Tag Archives: environment

Opinion: If Cameron won’t attend Rio+20 then Clegg should

By Adam Corlett | Published 20th January 2012 - 8:48 am

The Rio ‘Earth’ Summit in 1992 was the “world’s biggest ever political gathering” with 108 heads of state or government. Its successes and failures on the environment and development continue to shape those debates.

In June, Rio de Janeiro will host the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, a.k.a. Rio+20. A very early draft document suggests it will cover a wide range of topics, including access to food, water and energy; marine litter and pollution; eliminating “market distorting and environmentally harmful subsidies [...] including those on fossil fuels, agriculture and fisheries” (I’ll believe it when I see …

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Michael Moore MP’s Westminster Notes

By Michael Moore MP | Published 18th January 2012 - 6:55 pm

Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore MP writes a regular column for local newspapers in his constituency. Here’s the latest edition, covering his busy week at Westminster and in the Borders.

Independence Referendum

Deciding on the future of our country and whether it remains in the UK or becomes independent will undoubtedly be the most important decision we Borderers make in our lifetime. Here in Berwickshire, we are very close to our English neighbours and enjoy the freedom of travelling and trading between the two countries. With questions which need answering on the SNP’s plans for an independent Scotland, …

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Opinion: How to tackle over-population for the sake of our planet

By Marc Oxley | Published 31st October 2011 - 5:15 pm

Monday, 31st October 2011, is ’7 billion Day’, the day chosen by the UN to represent symbolically the world’s human population reaching 7,000,000,000.

In 1800, the world’s population was approximately 1 billion. We ‘achieved’ 2 billion in 1927, 3 billion in 1960, by 1999 it had doubled to 6 billion, and it has taken 12 years to reach 7 billion. By the middle of the century the best estimates are that it will be around 10 billion. (You can find the UN’s figures here.)

Medical advances and public health measures have led to much lower infant mortality and much greater longevity. …

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Liverpool’s listening exercise and the Green Agenda

By Paula Keaveney | Published 25th October 2011 - 10:25 am

Liverpool Liberal Democrats have just kicked off the next stage in our work toward regaining power in Liverpool.

We don’t run the council, in fact we are some way off running the council. But we know that the ruling Labour administration has no real vision, and as part of our way back towards running the City we wanted to develop and articulate one.

So we have published a document and started a “listening exercise”. Headlines include our aspirations for Liverpool to be the Green Capital of Europe and for us to take real advantage of the opportunities in the Localism Bill. You can find the …

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Opinion: Rebalancing taxes – eliminating the carbon externality

By Simon Oliver | Published 24th August 2011 - 2:53 pm

What I term “The Carbon Externality” is that cost being borne by current and future society as a result of greenhouse gas emissions, being produced over the past century or so at a rate that exceeds the capacity of the planet to absorb them without perceptible harm.

Externality is an accounting/economics term for any cost that is borne by an external party, and therefore not part of the internal cost analysis. It is the fundamental flaw in Friedman economics and why those calling for small government are missing the point.

Government exists to account for and address externalities. Effective regulation of the market reduces or eliminates externalities so that the costs of doing business are increasingly borne by those who benefit from the business, in the form of reduced profits and higher end-user costs. Taxes are the principle mechanism for this.

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Praise for Green Investment Bank plans

By Mark Pack | Published 28th May 2011 - 4:58 pm

Sage Construction reports:

The Green Investment Bank is set to be a “transformational institution”, Transform UK ["the home of the Green Investment Bank campaign"] has claimed.

Following deputy prime minister Nick Clegg’s recent speech on the establishment, programme director for Transform UK Ed Matthew welcomed the news that investment opportunities will be open from April 2012.

However, he noted that there are a number of points that need to be addressed.

“The key thing is to have a process where they confirm that the bank will have the power to borrow from the capital markets and not just the treasury,” Mr Matthew commented.

You …

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In other Chris Huhne news… good news for the environment

By Mark Pack | Published 18th May 2011 - 11:54 am

In between fielding allegations from his estranged wife over his previous behaviour, yesterday Chris Huhne announced that the government is setting an ambitious target for reducing carbon emissions in the mid-2020s.

The government is accepting the advice of the Committee on Climate Change to set a limit on emissions of of 1,950MT for the fourth carbon budget period of 2023–27, which is equivalent to a 50 per cent cut in UK emissions by 2025.

As Chris Huhne said of the announcement,

It will give investors the certainty they need to invest in clean energy. It puts Britain at the leading edge of

…

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Green government, reforming government: the liberal influence

By Nick Clegg MP | Published 17th May 2011 - 8:31 pm

Here’s Nick Clegg’s latest email to party members:

I’m delighted to let you know about two developments in government today – reinforcing our commitment to being the greenest government ever and publishing our plans for an elected second chamber.

Our party has always been the greenest among the mainstream political parties. We put the commitment to put make Britain greener on the front cover of our manifesto. And I’m proud that we’re living up to that reputation in Government – even in these difficult economic times.

Chris Huhne and Vince Cable have today announced proposals for binding carbon targets in the run-up to …

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The Sunday papers on Lords, environment and Chris Huhne

By Mark Pack | Published 15th May 2011 - 11:20 am

From The Observer:

Cabinet ministers have agreed a far-reaching, legally binding “green deal” that will commit the UK to two decades of drastic cuts in carbon emissions…

The deal was hammered out after tense arguments between ministers who had disagreed over whether the ambitious plans to switch to more green energy were affordable. The row had pitted the energy secretary, Chris Huhne, who strongly backed the plans, against the chancellor, George Osborne, and the business secretary, Vince Cable, who were concerned about the cost and potential impact on the economy…

Green groups had feared that ministers would refuse to back the committee

…

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The Independent View: Lib Dem green credibility in crisis

By Andy Atkins | Published 14th May 2011 - 10:58 am

The environmental credibility of the Liberal Democrats is under threat.

Its general election manifesto was easily the most ambitious of all the main parties, with the environment firmly at the heart of every policy area.

So our hopes were high when the party joined forces with Cameron’s Conservatives last year  - and higher still when one of the new Prime Minister’s first acts was a promise to lead the greenest Government ever.

Twelve months on the picture looks much bleaker.

Friends of the Earth asked the former chair of the Sustainable Development Commission, Jonathon Porritt, to review the Coalition’s first year in office. His assessment was pretty damning.

Little or no …

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Chris Huhne writes… The economics of low-carbon

By Chris Huhne MP | Published 11th March 2011 - 11:51 am

We Liberal Democrats need no convincing of the urgent need to tackle climate change. Indeed, that’s why there’s a Liberal Democrat minister heading the Department of Energy and Climate Change – one of the most important contributions we bring to the coalition government.

Not everyone in the UK, however, is yet so persuaded, and we also face problems in pressing the case abroad. Last summer, together with my French and German counterparts, I opened a debate in the EU over adopting a more ambitious emissions reduction target for 2020 (of 30 per cent, instead of the current 20 per cent), but …

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Capitalism as if the world matters: Jonathan Porritt’s prescription for sustaintability

By Mark Pack | Published 18th January 2011 - 10:25 am

First published in 2005 and issued in a revised edition in 2007, Jonathan Porritt’s Capitalism as if the world matters has played an important part in arguing the case that not only can capitalism and sustainability go together, but that a reformed version of capitalism is essential to achieving sustainability.

This view sets Porritt apart from many of his former colleagues of his from his six years as chair of the UK Ecology Party (now the Green Party) and another six heading up Friends of the Earth. It made – and makes – his book controversial in many green circles …

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Praise for Chris Huhne from The Ecologist

By Mark Pack | Published 4th November 2010 - 10:31 pm

Kicking off a new series in The Ecologist, earlier today the magazine wrote:

Redoubtable Huhne

But actually, from a purely environmental perspective, it’s hard to stay too depressed because (whisper it) there are some signs that this government may really be serious about its green agenda. The simple presence of the redoubtable Chris Huhne at DECC is cheering for a start: this is a serious and intelligent politician who is showing encouraging signs of knowing how to maneuvre and fight to get what his department wants. DECC didn’t do nearly as badly in the cuts as some had expected; he preserved the

…

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Duncan Hames MP’s maiden speech

By Duncan Hames MP | Published 5th June 2010 - 4:00 pm

Back when Cix was the main way of talking to other Lib Dems online, a tradition emerged of posting Lib Dem MPs’ maiden speeches so that people could read them and respond – a tradition LDV would like to continue. Earlier today, we read Simon Wright’s speech, and tomorrow we will bring you David Ward.

Duncan’s speech is also available to view here at the Parliament website until 1 June 2011.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make my maiden speech so early in this Parliament. I congratulate the hon. Members for Harlow (Robert Halfon) …

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It’s Easter, so it’s time for Jo Swinson’s annual Eggs-cess packaging report

By Stephen Tall | Published 2nd April 2010 - 11:50 am

2010 marks the fourth year of Jo Swinson’s annual Easter Egg excess packaging report. (You can read LDV’s 2009 posting here). This year’s headline conclusion? “Some Easter egg manufacturers have drastically cut their excess packaging, while others are lagging far behind.”

Jo explains her campaign further on her website:

Consumers are tired of excess packaging – they are tired of paying for it and tired of having to dispose of it. Easter eggs are a prime example – in many cases, the huge boxes contain more air than chocolate.

“Last year we saw Easter egg packaging reduced by a third, and companies such as Nestlé, Cadbury, Green and Black’s and Thorntons have made real efforts to cut packaging and improve recyclability. However, Guylian, Lindt and others are still producing grossly excessive packaging.

“The Government is clearly failing to enforce the law, which requires packaging to be reduced to the minimum necessary.”

You can read Jo’s full 2010 report here – here’s the executive summary:

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