Tag Archives: environment

Andrew George

Andrew George MP writes…Liberal Democrats must defend green promise

By Andrew George | Fri 31st May 2013 - 1:46 pm

It’s crunch time for parties across the political spectrum: will parliamentarians do the right thing for our climate and the UK economy or will they let the sceptics drive investors overseas?

The Energy Bill returns to the Commons next week, just as the Conservatives are retreating to their traditional political stomping grounds in the face of competition from the right. Writing in Lib Dem Voice last month, Nick Clegg noted that: “Compassionate conservatism has been sidelined…the blue team used to claim to have gone green, yet have now publicly denounced the importance of environmental protections”. It’s up to the Liberal Democrats to …

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Stephen Knight

Opinion: Is it too much to ask that our MPs understand the health impact of air pollution?

By Stephen Knight | Fri 31st May 2013 - 8:55 am

The events of last week in Woolwich totally dominated the media, and quite rightly so. However there was an opinion poll that was published last week that also deserves some attention.

In April Dods interviewed 101 Members of Parliament – that is almost one in six of them – about their attitudes towards air pollution as a contribution to premature deaths.  The MPs interviewed were broadly representative of Parliament, with 47 Conservative MPs taking part, along with 40 Labour MPs, 9 Liberal Democrat MPs and 5 MPs from other parties.

Why is this poll so significant?

The simple answer is that …

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Michael Moore

Michael Moore MP’s Westminster Notes

By Michael Moore | Wed 27th February 2013 - 8:55 am

Every week, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore MP, writes a column for newspapers in his Borders Constituency. Here is the latest edition. 

Local television

Last week was an important one for local news coverage in the Borders as the broadcasting regulator OFCOM asked for views on its proposals to change the way local television news is provided here.

After years of shared news with Tyne Tees, they are now looking at options to return things close to the way they were in 2009. That would mean more coverage of the south of Scotland and particularly our part of it …

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Tom Fewins

The Independent View: Liberal Democrats – nature needs you!

By Tom Fewins | Sat 22nd September 2012 - 10:25 am

A majestic soaring eagle. The lightning flash of a kingfisher. Feeding the ducks.

For most people, wildlife ignites their first sparks of interest in environmental issues, yet it is currently conspicuously absent from the political discourse. We hear a lot about sustainability and climate change, but if this Government is to realise its ambitions to be “the Greenest Government ever” it has to tackle biodiversity conservation as well.

We desperately need action: the UK has missed its commitment to halt biodiversity loss by 2010; 42% of our most important habitats and …

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Chris Davies

Chris Davies MEP writes: A view from the North (2/3)

By Chris Davies | Tue 14th August 2012 - 10:45 am

You can read the first instalment of Chris Davies’s View from the North here.

It will some as no surprise to members in the North West that I asked them some questions on issues relating to the environment and reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

I have led on environmental issues for the pan-European Liberal group in the Parliament since 1999, but since being re-elected in 2009 I have made sustainable reform of the CFP my biggest policy priority.

I asked whether members agreed with the majority of the world’s scientists that the climate is changing. 88% agreed and only …

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The Voice

Simon Hughes: Keeping the green agenda on track

By The Voice | Thu 26th July 2012 - 8:15 am

An email from Simon Hughes to party members and supporters yesterday read…

As the Guardian reports today, the Liberal Democrats have stopped George Osborne giving in to his backbenchers and kept the Coalition’s green agenda on track.

Liberal Democrats are determined to make the Coalition Government the greenest ever and prove that going green can be good for business and jobs.

Today’s announcement of subsidy levels for renewable energies gives investors the long term stability they need and should see £20-25bn invested by 2017.

It will help create new green jobs and keep us on track to meet our ambitious climate change targets.

Liberal Democrats …

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Chris Sams

Opinion: Time to take a stand on “Boris Island”

By Chris Sams | Wed 11th July 2012 - 7:01 pm

Local politics in the south-east of England, especially in North Kent and London, has been dominated by the proposed HUB airport, it was a key issue in the Mayoral debate, especially for residents of the Medway towns. London’s Mayor, Boris Johnson is pushing for a new airport either on the Isle of Grain where there is an RSPB sanctuary on marshland that was portrayed in Dickens’ Great Expectations or in the middle of the estuary itself.

It is a story that is hardly out of the local press or local Politicians blogs which is why I was reading a

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Andrew George

Andrew George MP writes: Liberal Democrats are champions of green economy

By Andrew George | Thu 12th April 2012 - 12:55 pm

Yesterday Nick Clegg set out the Government’s agenda on energy efficiency and the role of a green economy in delivering growth. Important announcements on energy efficiency, tackling fuel poverty and helping consumers find the best tariffs all caught the media’s attention. But for me the real story is that the Liberal Democrats remain the champions of plans to build a green economy.

Nick was right to attack those who say that there is a zero sum game between economic growth and protecting the environment. As the Liberal Democrats have argued for decades, it isn’t about choosing – the two go …

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Ben Wood

Opinion: Re-stating our environmental credentials in a language that makes economic sense

By Ben Wood | Fri 23rd March 2012 - 6:37 pm

Last weekend wasn’t a good one for the environmental agenda.

First came a DECC press release containing proposals that will give rise to a new ‘dash for gas’ in the UK. The announcement means that new gas power stations will not need to be more efficient or less polluting.  It is part of the Treasury’s anti-green agenda which holds the misguided view that green policies are anti-growth and increase costs for businesses and households. This is despite the fact that recent hikes in power bills have been largely due to large increases in wholesale gas prices.

(Incidentally, the release was embargoed until …

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Caron Lindsay

Liblink: Duncan Brack on how to get green policies implemented in Government

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 21st March 2012 - 9:28 am

Until recently, Duncan Brack was Chris Huhne’s Special Adviser in the Department of Energy and Climate Change. He has written for the Green Alliance blog about the challenges of putting green policies into practice. As well as insight into the practical realities of Government, he has some interesting points to make about the importance of policy making within political parties and how it might need to change in the future:

The coalition agreement hammered out by Liberal Democrat and Conservative negotiators over five days of talks in May 2010 (with details added over the following two weeks) became, at least in

…

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Joss Garman

The Independent View: The major environmental tests facing the Liberal Democrats in 2012 Part 2

By Joss Garman | Wed 29th February 2012 - 2:53 pm

In my last post, I looked at the most significant environmental decisions facing the Liberal Democrats here at home in 2012. In this follow up blog, I’ll look at what Nick Clegg and his team can do on the global stage to clean up our economies and help curb the emissions driving dangerous shifts in our climate. As Nick Clegg has said, “Because we are leading by example, we can make stronger demands of the international community.”

International leadership on climate change and the green economy

Chris Huhne wrote in his resignation letter to the Deputy Prime Minister, “Climate …

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Joss Garman

The Independent View: The major environmental tests facing the Liberal Democrats in 2012 (Part 1)

By Joss Garman | Wed 22nd February 2012 - 1:50 pm

The Liberal Democrats have long been seen as the greenest of the biggest three political parties. Now in government, the party is facing tough decisions with huge implications both for our country’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and for wider protection of the natural world.

During his time in office Lib Dem Climate Secretary Chris Huhne won a couple of significant battles with Cabinet colleagues. Most notably, despite opposition from the Chancellor, he won the backing of David Cameron to put into law tough new carbon targets for the 2020s that were recommended by their independent advisers the Committee on …

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Adam Corlett

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

By Adam Corlett | Fri 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

Michael Moore MP’s Westminster Notes

By Michael Moore | Wed 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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Marc Oxley

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

By Marc Oxley | Mon 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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Paula Keaveney

Liverpool’s listening exercise and the Green Agenda

By Paula Keaveney | Tue 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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Simon Oliver

Opinion: Rebalancing taxes – eliminating the carbon externality

By Simon Oliver | Wed 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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Mark Pack

Praise for Green Investment Bank plans

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

Sage Construction reports:

The Green Investment Bank is set to be a “transformational institution”, Transform UK 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 can read the full story here.

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Mark Pack

In other Chris Huhne news… good news for the environment

By Mark Pack | Wed 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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Nick Clegg MP

Green government, reforming government: the liberal influence

By Nick Clegg MP | Tue 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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Mark Pack

The Sunday papers on Lords, environment and Chris Huhne

By Mark Pack | Sun 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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Andy Atkins

The Independent View: Lib Dem green credibility in crisis

By Andy Atkins | Sat 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 MP

Chris Huhne writes… The economics of low-carbon

By Chris Huhne MP | Fri 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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Mark Pack

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

By Mark Pack | Tue 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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Mark Pack

Praise for Chris Huhne from The Ecologist

By Mark Pack | Thu 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

Duncan Hames MP’s maiden speech

By Duncan Hames MP | Sat 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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Stephen Tall

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

By Stephen Tall | Fri 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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Mark Pack

Nick Clegg writes to Friends of the Earth…

By Mark Pack | Sat 27th March 2010 - 4:50 pm

Over on the Friends of the Earth site they’ve published Nick Clegg’s response to their 2010 election lobbying campaign:

This election could be a turning point, not just for Britain but for the world environment. Some people think that’s overstating it, but the scientists tell us that the coming five years could be our last chance to avert dangerous climate change. That means the government we elect next has the most enormous responsibility: to provide change at home and leadership abroad to stop the disaster from happening.

I am a huge supporter of Friends of the Earth. I’ve met up with FoE

…

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Josie Cohen

The Independent View: Controversy surrounding biofuels continues to mount

By Josie Cohen | Fri 5th March 2010 - 3:50 pm

Josie Cohen is Campaigns Officer at ActionAid UK and writes about their biofuels campaign:

The controversy surrounding biofuels has been hotting up over the last few weeks, reaching its peak when a comment from a top official within the European Commission was leaked.

Picked up originally by Reuters, the senior official warned that taking full account of the carbon footprint of biofuels would ‘kill’ an EU industry with revenues of approximately $5 billion per year. You would have thought that this revelation would be enough for the EU to put the brakes on the current expansion of biofuel production which, after all, …

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NewsHound

210,000 internal Government flights in one year

By NewsHound | Sun 21st February 2010 - 6:54 pm

The BBC reports Simon Hughes’ criticism of the Government for letting the plane take the strain a little too often.

Party spokesman Simon Hughes said: Government staff should “use trains and video-conferencing more so they fly around the country less”.

“Civil servants are spending staggering amounts of taxpayers’ cash flying around the UK,” he added.

“The Civil Service Code needs to change so that environmental factors are considered when travel bookings are made.”

Government departments spent £21.8 million on over 210,000 internal flights in the year 2008-9. Well over half that total is down to the MOD, with the Department for Work …

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