15th November 2007

Greens today have criticised the government's proposed climate change bill as 'dangerously unambitious.

Cllr Philip Booth, a Stroud District councillor and spokesperson for the Green party said: "Today's bill is dangerously unambitious and does little to avert the crisis facing us here in Gloucestershire. Not only is the 60 per cent target woefully inadequate and too distant, research has shown it's also more likely to contribute to a world 4 or 5 degrees warmer than pre- industrial times (i). This is more than double the increase that scientists say is the planet's upper limit - the danger point at which the consequences become disasterous. Our government is not stepping-up to the challenge of climate change."

Green Party Principal Speaker Caroline Lucas said: "We need a Climate Change Bill which sets binding emissions-reduction targets of at least 6 per cent a year to allow us to achieve cuts in UK GHG emissions in the region of 90 per cent by 2030.  For the bill to avoid being just the latest example of fine rhetoric divorced almost entirely from the reality of the problem, it must also be backed by a wholesale review of Government policy, including Labour's commitment to road-building and aviation growth. To make real headway on curbing our emissions, we need to act now - we do not have time for yet more commissions and reviews, for more political delay."

Notes for Editors

(i) Please see a briefing from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, available at:
http://tyndall.webapp1.uea.ac.uk/publications/briefing_notes/bn17.pdf