Member News
Today ePolitix.com and our stakeholders examine the political parties' plans for climate change, energy and the environment.
Age UK maps out for ePolitix.com the changes that are needed to ensure older people do not have to live in fuel poverty.
John Dye, president of the Timber Packaging & Pallet Confederation (TIMCON), writes for ePolitix.com about the environmental benefits of timber.
The Mineral Products Association maps out the importance of a healthy domestic cement industry.
Keith Parker, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, writes on the importance of nuclear energy.
Professor Bill Reilly, president of the British Veterinary Association, speaksabout the role of animal health and welfare in the election campaign.
Bob Mayho, principal policy officer for the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, discusses on its pre-election manifesto.
Ben Stafford, head of campaigns at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, discusses its hopes for the English countryside following the election.
The Institution of Engineering and Technology write on the UK's energy future.
Professor Sandy Trees, president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, outlines how the government can help the work of the veterinary profession.
Two departments have responsibilities in this area.
The department of energy and climate change (DECC) is responsible for all aspects of UK energy policy, and for tackling global climate change on behalf of the UK.
"To achieve secure, affordable and low-carbon energy in the years and decades ahead, we need an energy mix that is diverse, both in terms of technologies and geographical sources of imported fuels, within a market framework that offers us competitive prices," the department says.
Another key role at DECC is to help the UK move to a low-carbon economy.
The department for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) is responsible for securing a healthy natural environment and dealing with environmental risks.
It also promotes a sustainable, low-carbon and resource-efficient economy and ensures a thriving farming sector and a sustainable, healthy and secure food supply.
The Labour party's main energy and environment policies are:
* Decide early in the next Parliament on the feasibility of alternative options for a tidal energy project on the Severn.
* Legislate to introduce 'Pay As You Save' financing schemes under which home energy improvements can be paid for from the savings on energy bills.
* Introduce legislation to improve floods and water management.
* Campaign for an EU-wide ban on illegally logged timber, banning it domestically if this does not succeed.
The Conservative party's main energy and environment policies are:
* Reform the Climate Change Levy to provide a floor price for carbon.
* Increase the proportion of tax revenues accounted for by environmental taxes.
* Introduce an Emissions Performance Standards for power stations.
* Deliver an offshore electricity grid.
* Reform Ofgem to focus it on energy policy and market capacity.
* Long-term loans for energy improvement measures paid for out of savings made on fuel bills over 25 years.
The Liberal Democrat party's main energy and environment policies are:
* Offer a home energy improvement package worth up to £10,000 per home paid for through lower energy bills.
* Impose a target of 40 per cent of UK electricity to come from zero-emission sources by 2020 (and 100 per cent by 2050) and block a new build nuclear power stations.
* Reform the EU emissions trading scheme including tightening the cap and greater auctioning of permits.
* Legislate to make it illegal to import or possess timber produced illegally in foreign countries.
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