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New Government Needs Tougher Line on CO2

Posted: 09/05/2005

The environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth have warned Tony Blair that he must take bold political decisions to deliver on his manifesto pledge to tackle climate change by making significant cuts in carbon dioxide levels. FOE also suggest the creation of a new Government department to deliver annual cuts in UK carbon dioxide emissions.

Labour have promised to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent from 1990 levels by 2010. However, carbon dioxide levels have risen since the party came to power, and existing Government policies will leave the UK well short of its manifesto target. A review of the UK Climate Strategy is due to be published within the next few weeks.

Friends of the Earth is calling on the Government to make the fight against climate change a priority. They say Mr Blair's new Government should create a Department of Environment, Transport and Energy, with a heavy-weight Secretary of State charged with reducing carbon dioxide emissions; commit to achieving year on year reductions in emissions and to monitor, review and report to Parliament on progress annually; ignore the road and aviation lobby and introduce measures to cut emissions from road transport and aviation. Emissions are currently rising and the Government is allowing this trend to continue.

FOE would like to see the phasing out of the most polluting and inefficient coal-fired power stations, with a commitment to meeting reduction targets primarily through the use of renewable power and heat together with revitalised energy saving programmes. Nuclear power should be ruled out.

Tony Juniper, Friends of the Earth's executive director, said "Now the General Election is over Tony Blair must turn his attention to climate change, the biggest threat the planet faces. He must take urgent steps to ensure that UK carbon dioxide levels are cut every year to meet his promise of significant reductions in emissions. This will need a Secretary of State with the power to deliver cuts from the polluting power industry and transport, while at the same time ruling out expensive and polluting new nuclear power stations. The fight against global warming must be at the heart of government, not confined to the margins."

Last September Tony Blair made a key speech on the threat of climate change describing it as "the world's greatest environmental challenge" and "so far reaching in its impact and irreversible in its destructive power, that it alters radically human existence" (14 September 2004: Speech:
www.number-10.gov.uk/output/page6333.asp) Mr Blair promised that along with Africa, climate change will be "our top priority" at this year's G8 summit, which the UK will chair.

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