– 71% of UK’s leading energy experts believe the 2006 energy review proposals will not have any impact on ensuring UK achieves its 2012 Kyoto targets
– Government is funding projects that actively damage the climate
– EU about to take UK to court for failure to ensure public buildings are labelled according to energy efficiency
Green Party Principal Speaker Sian Berry commented: "Today’s news underlines the gulf between the government’s pious rhetoric on climate change and their shameful record on actually doing anything. Their policies are clearly inadequate, contradictory and damaging.
"News that 71% of the UK’s energy experts believe the energy review’s proposals will be ineffectual in cutting carbon emissions comes as no surprise; the whole review process was a sham and a fudge, with minimal public consultation. The Green Party is supporting Greenpeace in taking the government to the High Court over the farcical review process.
"Last week’s climate change march and rally saw more than twenty thousand people on the streets demanding real action to tackle climate change from our government. But the UK’s Export Credits Guarantee Department is actively supporting projects around the world which are contributing to climate change – to the tune of some £2 billion just last year. This money needs to be redirected immediately into projects that will make a positive difference, not make the problem worse."
Caroline Lucas MEP criticised the government’s failure to implement an EU directive requiring the labelling of public buildings on an A-G scale of energy efficiency, with the aim of improving energy efficiency.
"Embarrassingly for the government, the EU is on the verge of taking the UK to court over it’s failure to properly introduce this important directive – 3 years after it’s initial adoption.
"In 2005, Tony Blair was urged to drive for early action on measures proposed, as they could make a considerable contribution to helping the UK fulfill it’s promise to cut the greenhouse emissions which arefuelling climate change. But he has done exactly the opposite and allowed infighting between DEFRA and the Office of the Deputy Prime-minister to actually delay the whole process.