Government must not neglect climate change advisory body

The Committee on Climate Change has set an international standard for independent policy advice. But its second decade will be tougher than its first, says Sam Fankhauser.

Established under the 2008 Climate Change Act, the Committee on Climate Change is at the centre of UK climate policy. In policy circles, if not in public, its analysis defines the discussion.

To mark the Act’s first decade, the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science carried out a retrospective analysis. Speaking to many involved in UK climate policy, we found that the CCC is credited with introducing a long-term perspective into the climate debate, enhancing the credibility of climate targets and boosting evidence-based policymaking.