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Morley defends climate change levy
Elliot Morley has strongly defended the government's climate change levy following criticism from opposition parties.
But Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have called for the scheme to be replaced with a wide-ranging carbon tax.
But speaking at an ePolitix.com event on Thursday, the environment minister said he was proud to be judged on the government's green record.
And highlighting the role for individual action, Morley said he was himself planning to install a wind turbine. "I am in the process of negotiating a grant actually," he said.
Accepting that not all of the government's measures have been successful, Morley said he made no apologies.
He pointed out that the government had achieved "unique" goals such as pioneering the national scheme on carbon trading.
"What we know about the climate change levy is that it works," said the minister.
"And that so far it has saved the equivalent of daily emissions of cities like Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds combined."
He added: "We also produced the energy white paper which was highly acclaimed and is still held up as a model of its kind."
Morley said the UK was backing moves to include aviation in the EU's emission trading scheme.
Shadow environment minister Greg Barker told the event that the Opposition would be looking much further ahead on environmental issues than basic issues such as the tax on large cars.
"In the scheme of things, 4x4's are irrelevant. We have got to ask ourselves some really big questions," he said.
"Rather than talking about a little bit of tax here and a little bit of tax there, we should be talking about decentralised energy.
"We need a huge paradigm shift in the way we generate our electricity. Then we can make progress."
Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Martin Horwood said there was an emerging consensus on addressing climate change as a serious political issue.
But he warned that if an all-party consensus on green issues is to be maintained, there would have to be a green politics equivalent of an arms race "where each party is competing hard to outdistance the other".
Morley welcomed a genuine debate on environmental issues.
"But you can have the greenest manifesto on record if you never have to do anything introducing it", he told the event.
"In the end, that is what people will judge the government on."
And he cautioned: "You can apply taxes to all sorts of things, but it doesn't necessarily change behaviour.
"You have to think through what kind of strategies and measures you will apply. And we are up for this.
"We are a government that has made sustainable consumption and production a priority.
"We are taking forward green procurement in a way that no other government in Europe has done.
"For instance, we have recently introduced smart metering, the chancellor has announced funding for that.
"I agree with Greg that it is important that we do look at decentralised energy but one of the prerequisites is that you do have these smart meters."
Morley said he would not "rubbish other ideas, wherever they come from".
But he said that "in the end people are judged on their actions and I am proud to stand by our actions and be judged by them".
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