Brown's last budget: Greenwashing Government
06 December 2006
Proposed 'green' taxation measures in Gordon Brown's last pre-Budget reportare an attempt to 'greenwash' Government - and will fail to make any realimpact on tackling climate change, according to Green MEP Caroline Lucas.
"As the Stern report argued, protecting the environment and preventing theworst impacts of climate change are the most urgent problems we face - andthe measures announced today won't make any real difference to either," shesaid.
"This pre-Budget report is little more than an attempt to 'greenwash' theGovernment and outflank the Tories' own bid to present itself as the 'partyof the environment'."
Measures such as marginally increasing fuel duty and doubling Air PassengerDuty may well raise millions for Gordon Brown to spend on replacing Trident- but they aren't nearly enough to make a real difference to climate change,Dr Lucas added.
Dr Lucas, Green Party MEP for South-East England, member of the EuropeanParliament's influential Environment Committee and the parliament'sspokesperson on aviation and climate change, said: "Research by the CivilAviation Authority has revealed the average income of passengers passingthrough Stansted Airport last year topped £50,000 per annum.
"An increase of £5 on each low-cost flight leaving the airport representsjust one ten thousandth of their income. For someone earning nearer the UKaverage income that's about the same proportion as the cost of one loaf ofbread a year. Does anyone really believe that such a marginal difference incost will really change behaviour?"
"If this government is serious about tackling greenhouse gas emissions fromtransport - their fastest growing source - it could halt all aviationexpansion and road-building schemes tomorrow," she added.
ENDS
