CARBON OMISSIONS

Published 2011/12/14 at 4:34 pm

Revealing the hidden scandal of how the UK’s emissions are still rising – because we have ‘outsourced’ the problem.

“At face value UK emissions look like they have decreased 15%… since 1990. But if you take into account carbon embedded in our imports, our emissions have gone up about 12%. We’ve got to be more open about this…” – Defra Chief Scientific Advisor, Prof Bob Watson

Our lifestyles are built upon cheap goods sourced from countries like China, whom we blame for their levels of emissions whilst consuming the goods they produce. The success of UK climate policy relies on these emissions being counted elsewhere. The government barely acknowledges the issue, keeping the public in the dark. It’s time to own up to our omissions and put a brake on our emissions.

Working with leading animator Leo Murray and acclaimed journalist George Monbiot, PIRC is putting together a short, snappy animation to explain this crucial issue and put it on the political agenda. The animation forms part of an ongoing project by PIRC to ensure the UK’s outsourced emissions are properly tackled by the Government. You can read more about our investigation into outsourced emissions here.

Public Interest Research Centre (PIRC) is an independent charity, whose work is aimed towards building a sustainable society. Through research and advocacy, we press for the structural changes needed to effectively tackle climate change and ecological degradation. www.pirc.info

Leo Murray is a leading British animator and climate activist. Besides being heavily involved in environmental activism over the past decade, he was lead animator on climate blockbuster The Age of Stupid, and writer and director of acclaimed animated short on the threat of runaway warming, Wake Up, Freak Out – Then Get a Grip (www.wakeupfreakout.org).

“We were thrilled to get funding from APE to make this project a reality – the scandal of the UK’s outsourced emissions is such an important issue. PIRC have been working for the past year to get this problem the attention it needs and this grant will allow us to take the campaign to the next level. We look forward to producing what we hope will be a creative, fun and searing expose of the UK’s Carbon Omissions…”