The Joint Committee on the Draft Climate Change Bill
On Tuesday and Wednesday Oral evidence was given to the committee from major energy companies, airlines, The Royal Society, NGOs, the Californian Environmental Protection Agency, Malcolm Wicks MP, Minister of State for Science and Innovation, Department of Trade and Industry, Gillian Merron MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Transport, among others.

House of Commons questions
Chris Hune MP asked a written question: how many and what percentage of (a) priority habitats and (b) priority species under the Biodiversity Action Plan are decreasing; and which habitats and species are involved. Bary Gardiner MP responded with the latest figures from 2005, the next figures will be available in 2009.

House of Lords debate
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer spoke in a debate on UK membership in the EU, about the importance of environmental policy in the EU. Over 60 per cent of European directives concern environmental protection and improvement. She said that EU members now recognise that environmental concerns such as biodiversity and climate change, cross national boundaries and can be addressed more effectively colllectively, through the EU.

Barry Gardiner, Biodiversity Minister, today launched Biodiversity Indicators In Your Pocket 2007. The 18 indicators track the UK’s progress against international biodiversity targets. This is the first time that a comprehensive set of biodiversity indicators has been published for the UK.

The indicators are grouped under the six focal areas identified by the Convention on Biological Diversity and the European Council. They show the UK’s progress towards halting the decline of biodiversity by 2010. The pocket-sized booklet makes the indicators easily accessible to a wide audience and enables everyone to judge where progress is being made and where the challenges lie.

The Environment Agency Science Department 11-year study has found that otter populations are healthy and continue to expand across England and Wales. One factor behind this recovery may be decreasing levels of organochlorine chemicals (OCs), such as the insecticides dieldrin and aldrin, in the environment. These pesticides have been progressively withdrawn from use from 1962 and were banned in 1989.

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked a written question on the assessment that has been made of the benefits of moving from quantification of the value of individual ecosystem services to quantification of the aggregated value of a range of services provided by different ecosystems; and what research has been commissioned to facilitate this calculation.

Lord Rooker (Minister of State (Sustainable Farming and Food), responded by saying that Government have commissioned several projects exploring the valuing of ecosystem services and which valuation techniques are most appropriate under different circumstances. Defra, the lead department, has identified a range of situations where aggregation of ecosystem services valuation will be important, including: when considering the multifunctional benefits at a given site or when calculating the likely changes in site values under different options in a decision; and development of national accounting processes that look at the aggregate value of natural capital in adjusted measures of economic prosperity.

Yesterday leading economies, including the US pledged to make “substantial” cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and that “in setting a global goal for emissions reductions in the process we have agreed today involving all major emitters, we will consider seriously the decisions made by the European Union, Canada and Japan which include at least a halving of global emissions by 2050.” Mr Bush also pledged that any successor treaty to the 1997 Kyoto accord would be negotiated through the United Nations, with the major emitters of GHGs linked to global warming seeking to find agreement by the end of next year. Read the G8 report.

On Wednesday in the House of Commons, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Wales discussed the possible development of the Severn Barrage which could create a significant supply of clean, electricity for the UK by harnessing the tidal flow of the Severn Estuary. Rt. Hon Peter Hain MP stated: “experience at La Rance river in France is that biodiversity can increase as a result of the construction of a barrage and that if we are not prepared to take bold steps to fight climate change, biodiversity will be, in a sense, a secondary matter”. Read the full debate here.

The BES produced a booklet on the Ecological Impacts of Estuarine Barrages.

The Report on The Species and Habitat Review 2007 to the UK Biodiversity Partnership, part of the UK Government’s response to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (signed in 1992), has today been published and shows that the number of endangered species in Britain has almost doubled in 13 years. There are now 1,149 species of plants, mammals, birds and insects, and 67 different types of habitat under threat from climate change and human activity.

The topic for this years World Environment Day is Melting Ice – a Hot Topic? In support of International Polar Year, the focus will be on the effects that climate change is having on polar ecosystems and communities, and the ensuing consequences around the world. The main international celebrations of the World Environment Day 2007 will be held in Norway, in the City of Tromsø.

The Green Alliance published a report on the Nutrient Cycle: Closing the Loop. The report is intended to raise the political profile of the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycles. The N and P cycles are much lower down the political agenda than the carbon cycle. However, due to links with climate change (nitrous oxide), effects on biodiversity and increased costs to water customers due to water treatment, Green Alliance believes there is a strong case for moving the nutrient cycle up the political agenda.

The UK’s Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) is seeking a new board member with expertise in insect ecology. The closing date for applications is 18 June 2007.