2004 press releases

Local MP And Lib Dem Leader Champion Environment In Keynote Westminster Speech

Local MP and Lib Dem Shadow Environment Secretary Norman Baker has today hit out at Labour's poor record on the environment and outlined the Lib Dems vision for a dynamic and greener economy. Norman's comments follow an event he co-hosted with Charles Kennedy in central London last night in which the Liberal Democrat leader delivered a keynote speech on the environment.

Speaking after the event, Norman comments:

"The Government are failing to take the environment seriously and take the urgent action needed to address many environmental concerns. Under Labour: 

Total municipal waste is up by 17%, whilst Britain languishes at the bottom of the European league with just 9% of household waste recycled. 

High-level radioactive waste is up 6%, whilst the Government are continuing to bail out the ailing nuclear industry to the tune of millions of pounds 

Britain only manages to get a paltry 2% of our energy supplies from renewable sources, whereas Italy manages to get 20% 

The World Economic Forum ranks Britain 91st in the world in terms of environmental sustainability, behind countries like Bangladesh. 

Domestic energy consumption is up by nearly 7% 

Road traffic is up by 8% and is forecast by the Transport Minister to grow up to 25% in England by 2010.

"The Lib Dems would put the environment at the heart of Government. We would: 

Create a new Department of the Environment, Energy and Transport, taking DEFRA's environmental responsibilities and the DTI's water and energy roles and integrating them with Transport.

Introduce an Environmental Incentive Mechanism that uses different economic instruments to promote environmental responsibility, with extra revenue recycled into offsetting tax cuts 

Apply the 'polluter pays' principle to aviation so that individual aircraft, not the passenger, are taxed according to the amount of pollution they generate

Reduce VAT from 17.5% to 5% on all energy saving products for the home, therefore making it cheaper to buy and install energy saving products, and allowing customers to save money in cheaper electricity and gas bills

"Such measures would help give us a greener and dynamic economy which would be a 'win-win' situation for all, cutting out the £[65 billion cost that environmental damage is currently costing the British economy every year, and bringing a better quality of life to communities and the individual alike."

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