Tell Cameron to save our green laws!

Posted by Gemma Freeman - 27 April 2011 at 11:31am - Comments

Last week the Guardian revealed that the UK government could scrap 278 environment laws – created to stop climate change and protect our environment.

Cameron, Clegg and the Coalition could cut several critical pieces of legislation – including the Climate Change Act, Wildlife and Countryside Act, plus Clean Air Act – as part of a new government consultation to reduce regulations, named “The Red Tape Challenge”.

Dropping the UK’s vital green laws would be dangerous and irreversible. Sadly ironic too, after Cameron’s unfulfilled pledge to be ‘the greenest government ever.’

"We don't yet know if this is cock-up or conspiracy,” our director John Sauven, told the Guardian. “If it's a cock-up, David Cameron needs to come out and say the Climate Change Act, central to the push for a clean technology revolution, is safe from the axe. But if ministers are serious about scrapping it and other vital environmental regulations then we'll be looking at something akin to the worst excesses of the Bush-Cheney White House. When did clean air and green jobs become a burden?"

Since the review was announced it’s sparked outrage. With climate change seemingly no longer a government priority, the UK's groundbreaking ‘carbon budgets’ (legally-binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions) could be dropped if the Climate Change Act is scrapped.

Also alarmingly, air pollution could increase (prevented by the Clean Air Act), plus potentially protected habitats could be sold to developers, at-risk species lost and National Parks scrapped (all protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981)

But, with the consultancy still underway, it’s not too late to save our green laws!

Firstly, the government wants us to speak out to keep certain laws: join the hundreds who’ve already voiced their concerns, by commenting on the official site here.

Secondly, almost 40,000 supporters have signed a petition to Cameron, Clegg and the Coalition asking them to save these laws and continue to combat climate change, maintain clean air and safeguard our countryside - via our friends at 38 Degrees.

Act fast: sign the petition to protect these green laws and our planet >>

Regulations may be reversible: but changing our climate and destroying biodiversity isn't.

Want to know more? Related content on Climate Change and UK policy:

Article tagged as: Clean Air Act, climate change, climate change act, david cameron, redtape, The Red Tape Challenge, uk government, Wildlife and Countryside Act

Comments Commenting is now closed

Now strangely I almost feel the need to agree with the Tories, well perhaps a little bit, up until the point I remember they're still Tories - and underlying any Tory initiative is the desire to concentrate wealth in the hands of the few at the expense of the many.

I like the idea that we simplify and streamline the laws and regulations of the UK. However to start with why on earth are 'tax and national security are exempted'?

Our tax system is hugely bureaucratic, and allows rich people (and big buisness) to evade taxes, while the middle classes (and small buisnesses) pay the tax in full. In the cause of cutting red tape, how about simplifying the laws to get rid of the loop holes, finally do away with national insurance (in favour of higher base tax rates), and put a load of accountants out of business.

On national security (or defence) how about getting rid of the more pointless expenses like the £97 billion we're about to spend on new nuclear weapons, and the ridiculous amount of money we spend on police over time and over policing protests and daft events like today's royal wedding. If society wants more police manpower, hire more people, don't just pay the police 2-3 times there normal salary for doing their job on the weekend.

And finally if government wants to start scrapping laws (which I agree with) how about reserting the legal structure back to the basics. How about finally writing a UK constitution.

A set of ideals and beliefs that transcend temporary laws, a constitution that defines the rights of the individual, both today and for future generations. That defines the role of the state, to maintain the structures of society in a sustainable way, again protecting the rights of the individual today and for the future, and that limits the powers of other agencies within the structure of society (e.g. big buisness) to not interfere with the states role in protecting those rights of the individual, in a sustainable way.

With a decent constitution, then I might trust the government enough to do away with our legal heritage, red tape and all, when the very essence of government is to tackle issues like climate change to preserve the structures of society of future generations.

By candleflame99 - 29 April 2011 at 10:09am

1 person agrees

Please save our planet, or else I will be unemployed.

By Bill Oddie - 4 May 2011 at 11:37am

I Like tree's and stuff so keep up the work

By i like bush(es) - 4 May 2011 at 11:49am

A price on CO2 is a price on human life. The UK cannot afford to move to a low carbon, let alone a zero carbon, economy, because a low carbon economy means a high energy cost economy. It will result in fuel poverty for over 5.5 million UK citizens and ‘carbon leakage’ as jobs fly off to counties without the ‘green shackles’ of this legislation. Only the green elite will benefit for this law.

There is a disconnect between people and government on climate alarmism. The Climategate and IPCC scandals have led to uncertainty about the science of global warming. Those on low-fixed incomes will suffer the most from these green climate scare taxes. So I would remind those supporting the climate scare that these people form the majority of the electorate and “Green” is no longer “clean” – but just plain “mean”.

This law will not last long and MPs that persist in supporting the Climate Change Act will pay with their careers. The public are suffering from ‘climate fatigue’ with less than 25% believing that dangerous global warming might occur several hundred years from now according to the unproven projections of climate computer models. Grass roots non-partisan opposition groups like Repeal the Act will only gain in strength and shout louder. SEE www.repealtheact.co.uk and sign our petition
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43914.html

The reality is that the majority – both business and citizens – protest against the ruinously expensive, unsustainable energy subsidies, carbon dioxide taxes, and the unrealistic carbon dioxide emissions reduction targets. This will be voiced during the next general election, whether the Government and the green establishment like it or not.

The UK, accounts for less than 2% of global carbon emissions, and our £1trillion sacrifice will have no effect on the climate, but will be economic suicide.

In the 1980’s the Government used to say, “workers are pricing themselves our of the jobs market”. Now the situation is in reverse, because the government and the Climate Change Act are pricing businesses and workers out of the global jobs market!

The Government should cut its losses and repeal the Climate Change Act. And yes this will mean the end of wind and solar, but a return to energy security and climate realism. A price on carbon dioxide will impose a deliberate financial penalty on all energy users, but especially energy-intensive industries. These are part of the bedrock of the British economy. Any cost imposed on them will be passed straight down to consumers and we just don’t want it.

I would like to remind Government that carbon dioxide is a natural and vital trace gas in Earth’s atmosphere, an environmental benefit without which our planetary ecosystems could not survive. Increasing carbon dioxide makes plants grow faster and better, and helps to green the planet.

The Climate Change Act is based on scientific and economic data that is substantially flawed. It is therefore vital that a Climate Truth Commission be formed to investigate the climate science and there needs to be an independent review of the Stern Review.

In fact policy decisions can be taken on the climate without this Act, because the climate is always changing in accordance with natural cycles and recent changes are not unusual.

It is not possible to reliably predict how climate will change in the future, beyond the certainty that multi-decadal warming and cooling trends, and abrupt changes, will always continue, underscoring a need for effective adaptation.

By Fay Kelly-Tuncay - 4 May 2011 at 11:49pm

Well Said Fay !! I want clean air and a country that is energy independant so of course we need to cut our energy consumption and we need to reduce pollution. But CO2 is NOT pollution , its part of our planet's vital life support machine. Yes levels are high, yes levels and output need to be areas of concern but there is no proof of AGW and all the psuedo-science of the past decades is slowly unravling before our eyes. The UN claimed there would be 50 million "climate refugees" by 2010 ? They are now trying the delete evidence of this claim but thats to Anthony Watts, they were too late. Climate will always change, to think mankind is now driving that change is premature at best , completely arrogant and wrong at worst.

By Clean Air Please !! - 5 May 2011 at 11:19am