15 Most Recent Stories From Liberal Democrats : Environment News Feed

Fri 9th May 2008:

Government failing to grasp the seriousness of flooding - Webb.

Commenting on today’s [Wednesday] Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report on last summer’s flooding, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: "This report shows that the Government is failing to grasp the seriousness of the situation. With severe floods likely to become more common due to climate change, we need a real strategy and real investment to protect high-risk areas. "Current funding is totally inadequate. The ABI, the Government’s own Foresight report and the agency responsible for flood defences are all calling for spending to be increased to £1bn, but their advice is falling on deaf ears. "The £200m increase the Government announced last year does not stand up to scrutiny when inflation and rising costs in the building trade are taken into consideration. It is too little to cope with the increasing risks the country faces, and doesn’t even come fully into effect for another two years. "The £34.5 million the Government has set aside to implement the recommendations in the interim Pitt Review looks like the money they’ve got left over. The Government has failed to provide any details about how this money will be spent, or about how the Pitt Review will be funded in the future. "The report also reveals that no one is responsible for protecting people and properties from surface water, which caused around two-thirds of the flooding last summer. "It is time for the Government to clarify who is responsible and ensure that all sources of flooding are properly addressed, so that thousands of people are saved from a repeat of the misery still being suffered by so many after last year’s floods."

Thu 8th May 2008:

Government clueless about cutting travel costs or emissions - Baker.

Commenting on today’s [Thursday] Tandberg report, which shows that most Government departments are failing to reduce unnecessary travel or investigate green alternatives to flying, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker said: "This Government simply doesn’t understand how to cut carbon emissions or control costs. "Today’s report shows that basic steps are not being taken to reduce the need to travel. The taxpayer and the environment are paying the price for the Government’s extravagance. "Ministers clearly prefer jetting around the world to using less glamorous but more sustainable alternatives, such as video conferencing." Notes 1. The report found that: - There is a clear problem with government departments not recording travel adequately, with only four departments able to provide details on the number and cost of flights taken to overseas destinations in response to parliamentary questions. - Government departments do not routinely record the amount spent on travel, and rarely ask civil servants to justify their travel by stating that they have looked at alternatives such as tele or video conferencing - The Treasury spent over £1m on just 753 flights at an average cost of £1397 per flight in one year.

Government's failure to meet green targets astonishing - Webb.

Commenting on today’s [Thursday] Policy Exchange report, which shows the Government is likely to miss more than half of the green targets it has set since 1997, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: "For more than a decade, the Government has made big promises on the environment. Yet this report shows they have completely failed to deliver. "It is astonishing that even when the Government sets its own green targets, it consistently misses them. "It is vital that ministers stick to the targets in the Climate Change Bill to prevent looming climate chaos."

Fri 2nd May 2008:

Government's attitude on biofuels crude and simplistic - Webb.

Commenting on today’s [Friday] Environmental Audit Committee report on the sustainability of biofuels, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: "Biofuels must not damage the environment they are meant to protect. "The early rush towards biofuels failed to take into account their wider environmental impact and the Government’s current policy is far too crude and simplistic to change this. "European targets must not incentivise the production of unsustainable biofuels and the Government must act now to prevent this from happening. "What is needed is an international policy which discourages the use of damaging biofuels, without undermining the promotion of sustainable ones."

Shell's decision blows a hole in Government's green energy plans - Webb.

Commenting on Shell’s decision to sell its share in the world’s largest offshore wind power scheme, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: "Shell’s decision to pull out of the London Array blows a huge hole in the Government’s rhetoric about renewable energy. Britain is already near the bottom of the European league table on green energy, and now a major investor has decided that other countries offer a better environment for wind power. "If we are to meet our internationally agreed goals on renewable energy, the Government needs a radical re-think on its policy in this area. "Only yesterday the Brown Government faced its biggest ever rebellion over its refusal to back new incentives for small scale renewable generators. Now a flagship wind farm has been undermined by the withdrawal of a major international investor. "The Government should be taking a lead on driving forward renewable energy, instead of being permanently behind the curve on what is needed."

Wed 23rd Apr 2008:

Government dithers whilst fuel poverty persists - Webb.

Commenting on the outcome of Ofgem’s summit today where energy companies promised to renew their efforts to tackle fuel poverty, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: "Yet again, ministers are crossing their fingers and hoping that the problem will go away rather than using their powers to force the energy companies to help poor customers."Whilst the Government has dithered the penalty for being a customer on a pre-payment meter has actually gone up. The problem has been well known for years, but still nothing has been done. "The array of different energy suppliers and deals on offer can be completely baffling for many households. The Government must legislate now to give vulnerable consumers a right to the best tariff that their energy supplier offers."Ministers claiming they’re committed to the fuel poverty targets shows how totally out of touch they really are. "With more than four million households already living in fuel poverty, and with further huge price hikes expected later this year, there is no way the Government will eradicate fuel poverty unless its policies are dramatically toughened."

Mon 14th Apr 2008:

Government still failing on flooding - Clegg.

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg today attacked the Government’s inaction on flooding, and committed his party to increasing the flood defence budget by £400m, as he visited victims of last summer’s flooding in Gloucestershire. Nick Clegg said:"The Government simply isn’t taking the devastating potential of climate change seriously enough. Homeowners have been left waiting for the next downpour, while ministers fail to get to grips with the problem."There is an urgent need to act and protect Britain from the flooding that could sweep the country in years to come, leaving thousands of families at risk of losing everything."The Government must stop building so many new homes in flood risk areas, and commit to helping families in high-risk homes to get insurance."There needs to be a comprehensive approach to flooding with a new Flooding Act in Parliament so that changes are made quickly."

Wed 9th Apr 2008:

Severn Trent Water fine should be used for environmental investment - Horwood.

Commenting on Severn Trent Water’s record £35.8m fine for supplying false data to industry regulator Ofwat and providing poor customer service, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, Martin Horwood said: "Not only has Severn Trent Water failed to offer its customers a decent service, but it also tried to use deception to get out of a tricky situation. "The company’s deliberate misreporting on its performance and failure to provide decent customer service is unacceptable. It has not met its obligations to its customers, and so this fine is completely justifiable."Rather than lining the coffers of the treasury, this money should be used for environmental investment, such as rainwater harvesting, water efficiency measures and sustainable drainage systems. "£37m spent on these could reduce both water usage and water bills for some of Severn Trent Water’s least well-off customers."

Thu 3rd Apr 2008:

Green home initiatives fail to tackle the scale of the problem - Webb.

Commenting on Hilary Benn’s announcement today on green home initiatives, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: "It’s all very well setting up helplines to give people advice, but improving home insulation is expensive and the financial support being offered is woefully inadequate. Once again, the size of the Government solution is dwarfed by the scale of the problem. "We are not going to make any progress in the fight against climate change if we have to rely on piecemeal initiatives from a department that has no money and no power."DEFRA is forced to stand by while the rest of the Government supports policies that will accelerate climate change. "Whilst Hilary Benn might want us to be more energy efficient, the Department for Business is supporting a new generation of coal-fired power stations. He wants us to cut our transport emissions but the Department of Transport is backing a new runway at Heathrow. "DEFRA is a bit-part player in a Government that refuses to take climate change seriously."

Tue 1st Apr 2008:

Government is flunking the test on qualifications reform - Laws.

Commenting on today’s announcement that the Government is making a U-turn on its 2006 pledge to ensure that a school or college in every area would offer the International Baccalaureate (IB), Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws said:"It should be up to schools, not central government, what qualifications ought to be offered."However there is a real risk that the Government is flunking the test on qualifications reform and ending up with a system which both fails to stretch the most able pupils, and also doesn’t deliver for those who need a more vocational approach. "The Government must not seek to address the obvious weaknesses of its existing policy by stopping maintained schools from offering qualifications such as the International Baccalaureate, but this is what many people will fear after today’s announcement."

Mon 31st Mar 2008:

40p green energy grant per household shows government's true colours - Webb.

Commenting on the Government’s announcement today of changes to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: "This is not so much an overhaul of micro-generation policy, as it is death by neglect. "In offering no new money, the Government has allocated just 40p to each UK household to spend on green energy initiatives over the next two years. "The Low Carbon Buildings Programme has been a shambles from the start, with homeowners scrabbling to get what little grant aid has been available, and then losing interest as grant levels have been dramatically reduced. "Ministers just don’t understand the potential from encouraging households to invest in their own low carbon technology. The decision to add no new money to the programme confirms that this Government is only really interested in big energy schemes."

Government ducking the issue on carbon capture - Webb.

Commenting on today’s calls from E.ON for the Government to delay approval for the proposed Kingsnorth coal-fired power station, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said: "The central issue, which the Government keeps ducking, is that new coal-fired power stations must not be allowed to operate for years without their CO2 emissions being captured. "It’s useless to know that the plant might be ready in theory to have its carbon captured, if it continues to damage the environment in reality."We need a cast-iron commitment that there will be no new commercial coal-fired power generation without carbon capture in place on day one. "The Government needs to make sure that carbon capture technology is developed rapidly, not pat itself on the back for setting up a competition that may not produce results until the middle of the next decade."

Missing Conservatives let Government off hook on climate change - Teverson.

The Conservatives are facing criticism over their climate change record after fewer than 1 in 3 Conservative Peers turned out to vote on the Climate Change Bill on average.Commenting ahead of the Third Reading of the Climate Change Bill today [Monday], Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson, Lord (Robin) Teverson said:  “For all David Cameron’s green talk, when it came to walking the green walk his Peers failed to deliver.“Instead of giving the Climate Change Bill real teeth, increasing the 2050 emissions target to 80% cuts and including international aviation in Britain’s carbon emissions, the Tories bottled it.“The Conservatives clearly can’t be trusted to take the tough decisions necessary to tackle climate change.”

Fri 28th Mar 2008:

OfGEM must help the vulnerable cope with soaring energy prices - Webb.

Commenting on the NAO report Protecting consumers? Removing retail price controls into the removal of price controls on utility companies, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Webb said:"This report shows that there is much more that Ofgem could do to help consumers combat soaring energy prices."It should find out why vulnerable customers are reluctant to change suppliers, when they have most to gain from competitive prices. "The energy companies have a duty to make their prices and tariffs much easier to understand."

Decision on passenger fingerprinting welcome - Huhne.

Responding to the news that airport operator BAA has delayed plans to take fingerprints from passengers at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said:"BAA’s decision to abandon their intrusive plans to fingerprint all passengers at the new Heathrow terminal is welcome."It is disappointing, however, that the Information Commissioner had to question the legality of this invasive process before BAA agreed to drop it."This decision must be permanent and all future security initiatives must be compatible with the Data Protection Act."

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