Tories accuse Brown of 'low carbon' copying
Wednesday, 8 April 2009 11:58 AM
By politics.co.uk staff
The Conservatives have accused Gordon Brown of copying their green proposals for measures in Labour's forthcoming budget.
In an interview with the Independent today the prime minister outlined some of the green policies to form part of Alistair Darling's budget later this month, including an electric car pilot scheme and improved measures for wind farms and carbon capture technology.
But the Conservatives have claimed these measures are taken straight from their own plans to create a green economy announced earlier this year.
"Now that the governor of the Bank of England has aborted Gordon Brown's plans for a ruinous new debt-funded fiscal stimulus, the prime minister is desperate for something to say in the forthcoming budget," said shadow climate change secretary Greg Clark.
"He has clearly alighted on Conservative polices announced by David Cameron in January to turn Britain into a low carbon economy. These include a national network of charging points for electric vehicles, and a smart meter for every home."
Mr Brown's plans include making Britain a world leader in the production and export of environmentally friendly vehicles, the installation of roadside recharge points across the country and purchasing a fleet of electric cars for ministers to set an example.
Other plans to be announced include a relaxing on planning restrictions to help the construction of wind farms and the installation of "smart meters" in every home to show people the level of their energy use.
The Liberal Democrats welcomed Mr Brown's focus on the environment but urged him to do more, claiming the government's environmental record was a "disaster" which included the Heathrow expansion and a massive road building programme.
"The budget needs to contain more than just token gestures towards acknowledging the environmental crisis," said Lib Dem climate change spokesman Simon Hughes.
"Any signs that Gordon Brown is finally taking climate change seriously are welcome, but the devil will be in the detail when the budget is delivered."
The plans have been criticised by environmental groups for failing to deal with the big picture and they have called on the government to do more.
Speaking to inthenews.co.uk Richard George, head of road and climate campaigning at Campaign for Better Transport, said: "Although I think Mr Brown has set out some good points, they don't get to the route of the problem.
"The demand for electricity would be huge to accommodate the increase of electric cars, and so a large amount of the energy will have to be generated from the existing coal stations.
"It will also drive up the price of electricity because of competing demands from TVs and other appliances, and energy is not getting cheaper."
There is also concern that the government will be unable to follow through on some of its plans.
Mr Clark said: "We hope Gordon Brown will implement our programme for a low carbon economy in full, but in the past his environmental promises have proved to be hollow."
Greenpeace executive director John Suaven had praise for Mr Brown's plans but also expressed concerns about Labour's lack of implementation of earlier announcements.
"This can't be another conjuring trick of pulling great ideas out of a hat, setting long term targets with great rhetorical flourishes only to then flounder on the actual practical delivery," he said.
"There are great targets for the delivery of renewable energy by 2020, but missed targets for 2010.
"There needs to be a greater sense of urgency that will bring much needed jobs and help reduce emissions causing climate change. The economy and the environment won't be saved by promises alone."
As part of his plans, Mr Brown said he wanted Britain to emerge from the recession as a "low carbon" economy and hoped to increase the output of environmental goods and services by 50 percent to £1.5 billion in the next few years.
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