Kennedy: "Taking environment seriously"

The Liberal Democrats have come under fire from the Green Party after claiming to be the "only choice" for voters concerned about the environment.

Charles Kennedy said on Friday that the Lib Dems were the "real alternative" on green issues.

But the Greens hit back, saying the Lib Dems record in office was "a catalogue of broken promises".

Detailing its environmental polices on Friday, the Lib Dems promised to ban genetically modified crops for commercial use.

The party wants a moratorium on GM crops until they are proved safe for both people and the environment.

Kennedy promised that a Lib Dem government would not go ahead with any major new road building schemes unless the benefits were clear.

And he proposed that 60 per cent of all household waste should be recycled by 2012 and 20 per cent of electricity should be generated by renewable sources by 2020.

Other policies outlined were a moratorium on new incinerators and no new nuclear power stations.

The Lib Dems say the environment is a huge issue, not least because environmentally damaging behaviour is estimated to have cost Britain £67bn last year - equivalent to the entire NHS budget.

"On the environment, the Liberal Democrats are not just the real alternative," Kennedy said.

"If you want to improve the environment we are the only choice."

Green anger

In respose, Green MEP Caroline Lucas said: "The Lib Dem record in office - locally and in Scottish parliament - is a catalogue of broken promises and unravels their manifesto's 'green thread' from top to bottom."

"In the Scottish parliament - which is controlled by a Liberal Democrat-Labour coalition - they have shown complete disregard for the environmental principles voters expected to underpin their decisions.

"They campaigned against GM crops, then approved their planting in Scotland.

"They opposed road-building schemes, then gave the go-ahead for the M74 Extension.

"They backed the introduction of congestion charging, then opposed the first such scheme in Edinburgh.

"In local government they are no better. Lib Dem councillors strongly supported the infamous Newbury and Batheaston bypasses, and are currently supporting other road building schemes around the country.

"Their four per cent recycling record in Liverpool is the worst in the country."

Wind farms

Meanwhile, Lib Dem environment spokesman Norman Baker said the party was in favour of wind farms as a vital source of renewable energy.

But he acknowledged there was controversy over where they should be built.

When pressed on the issue, party leader Kennedy said: "I have been supportive of several wind farm developments and as a local MP, I have been critical of other proposals."

And he stressed that many people were not getting the right information to make rational decisions about such planning applications, but the Liberal Democrats were committed to improving the system.

The party have outlined in their manifesto promises to encourage congestion charges in towns and cities where traffic is a major problem.

They have also pledged to scrap petrol duties and vehicle excise duty altogether, replacing the revenue with a national road user charging system based on location, congestion and pollution.

Baker said the aim of these measures was "to get to a situation where each journey is costed by the pollution it causes".

Opportunism

Fraser Kemp, Labour's campaign spokesman, branded the Lib Dem policy as "opportunism".

"Charles Kennedy's brass neck is astounding," he said.

"The Lib Dems want 20 per cent renewable energy use by 2020 yet he opposed wind farms in his own constituency, because of what he freely admits was 'calculation'.

"Norman Baker says the Lib Dems want to extend road charging across the UK yet the Lib Dems campaigned against it fiercely in Edinburgh because it was not an 'attractive' option for them.

And Kemp added: "It's the same old story from the Lib Dems. Fine words in Westminster, rank opportunism locally."