Clegg

Posts Tagged ‘Clegg’

Nick Clegg pledges green action

Posted by admin on September 26th, 2012

26 September 2012

Welcoming Nick Clegg’s pledge in his leaders’ speech today (Wednesday 26 September 2012 )to hold the Conservatives to their promises on the environment, Friends of the Earth’s Executive Director Andy Atkins said:

“Nick Clegg has rightly identified the necessity of building a low-carbon economy – and the huge financial benefits this will bring to the UK.

“The key test of Mr Clegg’s environmental resolve will be the forthcoming Energy Bill – it must contain a legally-binding commitment to decarbonise the power sector by 2030, as called for by the Government’s official climate advisor.

“It’s time to stand up to the anti-green Chancellor.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

*** A Joint NGO statement on the Energy Bill 2012: here ***

1. On Saturday (22 September) it was revealed that Labour leader Ed Miliband was calling for the forthcoming Energy Bill to contain a clear commitment to decarbonise the electricity system by 2030 – as called for by the Government’s official climate advisor, the Committee on Climate Change: here.

2. A Friends of the Earth/Greenpeace poll published on Sunday (23 September) found that the party could win back lost voters if it stands up for the environment. The Populus poll shows 55% of people who voted Liberal Democrat in 2010 would be more likely to vote for the party again if it took action to achieve carbon-free power in the UK by 2030.

3. The Committee on Climate Change wrote to the Ed Davey on 13th September 2012 to ‘strongly urge’ him to include a 2030 decarbonisation target in the forthcoming Energy Bill: here.

4. Friends of the Earth’s Clean British Energy campaign, backed by Deborah Meaden, is urging the Government to listen to the public and transform our broken energy system by developing clean and affordable power from our wind, sun and water. For too long the Big Six energy companies have locked Britain into importing costly gas and coal – causing our fuel bills to rocket. Now 85 per cent of people want the Government to back UK renewable power instead. This, and cutting energy waste, will stabilise fuel bills and create new jobs. To find out more and back the campaign, visit www.cleanbritishenergy.co.uk.

To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.

If you’re a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust

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Clegg Rio+20 speech must pledge tough UK action

Posted by admin on June 20th, 2012

20 June 2012

Speaking ahead of Nick Clegg’s address on Thursday (21 June 2012) to world leaders at the UN sustainable development conference in Rio, Friends of the Earth’s Director of Policy and Campaigns, Craig Bennett, said:

“The current deal on the Rio table is really scraping the barrel – with woolly definitions, old ideas and missing deadlines, it doesn’t come close to solving the planetary emergency we’re facing.

“Nick Clegg and world leaders arriving in Rio must give the summit a life-saving shot of urgency and ambition by pledging tough action to create a safe and prosperous future for us all.

“The Deputy Prime Minister must highlight gaping holes in the text of the draft Rio deal and promise genuine UK leadership at home.

“He should start by calling on George Osborne to scrap recent Budget tax breaks for fossil fuel companies and switching support to clean British energy from the sun, wind and waves.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. You can see Friends of the Earth’s full report ‘Rio+20 Earth Summit: What the UK needs to do to make it matter’ here.

2. Thousands of people have joined Friends of the Earth’s call to Nick Clegg to end subsidies for fossil fuel companies, see here.

3. The environment charity is urging the Coalition Government to take action at home to prove its credibility as a green leader including:

• helping hard-pressed UK households struggling with high fuel bills, by developing clean British energy and cutting energy waste;

• saving British bees and saving the nation millions of pounds by committing to protect nature right across the UK, not just in designated areas – starting with a National Bee Action Plan;

• acting to reduce UK consumption of the planet’s limited resources and put sustainable development at the heart of Government policy-making, from how we plan our towns to the way we farm and feed ourselves.

4. While he’s in Brazil, Friends of the Earth is calling on Nick Clegg to help ensure that:

• World governments stop handing almost $ 100 billion in taxpayers’ money to the fossil fuel industry every year, and use the money to help billions of the world’s poorest people get access to clean, affordable energy;

• plans coming out of the summit don’t undermine existing agreements on sustainable development;

• rich countries stop pushing for dodgy deals to sell off the world’s forests and unique habitat and species-rich areas to the highest bidder;

• real progress is made to enable people everywhere to have a say in how the environment is protected and access to justice when it isn’t;

• everyone’s voices are heard and taken into account during the Rio+20 talks and decision-making – not just the opinions of businesses and politicians;

• the UN’s initiative to enable poor communities to access energy prioritises tripling the use of renewable energy by 2030 rather than using dirty energy that will lock poor countries into fossil fuels.

5. The environment charity also supports the alternative People’s Summit process in Rio, where people from around the world excluded from the UN talks are asking politicians to put the needs of the world’s poorest people and future generations before short-term profit.

To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.

If you’re a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust

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Clegg calls for tougher penalties for businesses

Posted by admin on April 20th, 2012

Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent

Nick Clegg said there was an urgent need to regulate business, in order to meet environmental objectives. Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/PA

Nick Clegg has stepped into the growing row over the coalition’s green policies to call for companies to pay much higher penalties for the carbon dioxide they emit.

He said there was an urgent need for the government to impose regulations on business, in order to meet environmental objectives.

The deputy prime minister’s personal intervention came after senior Tory ministers in recent days urged a watering down of key green targets, labelling a plan to strengthen building regulations as a “conservatory tax”, and attacking proposals for new renewable energy.

Clegg, along with the energy secretary, his fellow Lib Dem Ed Davey, called for businesses to be subject to higher costs for every tonne of carbon dioxide they pour out. At present, the prices they pay are depressed because of the recession, but this removes the incentives for companies to cut their greenhouse gases and enables high-emitting industries to continue without putting in place efficiency measures.

Under the European Union’s emissions trading system, since 2005 companies have had to pay for each tonne of carbon dioxide they emit, and they can trade their carbon emission permits with rivals. But a combination of a vast over-allocation of permits and the recession has left many companies with an excess of permits that has depressed the price of carbon to the extent that experts do not believe the system does anything to persuade companies to cut their greenhouse gases.

In a piece for the Guardian, Clegg and Davey write: “The price of carbon has plummeted. In 2006 a tonne would fetch around £28. Now – thanks to the downturn, and a glut of permits – it’s barely £6. That’s bad for the environment: when it’s cheap to pump out carbon there’s less incentive for firms to go green. But it’s also bad for the economy, because it makes Europe less attractive to low-carbon investment.”

In recent weeks, senior Conservatives have fiercely attacked green policies, from those on wind energy generation to proposals to improve the efficiency of buildings. One plan to strengthen current building regulations – which already contain strictures on using insulating materials – to include medium-sized conservatories, was attacked as a “conservatory tax”. David Cameron quashed the proposal as soon as it attracted the attention of the press.

The prime minister’s move led to concerns among green groups that this signalled the end of government green policies being taken seriously.

But Clegg and Davey lay out their case for increasing green investment, in order to increase the number of green jobs. They confirm the coalition’s support for plans to toughen the EU’s carbon targets, from a reduction of 20% by 2020 to a reduction of 30% by the same date – a target the European commission says has already been almost met.

Joss Garman, campaigner at Greenpeace, said: “With European talks on climate change at a critical juncture, it’s encouraging to see Nick Clegg reaffirming the coalition’s support for a measure that would boost clean energy investment in the UK and across Europe. But Ed Davey risks undermining this noble ambition by allowing a new dash for gas-fired power generation here at home that would blow a hole in national efforts to curb carbon emissions and also expose families and businesses to spiralling energy bills.”

Environment news, comment and analysis from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk

Clegg unveils measures to boost Green Deal take up while cutting energy bills

Posted by admin on April 13th, 2012

April 13th, 2012 by Louise Parker

Nick Clegg yesterday announced new ways of getting both households and businesses more energy efficient so that they can slash their utility bills.

In his major speech on energy, which was delivered at London’s Canary Wharf, the leader of the Liberal Democrat Party and Deputy Prime Minister Clegg said that the Government is working closely with Green Deal providers as they look to introduce “innovative solutions” that will take all of the “hassle” away from the Government’s energy efficiency programme – to be launched in the autumn.

Clegg also announced details of a new deal that was struck with the so-called Big Six energy providers that will demand they inform their customers of some of the cheapest tariffs available to them on at least one occasion per year, in turn saving households figures as significant as £100 per year. Claims that making the economy and the lifestyles of British people greener is financially strenuous in tough modern times were also touched upon.

Clegg acknowledged that consumers have been deterred by green policies due to the recession and how the Government must play a convincing role in order to get them engaged as millions of Britons feel that greening their lives and decarbonising the economy isn’t an easy thing to do. Additionally, a pilot scheme the Government has been collaborating on with B&Q was pointed at as a way encouraging more householders to have their lofts insulated.

Recycling, Green, and Environmental News

Clegg slams Osborne anti-green agenda at Lib Dem conference

Posted by admin on March 12th, 2012