Government must improve its "appalling" record on the environment
Four senior ministers today (28th March) made one of the most embarrassing admissions of the Labour Government's nine years in office - that the official policy for fighting climate change has failed.
A government target to cut CO2 emissions by 2010 may be lowered from 20% to 18% in a review of its climate policy. Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Menzies Campbell has challenged Tony Blair to hold his Ministers to account over the appalling failure.
Responding to the Government's review of its own climate change policy, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Spokesman, Chris Huhne MP, said:
"It is nonsense to claim that Britain is doing better than any other government. The Government has failed to meet the goals it set itself, and is also failing by comparison with more enlightened foreign governments.
"Even the modest progress made on the Kyoto basket of greenhouse gases is largely an accidental result of the switch from coal to gas powered electricity generation, and has nothing to do with Government policy.
"This is an appalling record. The steady rise in carbon emissions since 2000 when the Government capitulated to the fuel protesters is now coming home to roost. Green taxes have been falling in real terms since then with the predictable results that we see today."
Locally, Dundee Liberal Democrat spokesperson Cllr Helen Dick said that there was a clear need for the Westminster government to give much greater priority to climate change policy. "This is an issue of great concern to the public and the government's decision to reduce its target to cut CO2 emissions by 2010 is a sorry admission of its failure," said Cllr Dick.