Blair, Bush & Merkel...

The G8 yesterday agreed to start discussing a replacement for the Kyoto agreement which runs out in 2009 (although cynics would say it ran out of steam ages ago...). German Chacellor Angela Merkel's proposal for a 50% cut by 2050 has been down graded to an item which George Bush will 'seriously consider'.

But what really interested me was the body language. Bush was his usual swaggering, gnomic self, smirking as he spoke. But as Blair and Bush walked up to the cameras, I got them mixed up (we have a small telly). Blair has adopted Bush's swagger wholesale - imitation and flattery and all that. But when he wasn't with his master, the puffed out chest dropped, his brow furrowed and he stumbled under the press questioning. He also put his faith in the techno-fix - obviously not understanding the consumption part of the "sustainable production and consumption" equation.

Merkel looked like a woman putting a brave face on a disappointment (no surprise there...) but Sarkozy couldn't be bothered acting and showed his disdain for the US position openly.

The new talks will include the G8+5 nations - in other words India and China. I hope that the 50% will be applied on a per-head population basis rather than by country, otherwise there is no way these two nations will sign up.

Bushwhacking, renewed renewables and the biofuels debate rumbles on...

Massive amount of eco-living related stuff in the press today:

First off, GWB's pronouncement that the US will lead a new global agreement on climate change because (I presume) he's been so good at international affairs recently and his Government's record on climate change is so much better than that of the UN. Welcomed by other Governments, slammed by the Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth etc.

My Verdict: Better than nothing I suppose, but Bush's reliance on the techno-fix is unlikely to deliver the goods - unlike the proposals the UN are putting forward. But George knows best, doesn't he?

Secondly, here in the UK, the Governments Low Carbon Building Programme (which subsidises micro-renewables) is about to be relaunched after its recent suspension, according to the ENDS report. You will have to have planning permission before you apply and you will have to install within 3 or 4 months depending on the technology. There is no monthly cap so the mad rush on the 1st will go, but each household is limited to £2500 which will impact on solar PV.

My Verdict: I thought planning controls on microrenewables were about to be relaxed... joined up thinking... anyway, apart from that this seems like a good way forward.

Lastly, again from ENDS, WWF are calling for biofuels to only be produced on existing fallow land to avoid rainforest destruction.

My Verdict: Good call WWF - I believe biofuels can be part of the solution if we get the growing standards right, unlike George Monbiot who thinks they are worse than fossil fuels.