Labour missing Environmental targets (Birmingham Liberal Democrats)

Birmingham Liberal Democrats <info@birminghamlibdems.org.uk>

Labour missing Environmental targets

December 8, 2004 5:00 PM

Liberal Democrat Leader Charles Kennedy today challenged Tony Blair at Prime Minister's Questions over the Government's failure to meet its own climate change targets. The UK has pledged to cut carbon dioxide emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2010 but Friends of the Earth say they are currently down just 7.5%, the same as in 1997 when Labour came to power.

Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary said "Under Labour carbon dioxide emissions have risen with transport and power station emissions increasing and aviation emissions set to soar. When it became obvious that the Government would miss its targets on climate change, DTI Ministers convinced the Prime Minister to simply move the goalposts. Blair's record on climate change shows that he will always take the side of the polluter over the environment. He has consistently pulled the green carpet from under Margaret Beckett's feet to appease the smoke stack DTI."