15 Most Recent Stories From Liberal Democrats : Environment News Feed

Thu 21st Aug 2008:

Clegg: 'Apollo Project' to secure UK's energy.

Visiting an offshore energy farm in the North Sea today, Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg will warn that Britain’s energy security is under severe threat as a result of the Government’s disintegrating energy policy, which will lead to an ever-increasing dependence on vulnerable foreign energy supplies. Setting out Liberal Democrat proposals to secure energy independence for Britain, Nick Clegg will argue that politicians of all parties need to demonstrate the kind of vision, application and political will behind the Apollo Project that succeeded in putting man on the moon, in order to head off the threat to the security of our energy supply.Nick Clegg said:"The Government has been looking at energy from the wrong end of the telescope."The scale of its failure to plan for Britain’s energy security has been brought into sharp relief by the Georgian crisis, which underlines the risks of increasing dependence on foreign energy sources as North Sea oil supplies run down."Rather than use its period in office to reduce Britain’s dependency on vulnerable supplies from unstable regions, Labour has dithered and flip-flopped for over a decade. Instead of an energy policy, we have a potential economic, environmental and national security disaster waiting to happen. "But we have an enormous opportunity to create real energy independence for the UK, freeing ourselves from the shackles of foreign oil, coal and gas."Renewable energy is no longer a pipe-dream. It is realistic and achievable. All it requires is the leadership and vision that has been lacking under years of tired Labour thinking."That’s why today I am setting out Liberal Democrat proposals to become energy independent by 2050. This will require the kind of ambition and political will that succeeded in putting man on the moon. "We need an ‘Apollo Project’ for British energy independence."Just as Britain invested in the North Sea in the 1970s to transform our energy prospects through oil production, we must today make similar investment in renewable technologies to harness Britain’s vast renewable energy resources, combined with major reductions in energy consumption." To read the policy paper click here.

Mon 4th Aug 2008:

Government squandering 42m renewables funding - Swinson.

The Government has failed to spend any of the £42m budget it has allocated for the development of wave and tidal energy technologies, figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats have revealed. Parliamentary questions found that: · The entire £42m budget for the Wave and Tidal-stream Energy Demonstration Scheme - the Government’s measure for allowing marine technologies to progress through their early phase - has remained unspent since it was announced in 2004 · The associated £2m budget for monitoring the environmental impacts of wave and tidal projects has also remained entirely unspent · Only around one fifth (£1.13m of a budget of £5.64m) of the available budget for infrastructure support has been spent; none of the available funding has been spent over the past year (2007-08) Commenting, Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson, who obtained the information through Parliamentary questions, said: "These figures show the yawning gulf between rhetoric and reality when it comes to this Government’s record on renewable energy. "Britain has world-leading potential when it comes to wave and tidal energy, yet the Government is sitting idly on the funding which the sector so desperately needs. "How can the Government hope to meet its targets on renewable energy when it is not even capable of spending the modest funding it has set aside for wave and tidal technology? "This is a vital time for the development of the renewable energy industry. Instead of spending so much time pushing its nuclear energy agenda, the Government should be focussing on getting funding for renewable technologies to where it’s needed."

Absurd to choose between saving the planet and helping the fuel poor - Webb.

Commenting on reports that the Government is to announce that energy companies will be told to reallocate money spent on reducing carbon emissions to fuel poverty measures, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: "The Government is saying it is going to downgrade saving the planet because its priority is helping people struggling to pay their energy bills. "It is absurd to suggest we must choose between the two. "Energy companies have benefited from a huge £9bn windfall and they should be asked to sacrifice more." Commenting on reports that the Government is to announce a £500m ‘green tax’ on energy companies to pay for extra winter fuel payments, raised by auctioning so-called ‘emissions permits’, Steve Webb added: "The Government should have done this a long time ago. "Giving energy companies billions of pounds worth of free permits to pollute was a mistake in the first place."

Mon 28th Jul 2008:

Government woefully complacent on soaring energy prices - Webb.

Commenting on today’s Business and Enterprise Committee report, which warns that energy prices will rise significantly in the near future, with ‘serious consequences for millions of households, and especially the fuel-poor’, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: "The Government’s response to soaring energy prices has been woefully complacent. "The planned rise in the Winter Fuel Payment is dwarfed by the rise that households are likely to see in their bills. These increases hit the elderly and the most vulnerable the hardest, while energy companies receive a £9bn windfall. "Immediate action is needed so that vulnerable customers are guaranteed the best price that their supplier offers. Cuts in the warm front insulation programme must be reversed and the energy companies must be forced to drive up standards of home energy efficiency. "For businesses, soaring fuel prices could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. We need a competitive energy market so that businesses can shop around and get the best price."

Fri 25th Jul 2008:

Outrageous price hike will hit elderly and vulnerable hardest - Clegg.

Commenting on EDF Energy’s decision to raise its gas and electricity prices by 22% and 17% respectively, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said: "This outrageous price hike means that families could be made to pay an extra £200 a year, having already endured increase after increase. "When the winter comes this price rise will hit the elderly and the most vulnerable the hardest. The Government cannot sit idly by and allow them to suffer. "When one company raises its prices the others soon follow suit. At a time when energy companies are enjoying a £9bn windfall, it is unacceptable that they can continue to squeeze more profits out of people who are already struggling."

Outrageous price hike will hit elderly and vulnerable hardest - Clegg.

Commenting on EDF Energy’s decision to raise its gas and electricity prices by 22% and 17% respectively, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said: "This outrageous price hike means that families could be made to pay an extra £200 a year, having already endured increase after increase. "When the winter comes this price rise will hit the elderly and the most vulnerable the hardest. The Government cannot sit idly by and allow them to suffer. "When one company raises its prices the others soon follow suit. At a time when energy companies are enjoying a £9bn windfall, it is unacceptable that they can continue to squeeze more profits out of people who are already struggling."

Tue 22nd Jul 2008:

Government has abandoned common sense over nuclear power plans - Webb.

Commenting on today’s publication of the Government’s siting assessment for new nuclear power stations, which says that they could be built in areas at risk from flooding, tsunami and erosion, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: "The Government appears to have abandoned common sense when it comes to new nuclear power. "Ministers are so desperate to get new nuclear plants going, they are willing to look at sites at risk of falling into the sea. "This irresponsible approach has all the hallmarks of a Government in a hurry. "They are sweeping aside any local accountability in the planning system, and now they are willing to consider nuclear plants even in areas at risk of storm surge, tsunami and coastal erosion."

Thu 17th Jul 2008:

Ghost flights are disgraceful - Baker.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker today challenged Gordon Brown to take action against airlines that run so-called ‘ghost flights’, in which they fly short-haul trips with near-empty aircraft in order to preserve their take-off and landing slots. Norman Baker said: "It is disgraceful that these environmentally damaging ghost flights are taking place. "I welcome Gordon Brown’s admission that these flights are unacceptable and his promise to look into the problem. "However, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. Will he take action or will he continue to cave in to the aviation industry?"

Mon 14th Jul 2008:

Heathrow third runway consultation is a sham - Baker.

Commenting on John Hutton’s statement that "we need a third runway at Heathrow", Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker said: "John Hutton has let slip what we knew all along: the consultation on a third runway at Heathrow is a sham. "The Government decided a long time ago that it wanted a third runway and is behaving more and more like a subsidiary of BAA. "This makes a mockery of the Government’s carbon reduction targets."

Fri 11th Jul 2008:

Flood insurance must cover those at most risk - Webb.

Commenting on the announcement that insurers have agreed to cover households with a flood risk of up to one-in-75 years, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: "It is all very well making insurance available, but it must be affordable to people living in the most vulnerable homes. "Even when people can get insurance they may be asked to pay large chunks of the cost of claims themselves. "Every year, more and more people move up the flood risk scale. When only those whose homes are up to a one in 75 year flood risk can get cover, what happens to the growing number of households at a higher risk?"

Thu 10th Jul 2008:

Emissions targets meaningless without action - Baker.

Responding to Ruth Kelly’s announcement of a consultation on the introduction of higher compulsory emissions targets for new cars, the Liberal Democrats have highlighted figures showing that the Government is on course to miss its current targets. The current European Commission target is to reduce carbon emissions from new cars to 130 g/kg by 2012. However, the current average emissions for new British cars is 165 g/kg, and only reduced by 1.4% last year. Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker said: "Tougher emissions targets are clearly to be welcomed, but without real action to meet them they will be meaningless. "The UK’s poor performance so far suggests that we will miss even the EU’s lower 2012 emissions target, let alone these tougher targets. "Without more commitment from the Government today’s announcement is just a load of hot air."

Nuclear clean-up bill massive and still rising - Webb.

Responding to the Public Accounts Committee report into the cost of nuclear decommissioning, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: "The cost of nuclear clean-up is massive and still rapidly rising. It is extraordinary that estimates of the cost of clean-up seem to increase by billions of pounds with almost no public scrutiny or comment. "The biggest single cost of the Department for Business is not supporting British business, but cleaning up nuclear waste. "The Government must urgently provide certainty about the costs of cleaning up yesterday’s waste, and guarantees that the taxpayer will not end up footing the bill for new nuclear waste."

Tue 8th Jul 2008:

Government emissions target wrong - Webb.

Commenting on the growing Labour rebellion over the Climate Change Bill, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: "Climate change is bigger than any one political party, so support for the Liberal Democrat campaign for an 80% cut by 2050 is welcomed wherever it comes from. "The Government has got the emissions target wrong and once again it looks like its own backbench MPs will have to rebel to get ministers to do the right thing. "Both Gordon Brown and David Cameron must come off the fence on this issue. By allowing his Tories to constantly abstain David Cameron is showing how hollow his green credentials really are. "The Climate Change Bill is too important to be watered down. The Liberal Democrats will be tabling an amendment today to make sure there will be a vote on the 80% target."

Government leaves biofuels questions unanswered - Baker.

Responding to the Gallagher report into biofuels, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker said: "Today’s statement from the Government is welcome, but it doesn’t go far enough. It has done nothing to close the loopholes which support unsustainable and inefficient US corn-based ethanol. "It also leaves many questions unanswered. Most importantly, the Government needs to explain how carbon emissions in the transport sector will be cut further now that the biofuels target has been watered down. "Tory policy, as far as it can be established, is even worse. They want to abandon science and throw the biofuel baby out with the bathwater."

Fri 4th Jul 2008:

We must move away from unsustainable biofuels - Baker.

Commenting on reports that biofuels have pushed up world food prices by up to 75%, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker said: "This is extremely worrying and a clear sign that we must move away from unsustainable biofuels. "It’s time the Government and the EU closed the loopholes that support corn-based US bioethanol over more sustainable biofuels. "However, not all biofuels are the same and we should not overreact and abandon the entire project. "Some biofuels have potential to reduce carbon emissions from transport without having this effect on food production, but stringent sustainability standards are essential. "We must also be aware that estimates of the effects of biofuels on food prices vary wildly and we should not rush to judgement until a consensus emerges."

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