You can easily opt out of emails, calls or SMS at any time, and we won't sell your details to anyone else. Full details are in our privacy policy.
You are also welcome to email us using our online form.
Dangerous climate change will destroy our way of life unless radical action is taken. We are running out of time to safeguard the future for our children and grandchildren. No individual country can tackle this problem alone. We have to work together to ensure that our way of life doesn’t hurt the planet.
Pollution and climate change have no respect for national borders. It makes sense for European countries to pull together to save energy, cut pollution and preserve our natural resources. And it makes sense for all European countries to commit to the same goals, because on the environment if we don’t all act, we all lose out. The European Union has led the way with climate change and energy laws and ambitious targets to reduce emissions.
All EU members are now committed to reducing greenhouse gases and energy consumption by at least a fifth by 2020, and to getting 20% of European energy from renewable sources, with a target for the UK itself of 15% from renewable sources. Liberal Democrats want to see the commitment to cut CO2 emissions increased to 30% as part of a wider global agreement.
The EU’s commitment to tackling climate change and boosting research and development helps put European countries at the cutting edge of green technologies - like stopping carbon emissions escaping into the atmosphere from the dirty use of coal, and sustainable energy sources like solar, wave, tidal and wind power. Our businesses are well placed to lead a new green revolution which will generate thousands of jobs. In Germany alone, 400,000 jobs have already been created thanks to investment in green technologies. The proposed offshore super-grid around the North Sea will create an estimated 200,000 jobs.
Europe's commitment to cut carbon emissions provides us with real opportunities. Liberal Democrats will increase investment in science and technology. The EU's research and development programmes must help shape the low carbon economy of the future. That is the European route to green growth in Britain.
Protecting the environment isn't just about climate change. Liberal Democrats believe that every citizen has the right to breathe clean air, drink fresh water and live on unpolluted land. Our MEPs have fought hard to improve air purity by clamping down on emissions from planes and cars, raise water quality by cutting out poisonous chemicals, and guarantee chemical safety standards by making manufacturers prove that their products are safe.
In Britain, the Liberal Democrats are the only party that has a clear, long-term strategy for tackling climate change and reducing emissions to make the UK carbon neutral – where the country absorbs as much carbon as it emits – by the year 2050. Our strategy sets out how Britain can tackle carbon emissions from every part of the economy: transport, energy, housing, offices and factories.
It needs to be easier for people to go green, particularly in time of recession. Energy wasted heating draughty homes is bad for the environment and leads to high fuel bills. The poorest people, who tend to live in badly insulated homes, suffer most. An estimated 4.5 million British households are now in fuel poverty, according to Ofgem. Labour pledged to end fuel poverty by 2010, yet instead it has increased, leaving millions with huge energy bills. Liberal Democrats would ensure the energy companies invest in a rolling programme to reduce bills and cut out waste by insulating homes and installing smart meters to help people monitor how much fuel they are using. We would also require energy companies to expand discounts for vulnerable people struggling to pay fuel bills. Our plans would create more jobs in the construction industry and lead to lower fuel bills for people and families.
Liberal Democrats are determined to ensure Britain and Europe make the best of the opportunity that going green offers. Labour has let us down on the environment. They have no strategy for making all Britain’s houses energy efficient. They make big promises in Brussels about cutting emissions, but then in Britain they back dirty coal-fired power stations, like Kingsnorth, and a new airport runway at Heathrow. EU rules on air quality and noise limits aim to protect people from harmful pollution from things like factories, planes and cars. The level of air pollution around Heathrow already breaks EU rules. Labour’s decision to build a new runway at Heathrow will just make this worse. Liberal Democrats are fighting to stop Labour’s third runway and protect the environment.
The Conservative commitment to green issues is only skin deep, prioritising photo opportunities over real policies to help Britain and Europe go green. By opposing a common European energy policy, the Conservatives have shown they are not serious about the environment. Their attitude to Europe will just leave us isolated. Britain can’t afford to become isolated in Europe when decisions are being made to save our planet. By opposing reforms in the Lisbon Treaty that would help the EU combat climate change, the Green Party too is part of the problem, not the answer.
Liberal Democrats will fight to ensure that all EU countries meet their targets for reducing emissions and using more renewable energy. The Copenhagen summit in December is a real opportunity for Barack Obama’s United States to join forces with Europe and create a new ambitious international treaty that includes all major industrial and developing countries.
The EU's carbon emissions trading scheme is at the heart of Europe’s plans to reduce carbon dioxide and other emissions which harm the environment. Liberal Democrats want the scheme extended to include other harmful greenhouse gases and more areas of business such as shipping. Improvements to the scheme will provide money to reduce taxes and invest in clean, green technologies.
A Green Road to Recovery: The UK lags behind many other European countries in adopting green technology. Now is the time for big investment to create jobs and make Britain and Europe greener. We need a green road out of the recession. This would mean new jobs in green industries, money in people’s pockets from saving energy, and a transport network we can all be proud of. Many of our proposals for green investment would need to be delivered through local councils and local companies, putting money into local economies.
Green, Affordable and Secure Energy: Liberal Democrats want Britain to lead the drive for an open marketplace for energy in Europe to deliver secure supplies of cleaner energy and lower bills. Linking up national electricity and gas grids and creating a European super-grid would also reduce every country’s vulnerability to having energy supplies cut off - particularly from Russia. Britain has the potential to lead the world in clean renewable energy particularly wave, tidal and wind power. Our goal is for Britain to source all energy needs from within the EU by 2030 and become a net exporter of energy by 2050. In order to meet this goal, a European Energy Agency should be established to bring together the work of national energy regulators and coordinate much needed European research and development into technology that can tackle climate change.
No to Nuclear Power: The Liberal Democrats oppose the expansion of nuclear energy in Britain which both Labour and the Conservatives have championed. We believe nuclear energy creates dangerous waste and leaves a lethal radioactive legacy for our children. The huge start-up and clean-up costs would be better spent supporting renewable energy and cutting waste.
Green Homes: Working through Europe will cut the cost of going green. Increasing the energy efficiency of our homes is the cheapest way of cutting harmful emissions and saving people money on bills. Liberal Democrat MEPs are arguing for tighter energy efficiency standards for new and renovated buildings and for bringing all homes up to the best modern standards. Liberal Democrats want the UK Government to take advantage of new European agreements and cut VAT on housing alterations, renovations and repairs. Our MEPs will work to extend this to products which help save energy and to other environmentally-friendly products and businesses. Taken together, these measures would cut home renovation costs, help tackle fuel poverty, reduce carbon emissions, create thousands of jobs and boost Britain’s struggling construction sector.
Sustainable Agriculture and Fishing: Although the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been transformed over the last decade it still makes up over a third of the EU’s budget. It is inevitable that the proportion of the EU budget devoted to the CAP will decline further in future and Liberal Democrats will ensure that this process is managed to avoid risks to food production while at the same time providing a broader range of environmental and other benefits. The CAP should be replaced gradually with a new European Sustainable Rural Development Policy. This would help farmers to get a fair price for their produce, encourage home grown food and deliver an appropriate level of food security, enhance biodiversity through habitat management and conserve our countryside, support rural economies, help tackle climate change, ensure cleaner water and protect water supplies. The reformed policy must allocate Rural Development Funds to member states on objective needs-based criteria, replacing the current arrangement that has left many parts of the UK, particularly Scotland and Wales, short-changed for decades. Liberal Democrats believe that even more responsibility for implementing policy on conserving fish stocks should be worked out regionally. Decisions on fisheries management should be made on a regional basis, with more powers being given to fishermen, scientists and communities through Regional Management Councils.
