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WQ.358/2021
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT BY DEPUTY L.M.C. DOUBLET OF ST. SAVIOUR
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 13th SEPTEMBER 2021 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 20th SEPTEMBER 2021
Question
Will the Minister advise whether he has read the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (I.P.C.C.) report Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis'; and, if so, what assessment has he made of any further actions that Jersey needs to take beyond the existing commitments laid out in the Carbon Neutral Strategy, and elsewhere, in light of this new evidence?
Answer
I have been briefed by SP3 officers on the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. I agree this is extremely important as the science is unequivocal and the message is clear: we must act on our declared climate emergency. The report highlights that strong, rapid and sustained reductions in emissions are required.
The report focuses on the impacts of warming which will be severe even with countries achieving their targets laid out in international agreements. Jersey is not exempt from the devastating impacts of this warming. With further global warming, every region is projected to increasingly experience changes. Changes in climate will be more widespread and severe at 2°C compared to 1.5°C global warming and even more pronounced for higher warming levels. The imperative to limit warming to 1.5°C has never been clearer.
The States Assembly declared a climate emergency and we already committed to an ambitious emissions reduction programme and a just transition. Since this declaration and the publication of the Carbon Neutral Strategy, we have used the citizens' assembly to gather the thoughts of our local citizens on how we should achieve this. The detailed plan will be presented in the Carbon Neutral Roadmap which will be launched for consultation at the end of 2021 and brought forward to the States Assembly for debate in early 2022.
Much work has gone on since our in-committee debate. Our officers are currently drafting the Preferred Strategy for the Carbon Neutral Roadmap with a group of Ministers and Non-Executive States Members led by my Assistant Minister, Deputy Guida. This will be submitted to the Council of Ministers very shortly. It will set out a new emissions reduction trajectory following science-based targets which will be published in mid-October.
Notes:
Headline Statements from the Summary for Policymakers
AR6 WGI Summary for Policymakers Headline Satements (ipcc.ch) 9 August 2021 (subject to final copy-editing)