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Press Release

Conservative Quality of Life report maps out sustainable future

The Woodland Trust, the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity, has welcomed the Conservatives ‘Quality of Life’ commission report - and notably its emphasis on sustainability.

In particular, the Trust is pleased to see a call for a moratorium on airport expansion and an integrated approach to the UK’s transport system as a more joined-up solution to tackling climate change and benefiting the natural environment.

The Woodland Trust now wants David Cameron to pick up the baton and make the policy recommendations a cornerstone of his conservatism.

“This will be crucial if we are to keep the UK at the forefront of the international debate on climate change, make the transition to a low carbon economy, and show a real understanding of how sustainable development can value the natural environment,” said Dr James Cooper, Head of Government Affairs at the Trust.

He welcomed the report’s detailed outline of how green taxes could work, a commitment to tackling CO2 emissions from Britain’s current housing stock and a proposal to halt airport expansion.

“Natural habitats and the surrounding landscapes are one of our greatest assets, and once lost they cannot be replaced,

“As such the report should be commended for recognising that policy can limit the negative environmental impacts of growth, and that this need not be done at the

expense of the UK’s economic performance.

“We also welcome the report’s recognition that the planning system has a positive role to play in fostering sustainable development. We now wish to see read-across between this report and the separate Biodiversity Policy Review in delivering policies that will protect and enhance our natural

environment.

“When outlining plans for a low-carbon economy the Commission demonstrated how green taxes could work as a positive mechanism for enabling people to make informed and environmentally friendly decisions.

"Again this is a bold step and conveys a renewed recognition that fiscal policy can be used to properly evaluate environmentally damaging behaviour.

“Coming in a week where the environmental movement’s collective ‘Green Standard’ report has been critical of all the major parties’ failings to match rhetoric with hard policy, we hope this paves the way for detailed policy commitments within the Conservative Party.”

Illustrating the Woodland Trust’s work in helping achieve greener living, the report specifically highlights two areas of Trust activity; our Nature Detectives programme to engage youngsters and the importance of tree-planting in engaging young people with wider environmental issues

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Woodland Trust

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