Helen Nugent
Star musicians and your favourite Times writers at the Albert Hall
Tony Blair is to lead an international campaign to cut carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2050.
The latest addition to the former Prime Minister’s portfolio of interests has the backing of the White House, the UN and Europe, and Mr Blair is shortly to discuss the plans with the Chinese and Indian Governments.
Just last month it was announced that Mr Blair is to be a part-time adviser to JP Morgan Chase. There is also his work, ten days a month, as envoy for the Quartet of the EU, US, Russia and the UN in the Middle East — and an interfaith foundation to be set up later this year.
Now it has emerged that Mr Blair, whose venture has the support of Gordon Brown, has been working on the climate change project with a group of experts since he left office last summer. He will publish an interim report to the G8 group of industrialised nations in a few months.
He said: “The fact of the matter is that if we do not take substantial action over the next two years, by 2020 we will be thinking seriously about adaptation rather than prevention.”
Backed by The Climate Group, a not-for-profit organisation supported by business, Mr Blair is drawing together an international team. These include Sir Nicholas Stern, the author of the report on the costs of climate change. Specialists from China, Japan, the US and Europe are also on board.
In an interview with The Guardian, Mr Blair said: “This is extremely urgent. A 50 per cent cut by 2050 has to be a central component of this. We have to try this year to get that agreed, because then you have something for everyone to focus upon. We need a true and proper global deal, and that needs to include America and China.”
He went on: “There is a deadlock. Everyone is agreed where we want to get to but unless you agree on the framework for getting there, you are left with a process and not a result.”
“People often say to me there are lot of climate change plans out there and I say ‘how many of them are politically do-able?”, Mr Blair said. “So the experts are providing technical knowledge and specialist insight but what I am trying to do is guide it politically.”
A new climate change deal needs to be agreed by the UN by the end of the year to replace the Kyoto treaty, which expires in 2012.
Mr Blair said: “Essentially what everyone has agreed is that climate change is a serious problem, it is man-made, we require a global deal, that there should be a sustainable cut in emissions at the heart of it, and this global deal should involve everyone, including in particular America and China, so it is the developed and the developing world.
“The question is, what is the framework that gets everyone in the deal?”

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Al Gore pulled this stunt once and almost got away with it until scientists starting speaking out. It's not going to work a second time.
You can fool some of the people all of the time, you can fool all of the people some of the time, but you sure as heck can't fool all of the people all of the time - especially when one is a copy cat trying to sell AGW in the wake of the biggest AGW huckster in history.
AGW seems to be what every ex-politician runs to when out of a job and desirous of making extra cash and boosting their ego.
Scott, Durham, NC, USA
No one will listen to Blair; he has no credibility.
His role as peace envoy is even funnier; who will listen to a man who was so pathetic he wouldn't even urge restraint on Israel when she indescriminitely bombed Lebanon.
It might boost his ego collecting these grandios positions but most of just think of the actions and lies about Iraq. He will never recover from those to br taken seriously.
Bill, Leicester,
How dare Mr Blair set himself up as an environmental guru and tell us the problem is urgent when his own policies as Prime Minister did nothing solid to address climate change and indeed his determination to join the war in Iraq has merely increased carbon emissions.
Lynda Newbery, Bristol, UK
Blair has no credibility left to do anything useful. He is running around like a headless chicken to leave some kind of legacy. But his enduring legacy will be death and distruction to millions of people.
sinna mani, london, uk
How much do you think he will make from this latest crusade? Who elected him to be speaker on climate change he his just another quango and unaccountable.
steve tea, manchester, cheshire
If we accept that human activity is the cause of climate change, why is population growth so often ignored?
World Population:
1950 2.5 Billion
2000 6 Billion
2050 Estimated population 9 Billion
With some major religions being opposed to contraception perhaps there is no solution. As a recent convert to the Catholic Church it would be interesting to hear the opinion of Tony Blair. But I suspect that even Mr Blair might back away from this difficult and highly contentious problem.
Les Wortley, Manchester, Lancashire
But would the planet bother saving him ?
Ian Payne, WALSALL,
firstly wheres the world peace exactly ?
Secondly does this mean any changes in the climate and we can blame blair ?
mr, london, uk
If we don't address climate change, the comments below will be utterly irrelevant.
Peter, London,
Well it's a more realistic cut than the Lib Dems carbon free by 2050.
Meera, Reading, UK
Blair to save us. How ridiculous. The only thing he do for me is to go away, a long way away, and never be heard of again.
CJW, Shawbury, England
Blair's finally caught up with everyone else has he. Pity he never followed his own plans through whilst in Downing Street.
Marie-Claire Oliver, Bath, United Kingdom
Taking into account the mess he has made of Britain - God help the planet.
Emma, Southampton,
His track record on climate change and sustainability was just the usual mix of bluster and failed initiatives. Surely being a poor amateur guitarist and a world-class sleaze artist do not qualify a discredited politician for such a high-profile well-paid post ? There must be many others who actually have relevant qualifications and experience. Why can we not have the right person for the job - or are we running fat-cat pension schemes for people who never made it at home.
Sean Shalor, Coventry, Uk
This is hilarious.
I especially like the bit about how it's only going to take Tony 10 days a month to achieve peace in the Middle East, which is why he can also get on with sorting out climate change.
The man is absolutely bonkers.
Bob, Liverpool, UK
"After world peace, Tony Blair's next mission is to save the planet"
Yeah, and the Iraqis are making a donation to buy him a Superman Cape.
Mohammed, London, UK
Yes, darn those green house gases that provide us with a temperate climate and stop all that nice warm air that keeps us alive in the atmosphere. Will he tackle the worst offender, water vapour, which accounts for 95% of green house gas. Ban clouds. Oh, and that other chap, whatâs his name, oh yes, the sun! Let's use science and not politics for once.
Simon, Japan, osaka, japan
The question is
To gain such a standing with other countries, what has he done ?
The Answer is
Sold Britain down the river and destroyed it.
Dave, Lincoln,
Groan. Here we go again. Another one starts an endless campaign of flights and freebies around the world telling everyone else not to use planes.
Kyoto ends in 2012. Hmm, what else is happening that year to reduce emissions? Oh yes, the London Olympics! How many millions of tonnes of carbon will that produce just so a bunch of drug-fuelled unemployables can fly in from all over the planet to run around in circles, hit each other, and throw things about for three weeks? Very useful!
Kevin Browne, Reading, Berkshire, England
He ran when he messed up Britain too much, his next target.... the world, and meddling with nature.
If we are going to look at climate controls/changes, we need to look at ALL of the scientific evidence, not just the studies that lead to increased taxes.
Of course that will never happen with a smug dictator like Blair involved.
Steve Aynsley, Blyth, Northumberland