Sixteen years ago, on this day, November 19th, 2009,
‘If we are to tackle climate change in the years after Copenhagen, it is clear we will need to secure change of an unprecedented scale. The change needs to be very big…. In the United Kingdom we have pledged in law to cut our emissions by 80 per cent. That means we need our electricity and transport systems and homes to be near zero carbon. So we need a dramatic increase in renewable energy – we are planning for a six-fold increase by 2020.’
Ralph Miliband Lecture, 19 November 2009,
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 387ppm. As of 2025, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. This matters because the more carbon dioxide in the air, the more heat gets trapped. The more heat, the more extreme weather events. You can make it more complicated than that if you want, but really, it’s not. Fwiw, I have a tattoo of the Keeling Curve on my left forearm.
The broader context was that the British state had started making all the right noises about climate change from about 2005 (Gleneagles declarations etc etc). There had been the bipartisan “Climate Change Act” of 2008.
The specific context was – Ed was about to go off to Copenhagen, where we were all going to save the world.
What I think we can learn from this – what was that Hamlet said? “Words words words”.
And the success stories, like offshore wind? They happen by accident. Then, the stuff that might reduce energy emissions, i.e. free solar, that happens because Chinese manufacturing capacity is overbuilt. Oh, the ironies.
What happened next- Copenhagen failed. Ed beat his brother David to the leadership of the Labour Party, by the narrowest of margins. Ed then lost the 2015 election, but is now Starmer’s energy guy. Points for tenacity, I guess.
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
Also on this day:
November 19, 1943 – FIDO used for the first time
November 19, 1958 – doctor warns of long-term problem of carbon dioxide build-up
November 19, 1960 – Guy Callendar gives advice on unpopularity of C02 theory
November 19, 1990 – “The US should agree to stabilising CO2 levels”
November 19, 2007 – Gordon Brown announces first Carbon Capture and Storage competition at WWF event