The politics of climate change
Anthony Giddens
Polity
256pp
£12.99
When President Obama launched his green new deal, simultaneously recognising both the threat of climate change and the economic potential of a move to a low-carbon economy, he changed the frame of the environmental debate. As if more evidence was needed of the environment’s new place in the heart of mainstream politics, it is also the latest subject tackled by Anthony Giddens, the originator of ‘the third way’, in his new book The Politics of Climate Change.
Giddens welcomes the innovative response of many governments, including our own, in promoting measures to mitigate and adapt to the realities of climate change – such as the UK’s Climate Change Act, which was the world’s first legislation to set legally binding targets for carbon reductions. He does, however, sound a warning that we have still not grasped the enormity of the challenge facing us. He argues that the current political rhetoric on climate change is only the first phase of engagement with the subject. We now need a greater concentration on the means or how of policy, rather than just targets. The bigger challenge comes in the next phase, which is more about ‘embedding it in our institutions and in the everyday concerns of citizens’.
The book also draws parallels between the current crisis in the financial markets and the failure of regulation in the energy sectors. Deregulation of the energy markets and privatisation of utilities went too far in the 1980s and 1990s. Just as we are learning a new art of regulation of the financial markets we need to do so as well in the energy sector. In the same way that there was too little scrutiny of the financial system in the good times, there was a similar lack of accountability in the energy markets while supplies were plentiful and costs low. The failure of deregulation in both cases is accurately summarised by Giddens as: too much short-term thinking; a corrosion of public institutions; and a lack of control for system risk. He argues that reducing our dependence on fossil fuels is essential in mitigating climate change and in reaching a new global settlement over energy resources. Despite disagreement among commentators and campaigners over how long our oil and gas supplies will last, there is near agreement that the clock is ticking.
Despite enjoying the narrative throughout the book, there were two main disagreements I had with Giddens’s argument. First, his overestimation of the innovation of technology to resolve problems. Second, his argument that climate change is so different to other problems facing us that it needs to be removed from the realm of ideological debate and instead be the subject of political consensus.
While I understand Giddens’s basic presumption that the potentially catastrophic impact of climate change means that we need politicians to agree on its seriousness and to offer some consistency of action, there are important differences on possibilities for future action.
Interestingly, despite arguing for political consensus, many of the policy prescriptions Giddens describes in the book are essentially born of the progressive tradition – supporting the economic advantage of developing countries; reform of state structures to reflect the reality of facing up to climate change; and redistribution of environmental opportunities to the most vulnerable people, whether at home or elsewhere in the world.
Perhaps David Cameron’s conversion to environmentalism is a sign of success for this progressive tradition? Certainly, today’s Conservative party has moved much closer to a progressive vision and understanding of the problem of climate change than its other recent incarnations. But it remains to be seen whether Conservative rhetoric on the environment will actually be converted into fully-funded progressive policies that radically alter the life chances and opportunities of the poorest communities to deal with the impacts of climate change. It was no surprise when SERA’s recent research into windfarms revealed that, despite national commitments to renewable fuels, for example, over two-thirds of applications to build windfarms to Conservative-controlled councils had been rejected.
Overall, though, as well as providing a useful summary of a number of current debates in climate change policy – from the robustness of carbon markets and green taxes through to the role of government in fostering new technological solutions – Giddens makes a powerful contribution to the emerging debate on the politics of climate change. Despite its vital importance, he also understands that to many people it remains a back-of-the-mind issue, even if it is a source of concern. Therein lies the political challenge: to meet our international and local obligations together.