Queen's speech: Environment

ePolitix.com Stakeholders respond to the government's plans for a Climate Change Bill.

 

Stakeholder Response: Woodland Trust

A spokesman said: "We welcome the announcement of a Climate Change Bill. This is a first step in the right direction, but it is vital that the concentration on a 60 percent cut in emissions by 2050 does not divert attention away from the urgent need to cut emissions year by year.

"Unless we have strict annual targets for cuts the UK is never going to find itself on a low carbon path.

"The energy white paper which is due to be published next March will be a sign of how ambitious the government is going to be in terms of cutting emissions from energy.

"It is important that the white paper focuses on investment in renewable energy such as biomass and also includes measures to increase the proportion of heat from renewable sources rather than just focussing on electricity generation.

"As well as urgent action on emissions reduction, it is essential that the government takes steps to help the natural world adapt to the climate change that is already inevitable due to past  and current emissions.

"Protection and restoration of important semi-natural habitats such as ancient woodland is vital as is creation of new habitats to buffer and extend them.

"We must also take action to make land use in the wider countryside more sustainable. This will help to ensure that wildlife and habitats can adapt to climate change as well as providing a huge number of social and economic benefits along the way.

"We are concerned about the plans announced to further reform the planning system.

"Land use planning is an extremely important tool in pushing forward action on climate change and also protecting biodiversity and improving our quality of life.

"The planning system is just starting to settle down after a series of botched reforms from the last Planning Act in 2004 and it is vital that any further reforms ensure that environmental protection is strengthened rather stripped away."

 

Stakeholder Response: Federation of Small Businesses

A spokesman said: "Small firms recognise the need to protect the environment.  A healthy economy will generate funds that can then be invested in research and development on cleaner ways of working. 

"A blunt instrument such as blanket taxes will not address climate change effectively.  We have learnt this from the Climate Change Levy, which is nothing more than a tax that does not change behaviour.

"More taxes in the same format will simply hold back the UK economy – costing jobs and businesses – while other countries thrive.

"Businesses understand that economic growth and action to tackle climate concerns can go hand in hand.  The government should use its Climate Change Bill to demonstrate that it will do the same."

 

Stakeholder Response: Nuclear Industry Association

NIA chief executive Keith Parker said: "I congratulate the government on putting the UK in the forefront of international efforts to tackle climate change.

"Its commitment to setting a long-term mechanism for carbon pricing and targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions will create a framework in which business can prosper without causing environmental damage.

"March's energy white paper that will include a policy framework for new nuclear build will be part of the delivery mechanism.

"By creating the right conditions for investment in low carbon technologies, the government's measures will ensure that nuclear energy continues to be part of the solution to the challenge of global climate change."

 

Stakeholder Response: CPRE

CPRE policy director Neil Sinden said: "We welcome measures announced today in the Queen's speech to tackle climate change.

"But any further reforms to the planning system need to strengthen, and not undermine, its environmental role.

"Effective planning of land use and development should be central to tackling the growing challenge of climate change.

"This means planning to promote urban renewal and protect the countryside, and for new development to be designed and located in ways that reduce our energy needs.

"What’s needed is further investment in, and political support for, the planning system – rather than changes which could reduce people’s say in planning decisions and undermine its ability to protect the environment."

 

Stakeholder Response: ACCA

 

A spokesman said: "The commitment to cut the UK's emissions by 60 per cent by 2050 is ambitious.

"ACCA believes that green taxes need to be ring-fenced and actually go towards paying for initiatives to fight global warming.

"It would be more acceptable to taxpayers if their hard-earned money is used for specific environmental measures, not just for general revenue-raising."

 

Stakeholder Response: Association of British Insurers