperity and the transition to a low carbon economy The economic case for climate action Greg Clark MP 31 Acknowledgements Resourcing our future This publication has been made possible with the Professor Stephen Evans 35 generous support of British Gas. Rational environmentalism? Towards an honest, trustful and more cost-effective climate change policy Ben Caldecott 39 References 43 2 Conservatism in a changing climate Contributor biographies 3 Contributor biographies Ben Caldecott is a founder of the Conservative Thomas Lingard is deputy director of Green Alliance. Baroness Neville-Jones is the shadow security Peter Ainsworth MP is the Member of Parliament Environment Network (CEN), which advocates Thomas is responsible for leading Green Alliance’s minister and national security adviser to the leader for East Surrey. He is chairman of the all party solutions to environmental problems that are policy team and supporting the development and of the opposition. She was a career member of the parliamentary groups for the environment and consistent with conservative principles and brings delivery of the organisation’s three-year strategy. Diplomatic Service from 1963 to 1996 during sustainable aviation, and is a member of the culture, people together who share that goal. Prior to this he spent nine years with Unilever which time she served, among other places, in media and sport select committee. Peter served as where he specialised in sustainability, corporate Rhodesia, Singapore, Washington and Bonn. Key Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Ben is currently the lead on UK and EU climate responsibility and public affairs. appointments included chief policy planner in the Sport from June 1998 until September 2001. change and energy policy at Climate Change Capital Foreign and Commonwealth Office between 1982 Following Iain Duncan Smith’s election as leader of (CCC), an environmental investment group. Ben is Thomas is a chartered management accountant, a and 1987, deputy secretary to the Cabinet and head the Conservative Party he was promoted to Shadow developing CCC’s in-house policy think tank and also member of the Oxfam Association and a trustee of of the Defence and Overseas Secretariat in the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and advises CCC’s funds and clients on the development Action Space, a non-executive director of the London Cabinet Office between 1991 and 1994, and Rural Affairs from which he stepped down in June of policy driven markets. Prior to this he held Orchard Project and a Fellow of the Royal Society of chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee 2002. In January 2003 he was appointed to the research directorships at Policy Exchange and The Arts. He previously served as chair of the London between 1993 and 1994. From 1994 until her Environmental Audit Committee and in July 2003 he Henry Jackson Society, two leading UK based think Benchmarking Group and member of the Business retirement, Pauline was political director in the was appointed chairman. Peter returned to the tanks. In the past Ben has also worked in Parliament Board of the European Academy of Business in Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in which Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for the and for a number of different government Society (EABiS). He read Philosophy, French and capacity she led the British delegation to the Dayton Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2005 under departments and international organisations, Italian at Durham University, holds a postgraduate negotiations on the Bosnia peace settlement. From David Cameron, and stepped down in January 2009. including the United Nations Environment certificate in cross-sector partnerships for sustainable 2004 to 2007 she was chairman of the Information Programme and Foreign & Commonwealth Office. development from Cambridge University and an Assurance Advisory Council and, from 2002 to Peter Ainsworth is a director of Plantlife International He read economics and specialised in China at MSc in development management from The Open 2005, chairman of QinetiQ Group plc, a defence and a vice president of Wildlife and Countryside Cambridge, London and Peking universities. University. technology company. From 1998 to 2004, Pauline Link. In 2005, in recognition of his work on the was the international governor of the BBC. environment, Peter Ainsworth was awarded the Public Affairs News ‘Politician of the Year’ award. In November 2009 he was named ‘Environmental Parliamentarian of the Year’ by the Chartered Institution of Environmental and Water Management. 4 Conservatism in a changing climate Contributor biographies 5 Tom Burke is founding director of E3G and a trustee Dieter Helm is professor of energy policy at the Greg Clark MP is shadow secretary of state for Stephen Evans is professor of life cycle engineering of Green Alliance. He is an environmental policy University of Oxford and a fellow of New College, energy and climate change. He entered the shadow at the School of Applied Sciences, Cranfield adviser to Rio Tinto plc and a visiting professor at Oxford. He holds a number of advisory board cabinet in October 2008, having previously been University. His research explores how industry can Imperial College. He is a member of the Council of appointments, including chairman of the Academic shadow minister for charities, social enterprise and bring environmental and social sustainability English Nature; statutory advisor to the British Panel, Department of Environment, Food and Rural volunteering. Before entering politics, Greg worked concerns into its design and manufacturing practices. government on biodiversity; and co-chairman of the Affairs and member of the Advisory Panel on Energy for the Boston Consulting Group, and was posted to His work includes sustainable factories, food systems Anglo-German Environment Forum. and Climate Security, Department for Energy and the USA, Mexico, South America and Iceland, as well for people with reduced access to food, and Climate Change. He is a member of the expert panel as working for clients in the UK. Greg was special sustainable city re-generation design. Tom was recently appointed an honorary professor for the Department of Transport’s Review of the advisor to the secretary of state for trade and in the Faculty of Laws at University College, London Regulation of Airports. He was a member of the industry, the Rt Hon Ian Lang MP, from 1996 until He is the Vice-Chair of UK Manufacturing Professors, and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Since 1991 DTI’s Sustainable Energy Policy Advisory Board from the general election in 1997. Subsequently, he was and board member of the Centre for Sustainable he has been a member of the Advisory Committee to 2002 to 2007, of the Prime Minister’s Council of appointed the BBC’s controller, commercial policy. Engineering. He was recently Specialist Adviser to the Business in the Environment Task Team. He is on Science and Technology from 2004 to 2007, and of Before becoming an MP, Greg was director of policy the House of Lords Inquiry in Waste Reduction. the Advisory Council of the Earth Centre and advises the DTI’s Energy Advisory Panel from 1993 to 2003. for the Conservative Party from March 2001 for Steve previously spent 12 years in industry, finally a number of other environmental organisations. He Dieter is an associate of the Smith School of three successive leaders: William Hague, Iain Duncan as Engineering Systems Manager at Martin-Baker is a founding member of the Council of the Institute Enterprise and the Environment, and associate editor Smith and Michael Howard, before being elected to Engineering, the world leading manufacturer of of Environmental Management and served as Green of the Oxford Review of Economic Policy.