Climate change emergency: actions to be taken by the Government of Jersey (P.27/2019) – amendment [P.27/2019 Amd.]

STATES OF JERSEY

CLIMATE CHANGE EMERGENCY: ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT OF JERSEY (P.27/2019) – AMENDMENT

Lodged au Greffe on 16th April 2019 by the Minister for the Environment

STATES GREFFE

2019  P.27 Amd.

CLIMATE CHANGE EMERGENCY: ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT OF JERSEY (P.27/2019) – AMENDMENT ____________

1  PAGE 2, PARAGRAPH (a) –

For paragraph (a) substitute the following paragraph –

"(a)  the Minister for the Environment should assess how Jersey might

become carbon-neutral by 2030, and is accordingly requested to draw up a plan as part of the first 5-year review of the Energy Plan to achieve this, for presentation to the States by the end of 2020;".

2  PAGE 2, PARAGRAPH (b) –

For paragraph (b) substitute the following paragraph –

"(b)  the Minister for the Environment is requested to carry out, as part of

the process for drawing up the forthcoming Government Plan for 2020, an examination and assessment of more ambitious policies to accelerate carbon reduction, to include an assessment of the use of fiscal levels to change behaviour and raise awareness, and the output of this work will inform the review of the Energy Plan referred to in paragraph (a) above;".

MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Note:  After this amendment, the proposition would read as follows –

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

that there exists a climate emergency likely to have profound effects in Jersey, and that in order to deal with this situation –

1. the Minister for the Environment should assess how Jersey might  become  carbon-neutral  by  2030,  and  is  accordingly requested to draw up a plan as part of the first 5-year review of the Energy Plan to achieve this, for presentation to the States by the end of 2020;
2. the Minister for the Environment is requested to carry out, as part of the process for drawing up the forthcoming Government Plan  for  2020,  an  examination  and  assessment  of  more ambitious policies to accelerate carbon reduction, to include an assessment of the use of fiscal levels to change behaviour and raise awareness, and the output of this work will inform the review of the Energy Plan referred to in paragraph (a) above;
3. the Chief Minister is requested to ensure that consideration of action to tackle climate change in Jersey is included as a standing item on the agenda of the Council of Ministers.

REPORT

Background

Jersey's current carbon reduction pathway and progress towards adapting to climate change is already well established, as follows –

1. The actions associated with mitigating existing and future carbon emissions and the associated monitoring and review periods are outlined in detail in the proposition entitled  Energy  Plan for  Jersey: Pathway  2050' (P.38/2014), adopted by the States on 22nd May 2014. This Plan sets an ambitious target that is not to reach carbon neutrality', but instead currently aims for an 80% reduction in emissions against 1990 levels, by 2050.

Jersey's  per capita carbon emissions are low in comparison to other jurisdictions (e.g. 3.8 tonnes/per person vs the UK of 7.1 tonnes/person). This is a result, in large part, of our switch to low-carbon electricity sourced from France and is two-thirds nuclear-sourced, one-third hydro in origin. The Island's annual carbon emissions are independently audited and validated, and we compare them against the forecasted progress and agreed policies in the Energy Plan[1].

2. There is a programme of work to prepare and adapt to the global impacts of climate change that Jersey cannot avoid, e.g. planning for and managing flood risk[2].

Despite this progress, there is growing recognition driven by the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ("IPCC") report (published October 2018[3]) that the global impact of climate change, and the actions needed to mitigate these changes, are becoming increasingly urgent. To date, Jersey has been a responsible and leading jurisdiction in our efforts to reduce our carbon emissions. However, it is now timely to investigate and cost an accelerated carbon reduction strategy to respond to the new level of urgency associated with the global climate change, and therefore Deputy R.J. Ward of St. Helier 's proposition, P.27/2019, is welcomed.

Carbon neutrality

Reaching carbon neutrality by 2030 as proposed by Deputy Ward , is extremely ambitious and challenging. On our current trajectory, and with successful implementation of our existing policies, by 2030 our emissions are projected to be 57% lower than 1990, and in the region of 267,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalents. Even with more successful reduction policies, it is very unlikely that we could achieve neutrality through a cessation of the production of emissions in a decade.

To achieve net-zero emissions, the unavoidable residual carbon emissions would need to be partly mitigated by an increase of natural on-Island carbon sinks' like woodland and permanent grassland. However, our limited land area means that the effect of

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P.27/2019 Amd.

localised mitigation would be extremely minimal1, and to reach neutrality we'd likely need to purchase global carbon offsets.

Nevertheless, I support the intention of the Proposition and would like to further investigate what carbon-neutral might mean in the Jersey context, evaluate the social and economic impacts of such a commitment, and bring this forward for consideration by the Assembly.

Reviewing the Energy Plan

The Energy Plan has a 5-year review programmed for 2020. This is the appropriate time to evaluate our progress and explore how we might achieve carbon neutrality or other accelerated  carbon  reduction  polices.  The  majority  of  our  emissions  arise  from hydrocarbon space heating in homes and businesses, and from our travel and transport both on-Island and from external links. We currently have ambitious policies and report progress annually4.

Accelerated progress would require even more ambition around demand management (energy efficiency) and the transition to low-emission (probably electric) vehicles and space heating, as these are the 2 areas from where our carbon emissions mostly arise.

A wholesale transformation to low-carbon energy in the next 10 years driven by a revised policy raises bigger questions about the composition of the energy market. To avoid unintended consequences of such a commitment will require careful consideration as part of the investigation, and is another reason to carry out this work in the context of the wider review of the Energy Plan in 2020.

How  the  work  of  the  Government  Plan  process  will  assist  in  achieving  the objectives of P.27/2019 (as amended)

The Government Plan, Common Strategic Priority 5 – "We will protect and value our environment", outlines aspirations and areas of policy development to further derive environmental benefit and reduce emissions. In parallel, there is another Government Plan work-stream, supported by a Revenue Policy Development Board, that seeks to advise  on  revenue-raising  measures  for  the  funding  of  Common  Strategic  Policy priorities.  It  is  recognised  that  taxation  should  support  economic,  social  and environmental  policy.  Developmental  work  in  this  area  will  investigate  using environmental taxes and charges to, inter alia, reinforce emissions reduction measures and potentially raise revenue to fund environmentally positive behaviour. For example, review vehicle emissions duty and use revenue to invest in sustainable travel initiatives.

By amending the proposition as proposed, there is explicit recognition that consideration should be given to the full range of policy interventions to accelerate carbon reduction.

Financial and manpower implications

There are no additional financial or manpower implications for the States arising from this amendment.

4 https://www.gov.je/Environment/GenerateEnergy/GreenHouseEmissions/JerseyEnergyPlan/P ages/index.aspx