The document discusses several challenges around measuring and reporting on climate change mitigation efforts: 1) The UK's goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2010 lacks clarity in how progress will be measured and reported, with inconsistencies between departments. 2) Purchasing foreign carbon credits as part of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme counts towards the UK's domestic emissions reduction goal but not other national emissions reporting. 3) There is a need for more precision and consistency in how emissions data is presented to clearly track progress towards goals like those recommended by the 2006 Stern Report on mitigating climate change through spending 1% of GDP.

1. Climate Change – the challenge measuring our effort 8 th April, 2008 Colin Challen MP

5. CO 2 Time Contraction

6. CO 2 Time Contraction Convergence

8. Stern Report 2006 To avoid a likely 20% cost to GDP through climate change damages, we need to spend 1% GDP on mitigation

9. Stern Report 2006 To avoid a likely 20% cost to GDP through climate change damages, we need to spend 1% GDP on mitigation c.£13.2 billion but for what result - exactly?

10. NAO Report UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions: measurement and reporting “ The basis on which to report against the UK domestic goal of a 20 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide by 2010 is unclear. This reflects a lack of precision in the way in which the goal was originally defined, the absence of clear reporting standards, and insufficient consistency and co-ordination between departments in presenting emissions data. In particular, foreign credits purchased under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme now count towards this goal but not towards the UK headline indicators for carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions or any other National Statistics publications.”

11. What is to be done?

12. The Institute of Carbon Accounting

13. The railway transformation First passenger railway 1832 Railway ‘mania’ began c.1844 240 proposals before Parliament, worth £100 million By 1850, around 6,000 miles