House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee The impact of UK overseas aid on environmental protection and climate change adaptation and mitigation Fifth Report of Session 2010–11 Volume II Additional written evidence Ordered by the House of Commons to be published 22 June 2011 Published on 29 June 2011 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited Environmental Audit Committee The Environmental Audit Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to consider to what extent the policies and programmes of government departments and non-departmental public bodies contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development; to audit their performance against such targets as may be set for them by Her Majesty’s Ministers; and to report thereon to the House. Current membership Joan Walley MP (Labour, Stoke-on-Trent North) (Chair) Peter Aldous MP (Conservative, Waveney) Richard Benyon MP (Conservative, Newbury) [ex-officio] Neil Carmichael MP (Conservative, Stroud) Martin Caton MP (Labour, Gower) Katy Clark MP (Labour, North Ayrshire and Arran) Zac Goldsmith MP (Conservative, Richmond Park) Simon Kirby MP (Conservative, Brighton Kemptown) Mark Lazarowicz MP (Labour/Co-operative, Edinburgh North and Leith) Caroline Lucas MP (Green, Brighton Pavilion) Ian Murray MP (Labour, Edinburgh South) Sheryll Murray MP (Conservative, South East Cornwall) Caroline Nokes MP (Conservative, Romsey and Southampton North) Mr Mark Spencer MP (Conservative, Sherwood) Dr Alan Whitehead MP (Labour, Southampton Test) Simon Wright MP (Liberal Democrat, Norwich South) Powers The constitution and powers are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152A. These are available on the internet via www.parliament.uk. Publication The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the internet at www.parliament.uk/eacom. A list of Reports of the Committee in the present Parliament is at the back of this volume. The Reports of the Committee, the formal minutes relating to that report, oral evidence taken and some or all written evidence are available in a printed volume. Additional written evidence may be published on the internet only. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Simon Fiander (Clerk), Edward White (Second Clerk), Lee Nicholson (Committee Specialist), Andrew Wallace (Senior Committee Assistant), Jill Herring (Committee Assistant), Emily Harrisson (Sandwich Student) and Nicholas Davies (Media Officer). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Environmental Audit Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6150; the Committee’s email address is [email protected] List of additional written evidence (published in Volume II on the Committee’s website www.parliament.uk/eacom) 1 Development Education Association (Think Global) Ev w1 2 The Co-operative Group Ev w2 3 Peter Taylor, Ethos Ev w5 4 Professor Harriet Bulkeley and Dr Vanesa Caston Broto, Department of Geography, Durham University Ev w8 5 Population and Sustainability Network Ev w14 6 Plan International UK Ev w18 7 UNICEF UK Ev w20 8 World Development Movement Ev w22 9 The Met Office Ev w27 10 CDC Group Ltd Ev w28 11 Progressio Ev w33 12 DFID Office Congo Ev w37 13 DFID Office Indonesia Ev w40 14 DFID Office Malawi Ev w46 15 DFID Office Mozambique Ev w53 16 Export Credits Guarantee Department Ev w59 17 Richard Whittell Ev w64 18 Agricultural Biotechnology Council Ev w68 19 LTS International Ltd Ev w69 20 Dr David Hall-Matthews, University of Leeds Ev w72 21 H M Treasury Ev w73 cobber Pack: U PL: CWE1 [SO] Processed: [24-06-2011 15:18] Job: 010972 Unit: PG01 Environmental Audit Committee: Evidence Ev w1 Written evidence Written evidence submitted by the Development Education Association (Think Global) 1. About DEA 1.1 DEA is an education charity that promotes global learning. We work to ensure that people in the UK learn about global issues such as poverty and climate change and develop an open-minded, global outlook. DEA defines global learning as education that puts learning in a global context, fostering: — critical and creative thinking; — self-awareness and open-mindedness towards difference; — understanding of global issues and power relationships; and — optimism and action for a better world. 1.2 DEA is a membership body, with over 150 organisational members including subject associations, universities, local authorities and many development and environment NGOs in the UK. 2. Summary 2.1 In this response DEA highlights the positive impacts resulting from DFID’s investment in development education in the UK. We offer evidence that funding for development education in the past decade has helped to ensure that the UK public are able to take urgent action to tackle climate change. 2.2 We recommend that: — The Environmental Audit Committee inquiry highlights the positive impacts of DFID’s funding for development education in the UK, in particular on the UK public’s ability and willingness to take urgent action on climate change. — The Committee recommends to DFID that it continue to fund a programme of development education in the UK to meet both its international development and wider sustainability objectives. 3. Evidence 3.1 DEA’s evidence relates specifically to DFID’s focus over the past decade on development education amongst the UK public. 3.2 One of the coalition government’s priorities is to “drive urgent action to tackle climate change” and the inquiry is examining the extent to which environmental protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation are prioritised in DFID’s programmes. 3.3 In an interdependent world, climate change mitigation and adaptation must happen in the UK as well as overseas, and mitigation here will have an impact on international development. As a country with high per capita carbon emissions, the UK has a proportionately greater impact on climate change than many poorer countries. By mitigating climate change here in the UK, we will reduce global carbon emissions significantly, as well as developing technologies that can be implemented in poorer countries to allow low-carbon growth. In this way we will reduce the negative impacts of climate change on development, and so contribute to DFID’s international development aims. This gives us a reason to spend money to encourage action amongst our own population. 3.4 DFID funding for development education has made a strong contribution, particularly in schools, towards ensuring that people in the UK are more aware of interdependence and the need for sustainability, and are more willing and able to take urgent action to tackle climate change. 3.5 Examples of DFID’s funding for development education include: — Supporting Hampshire Development Education Centre to provide staff training to 420 teachers to teach about global citizenship in primary and secondary schools in Hampshire. — Funding BRAC UK to train young peer educators in Tower Hamlets. These peer educators will raise awareness of the Millennium Development Goals and the need for environmental sustainability amongst 2,000 18–25 year olds who are not in education, employment or training. 3.6 Recent research from Ipsos MORI highlights the impact of development education in the UK: amongst those who have learnt about the climate through development education in school, only one in six people feel it is pointless to take personal action to tackle climate change. By contrast, amongst those who have not learnt about any global issues at school, a third of people feel it is pointless to take personal action to tackle climate change.1 1 Hogg, Shah, 2010, The impact of global learning on public attitudes and behaviours towards international development and sustainability. DEA: London cobber Pack: U PL: CWE1 [E] Processed: [24-06-2011 15:18] Job: 010972 Unit: PG01 Ev w2 Environmental Audit Committee: Evidence 3.7 Some of the funding streams from DFID for development education in the UK are now being cut (for example the Development Awareness Fund, and the Enabling Effective Support initiative). Nevertheless, there are strong arguments in favour of DFID spending a small proportion of its budget on educating people in the UK about international development and sustainability issues, to help meet both our international development and sustainable development priorities. 4. Recommendations 4.1 We therefore recommend that: — The Environmental Audit Committee inquiry highlights the positive impacts of DFID’s funding for development education in the UK, in particular on the UK public’s ability and willingness to take urgent action on climate change. — The Committee recommends to DFID that it continue to fund a programme of development education in the UK to meet both its international development and wider sustainability objectives. 7 December 2010 Written evidence submitted by The Co-operative Group Summary — This submission is a response from The Co-operative Group (The Co-operative) to the Environmental Audit Committee’s inquiry into the impact the UK’s aid programme has on environmental protection and climate change measures in developing countries. — The Committee has invited organisations to submit written evidence setting out their views on this issue, including on whether financing mechanisms under Government influence (such as the Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD)) fully support environmental protection and climate change action in the developing world. The Committee has also welcomed hearing about particular aid projects which tackle environmental/climate change issues successfully. To this end, this submission includes: — A brief overview of The Co-operative’s work to combat climate change and tackle global poverty; — Examples of The Co-operative’s own development projects which tackle environmental/ climate change issues successfully; — And The Co-operative’s public policy position in relation to the ECGD as a financing mechanism under Government influence, which has an impact on environmental protection and climate change in the developing world.