The UK is gripped by election fever. On Thursday 6th May the country will finally have the opportunity to express its true feelings about the political controversies and uncertainties of recent years, and to make a judgement on a preferred pathway into the future. But what will that future hold? Which party will help Britain to prepare for life in a resource constrained world; a world characterised by social, economic and environmental risk, overwhelmingly influenced by climate change? Filtering out the political mud-slinging and schoolboy playground antics, we look here at the key environmental policies proposed by the UK’s major parties.
Should the Labour Party retain their leadership in 2010, there seems little doubt that the recent UK policy focus on low carbon economic transition will persist. In the next stage of what Labour terms “national renewal”, the Party promises to create 400,000 new green jobs by 2015 and achieve “around” 40 per cent low carbon electricity by 2020 (a suitably caveated target). A ‘pay as you save’ home insulation scheme will be launched to support increased energy efficiency of the built environment, whilst landlords will be required to properly insulate rented homes. Commendable recognition of some major energy and emissions challenges, but sadly limited in breadth.
Labour have stated their ambition for a move towards a ‘zero waste’ Britain, in which recyclable and biodegradable materials will be “banned” from landfill. Meanwhile there is a promise to maintain the green belt, link together protected areas of habitat, and increase the area of forested land across the country. How this will be balanced against the overriding interest in housing provision is unclear. Likewise, Labour’s promise of fairness for food producers through EU reform balances poorly against the Party’s proven reluctance to stand out from the crowd in Europe, whilst their policy to support post offices, shops and pubs in rural communities seems perverse in light of recent widespread closures under their watch.
The Conservative Party have opted for an eco-friendly green tree to support them in their approach to Election 2010, evoking warmth and fuzziness in even the most skeptical eco voters. The Conservatives promise to put quality of life and environmental issues “at the heart of politics” through the broadest package of environmental objectives offered by the three major parties: zero waste; increased recycling; sustainable water management and action to “help” wildlife (interesting choice of vocabulary there).
In common with Labour, the Tories strategically avoid any suggestion of green taxes or legislation, leaning instead towards voluntary arrangements (on waste) and friendly encouragement (for water efficiency). Can anybody remember a time when this type of amiable politics effected real change?
The Conservatives place strong emphasis on the countryside, pledging to pioneer a new system of conservation credits to protect habitats and create incentives to invest in wildlife. Similar to Labour, the Conservatives will maintain the UK’s green belts, launch a national tree planting campaign and protect environmental designations on the country’s landscape. The latter policy should be far from rocket science; the alternative would surely be a repeal of long-term national legislation? Unlike Labour, however, the Conservatives fail to recognise the need for global action on the environment and do not consider international partnerships in their approach; a particular oversight in relation to the Party’s ambitions for marine conservation.
The Liberal Democrats make up for what the Conservatives lack in international focus, with a series of commitments to strengthen EU policies on energy and emissions and a call for more ambitious international targets through the Kyoto Protocol and related mechanisms. This is the only Party to realise the importance of such negotiations for climate change mitigation and adaptation in industrialised and low income countries alike.
The Liberal Democrats’ position on the environment shows strong alignment with the Labour Party in its emphasis on energy, emissions, climate change and green innovation, although going much deeper than Labour in a number of areas. Energy efficiency measures are limited not just to the built environment, but also explore the efficiency of distribution networks and electrical products. New colour is added to goals for the future energy mix in the UK, with a strong stance against nuclear power, support for gas as a transition fuel and “encouragement” of energy generation from waste. Transport also comes under scrutiny, with a promise of 10 per cent renewable fuels by 2015 and and zero carbon emissions for all new cars by 2040. An impressive array of ambitions; who am I to question the rationale and delivery mechanisms sitting behind them. What I can question, however, is where the multitude of other (non-carbon) environmental challenges sits on the Liberal Democrat radar. Believe it or not, energy and climate change are far from the only risks facing the planet.
What the UK needs is a strategic and pragmatic plan for increased resilience to long-term environmental vulnerabilities. What the UK needs is a survival plan. There are a few harmonious sounds emerging from each of the three leading parties in 2010. Each is showing the early signs of understanding some pressing environmental needs, but no single party is offering the full package with the urgency required. Is it possible that a hung Parliament may benefit the environmental agenda for the UK, if it means that the commitments of the parties can be better integrated, the political risks of environmental management can be overcome, and rhetoric can be replaced by real practical action?
The Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat manifestos for environmental policy are available online for further information.
Tags: Climate change, Environment, Politics
