Struggling for Credibility

The UK has almost a unique reputation of being a hard negotiator but a dutiful implementor of international agreements. The Climate Convention makes modest demands on a major economy, at least at the outset, so we shall see that the UK has embarked on institutional reforms that are purposeful but low key. The most important implication of the British experience is the interconnection between climate policy and other policy arenas, notably tax, industrial and transport policy. The UK contributes approximately 3 per cent of global radiation forcing gases. Of these, CO₂ is responsible for 87.3 per cent of the total, methane 8 per cent, nitrous oxides 4.4 per cent and other gases 2.3 per cent. Within the dominant CO₂ sector, coal contributes over a third of the total, petroleum almost the same amount, and natural gas around a fifth.