Labour is "losing the eco-war," says Sustainable Development Commission

The government's own sustainability commission has once again vindicated the long-standing Green Party critique of the Labour government, said the Greens today.

According to media reports, a new document to be published this Wednesday (1 July) by the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) will argue that the government is "winning a few battles but losing the war" on matters like climate change.

Sir Jonathan Porritt, outgoing chair of the SDC, yesterday issued a powerful parting salvo against the government in the pages of the Independent on Sunday. Sir Jonathan said: "We have a terrible record of leading the world on rhetoric and then failing to deliver in our own backyard, and that's particularly true on climate change."

Responding today, Green Party leader Caroline Lucas MEP said the SDC's remarks were entirely justifiable:

"Tony Blair came to power promising the first ever green government, but it took him four years even to make a major speech about sustainability. By that time he was forging ahead with a £30 billion roadbuilding programme and encouraging airport expansions everywhere. One of his flagship green policies was a plan for 3,000 solar roofs within three years, at a time when Germany was aiming for a million and delivering thousands every month.

"Movement on the sustainability agenda has always been hindered by Labour's business-as-usual mentality. A lot of problems could be solved if only the government would accept responsibility for making sure things happen that urgently need to happen, instead of using market forces as an excuse for the failure of policy. For instance, we still produce little more offshore wind energy than Denmark, a country one-tenth of our size, and England's only wind turbine factory has just announced its closure. Labour is talking big and acting small, as always."

"Labour doesn't get it"

The Green Party leader, who hopes to win the Greens' first Westminster seat in the coming general election, said the Labour government had never understood the need to green the economy - nor the potential benefits of doing so. She said:

"Labour simply doesn't get it. Gordon Brown launched a so-called green stimulus package, but as the New Economics Foundation quickly pointed out it was in fact only 0.6 per cent actual new green investment. It was supposed to tackle the recession, but it included nuclear and so-called "clean coal," neither of which will deliver jobs in time to help deal with the recession. Green policies for renewables would start delivering large numbers of jobs immediately and in the long run would create far more jobs per megawatt than either nuclear or coal."

Seven years ago ago the Green Party published a critique of Labour's eco-policies titled Far More Spin Than Substance - and the Greens would say this still sums up Labour's eco-policy.

It's not just eco-policy but social and economic policy too...

The Greens believe Britain needs MPs at Westminster, partly to deliver the strong critique of the government's sustainability policy from within the House of Commons - but also because Labour no longer represents a progressive option. Dr Lucas said today:

"Labour has always lagged behind both the climate science and the Green Party's policies for tackling climate change. Significantly, the Green Party is also proposing far more job-creation through our million-jobs manifesto than Labour is through all of their proposals. While Labour has failed to get its head round sustainability, it has also lost its original principles about a fairer economy. Anything that used to be radical and progressive about the Labour Party can be found at the core of Green Party policy, while Labour is still way behind the Green Party on modernising the economy for a sustainable future."

She concluded: "The raison d'etre that Labour used to have now belongs to the Green Party."

Laying the path to a greener and more prosperous future

George Osborne has today launched the UK’s first trading markets for green companies.

Speaking at the London Stock Exchange, the Shadow Chancellor said this innovation would, in years to come, be seen as a “milestone” towards making the City of London the best place in the world for green investment.

George went on to say that ideas like this will “help to bring to an end the stale argument that we have to choose between economic growth and the environment”, which he said had always been a “false choice”.

He pointed to research by the Environment Agency, who have calculated that British manufacturing could increase its profits by up to £3 billion if environmental best practices become standard across the board, and the International Labour Organisation, who have said that 20 million new jobs could be created globally in the green technology sector in the years ahead.

George concluded by stating that this approach was part of the “new British economic model” proposed by the Conservatives, of a more stable and balanced low carbon economy.

Labour's approach to climate change

The UK Climate Projections 2009, released today, will help us plan and prepare for change to our climate in the UK.

By acting now, we can limit the severity of climate change in the future.

Labour’s approach to tackling climate change centres on protecting the public from immediate risk, preparing for the future, leading international efforts to get a global deal in Copenhagen in December, creating a low carbon UK and supporting individuals, communities and businesses to play their part.

Labour's Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn, said:

"There is no doubt about it – climate change is the biggest challenge facing the world today. Climate change is already happening – the hottest ten years on record globally have all been since 1990. This landmark scientific evidence shows not only that we need to tackle the causes of climate change but also that we must deal with the consequences.

"The Projections will allow us to make sure we have a resilient infrastructure to cope – whether it’s the design of school buildings or protection of new power plants, maintaining the supply of drinking water, adjusting ways of farming for drier summers or understanding how our homes and businesses will have to adapt."

(DCMS) Tourism industry looks to 'greener' future

The tourism industry needs to adopt more sustainable and environmentally friendly ways of working in order to secure its long term future and to combat climate change, Tourism Minister Barbara Follett said today.

As part of British Tourism Week Ms Follett attended the 'Best of Britain and Ireland Show' where she officially launched the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's new sustainable tourism framework for England. This sets out six key challenges for the tourism sector and honours the commitment made in the Government's tourism strategy for 2012.

Barbara Follett, said:

"All of us must try to behave in a more environmentally responsible way and the tourism industry is no exception. If we value the future of our world and if we want to protect our country's unique tourism offer for future generations, we must take sustainability seriously and not see it just as an add-on luxury. There are already many businesses doing exemplary work in this area but more must to do so and soon. We have to challenge our thinking about what is on offer and how businesses are run.

"This will not be easy in difficult economic times, but a sustainable approach can be good for business too."

The six key challenges that have been identified not only look at ways to help the environment but also focus on measures to secure the long term future of the industry.

Businesses will be encouraged to take advantage of technological improvements in buildings and equipment as well as trying to address the impact of tourism transport by increasing awareness and using more targeted forms of advertising.

But the challenges also look at sustaining the industry with more businesses encouraged to sign up to the quality assessment schemes and provide better access for all, and to improve perceptions of jobs in the sector with a drive to attract more diverse people who view careers in tourism as long term.

The Government will be working with the industry to address all these issues and will be monitoring progress regularly; a formal review will be undertaken in three years time.