A Shaming Moment for Gordon Brown
Mark Lynas is talking truth to power over at the Gruniad just as we brace urselves to hear more nonsense about today's being a 'Green Budget':
"This is a truly shaming moment for Gordon Brown's government. On Monday ministers were once more accused of failing to fully assess the environmental impact of a third runway at Heathrow. The Conservative MP for Putney, Justine Greening, argued that the airport operator, BAA, had been too closely involved with the expansion plans, alleging that government collusion had resulted in environmental concerns being ignored. With Ruth Kelly and the Department for Transport seemingly determined to bust the UK's climate-change targets, it now falls to the likes of Greenpeace and Plane Stupid to try to defend them.
The environmental activists who dropped banners at Heathrow and the House of Commons protesting against the planned third runway may have been breaking the law by taking direct action, but in a wider sense they were simply trying to uphold it. They were arrested for an unusual reason: trying to enforce government policy against the wishes of the government. The case is simple: the government is committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Expanding Heathrow will increase them."
Meanwhile "Scotland's Climate Change Bill may be the most important piece of legislation in our lifetime. It could establish our nation as an international leader in tackling climate change, helping secure the future for millions of people and giving hope for species, like the polar bear threatened with extinction as the Arctic ice melts." Support it here.
Here's some essential reading.
1 Comment
Leave a comment