It’s not overstating the argument to claim that the fate of millions of species depends on whether the UK, and other industrialised nations, continue to burn coal without capturing and storing the carbon emissions this produces.
James Hansen, a climate specialist with NASA, has estimated that a single coal fired power station without carbon capture and storage technology (CCS) – just like the one proposed for Kingsnorth, in Kent – would be responsible for the extinction of around 400 species of plants, birds and animals.
And this is why today's Government announcements about coal policy are of such critical importance; and why the RSPB is campaigning with others to see an end to dirty coal.
Our head of climate change policy, Ruth Davis, scrutinised today’s news: “Let’s be clear: today's announcements represent a critical step forward for UK climate policy. For the first time, the Government has signalled to power companies that they cannot build plants with no carbon capture and storage facilities; and for the first time, they have made substantial and reliable funding available to demonstrate that technology.
“Ed Milliband, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, deserves warm congratulations for the principle and determination he has shown in getting to this point.”
But – and, unfortunately, there is a but – the real test of the Government's policies is still to come. Under the current proposals, it would be possible for the equivalent of two ‘Kingsnorths’ to be built without carbon capture and storage facilities kicking in until 2025, even though each individual plant will be required to capture a portion of its emissions.
What’s worse, this amount of dirty coal power could continue for decades, if it can't be proven that CCS technology is practical and economic. And, as yet, there are no plans to ensure that all coal fired power stations will be required to have CCS in the future.
“Locking the UK into unabated coal for decades would be a disaster for wildlife and people,” says Ruth. “To prevent this, the Government must show how CCS policies will tighten over time, to get dirty coal out of our electricity system as quickly as we can, and forever.
"They must also introduce an absolute requirement for new coal plants to have CCS by a fixed date, or – quite simply – to close. An Emissions Performance Standard for power plants – something that the RSPB supports – could do both these jobs.”
This summer in the run up to the UN climate change convention in December, decisions made will be made on the climate which could determine the fate of life on earth. One of the most important of these will be whether countries like the UK are prepared to turn their back on dirty coal once and for all.
Measures to tackle climate change announced in today's Budget fall far short of the radical action required.
The Chancellor's announcement included the Carbon Budget alongside the Fiscal Budget, committing the UK to cut carbon emissions 34 per cent by 2020. While this and other measures show signs of progress, the budget has shown once again the Government has failed to grasp the scale of the environmental challenge.
Quite simply, climate change threatens millions of species with extinction and jeopardises our own survival.
Today's target falls far short of the cuts needed to help avoid dangerous climate change, while the measures designed to meet that target are themselves inadequate.
The £1.4 billion of public funding for low carbon growth has to be compared to the £11 billion Lord Stern estimated was needed and leaves us way behind our competitors.
The Chancellor has also blown a unique opportunity to kick-start a longer-term transformation to a low carbon economy by failing to shift the tax burden to polluting activities.
Instead the amount of green tax receipts as a percentage of GDP will actually fall.
There were genuinely progressive moves, in particular moves to boost investment in the UK's offshore wind sector and the announcement of a new fund to pay for a demonstration of Carbon Capture and Storage technology.
If this is used to help finance full-scale CCS demonstrations, and is accompanied by tough regulations to rule out new coal plants without CCS, it could be the most significant step our country has made yet towards a low carbon economy.
The environment has to be at the heart of all our economic decision making if we are to move towards a truly sustainable future.
These are tough times for the economy and tough times too, for the environment.
However bad things are now, there will be even tougher times ahead if we do not tackle the problems caused by climate change and our destruction of the environment in the name of growth.
Our exploitation of the environment threatens our long-term well-being and competitiveness. Ultimately, our prosperity relies on the natural world.
Tomorrow's Budget needs to offer more than just a short-term fix for our present difficulties. It needs to kick start a fundamental and long term shift towards a low carbon and truly sustainable economy.
How?
The Chancellor should announce an overhaul of the tax system to shift the burden away from income and consumption towards green taxes. These would replenish the coffers while encouraging people to reduce environmental damage.
He should ensure any stimulus for the economy is focussed on support for green technology, promoting green jobs and the growth of a low carbon, resource efficient economy.
The RSPB has other concerns too.
We will be watching the small print for any increase in the pitifully small amount of money available to protect the unique wildlife of our overseas territories. We will look for an increase in money available to help wildlife and habitats here at home, in particular through the Landfill Communities Fund.
Whatever happens tomorrow, we cannot afford a return to business as usual. We want government to invest in things that our children will thank us for.
That means saying no to unabated coal power stations, no to continued destruction of the rainforest and yes to investing in things that people care about: saving species from extinction, protecting special places, energy conservation and renewable energy.
Now is the time to take a wider view of what 'prosperity' means.
When many of us were growing up the sight of a magpie was a cue to either salute or launch into a superstitious nursery rhyme – but if some had their way we should instead be reaching for a trap and a gun.
The issue of whether magpies are simply the mischievous rascals of the bird world or something altogether more sinister has been raging in the press in recent days.
On the one side are the Countryside Alliance, never ones to shy away from controversy, and an organisation called Songbird Survival which was set up to protect linnets, bullfinches, yellow hammers and other garden visitors. Both claim that magpies are responsible for the decline of songbirds because they steal chicks and eggs from other birds’ nest, and are urging the public to take matters into their own hands by trapping and killing the birds.
But this is a bit like blaming the current global recession on a few petty thieves and pickpockets.
All the research shows that, while magpies do take young birds and eggs, there is no strong evidence that this is responsible for the catastrophic declines we have seen in songbird populations.
The real issue is much more complicated and cannot be solved simply by blasting away at a few magpies. The intensification of modern farming and the loss of habitats in urban areas are the real culprit here and dealing with these complex issues requires a much longer term view and a lot more sensitivity.
Aside from the fact that a large scale cull of magpies would simply not make any real difference to songbird population, it would also be illegal and would draw attention away from the serious wider issue.
So let’s stick to saluting these cheeky birds instead of lining them up for a pointless mass slaughter.
It is a tricky question but if you drew a line in the sand, we think more than 700,000 flights a year from Heathrow alone would be quite a long way over it.
That is how many flights we are looking at if the proposed third runway at Heathrow gets the go-ahead.
It would make the airport the UK’s biggest source of carbon dioxide just as we are trying to slash our carbon emissions in the face of climate change.
This makes no sense at all, which is why the RSPB has today given its support to a legal challenge against the Government’s decision to allow a third runway.
We all like to fly. The explosion of cheap flights has opened up the world to many people. But flying comes at an environmental cost by adding to the build up of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.
Left unchecked, climate change could destroy the very places we long to visit, together with thousands of species our children and grandchildren will never have the chance to see and enjoy as we have.
It isn't easy to reconcile the rich experience of air travel with its impact on the world we love. One way is to treat it as a precious gift, which we must use wisely and sparingly.
Expanding air travel at the speed and scale proposed by the Government is not wisdom. It is folly.
This is why the RSPB is opposed to the building of a third runway at Heathrow, and will continue to be so, until the Government can show airport expansion plans are genuinely compatible with its policies for protecting the climate.