Vote Liberal Democrat in the European Elections on June 4th

• Introduction
• Jobs
• The EU
• Crime
• Environment
• Defence and world trade

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 for our 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.

In Britain, the Liberal Democrats are the only party that has a clear, long-term strategy for tackling climate change and reducing emissions. But 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, raise water quality by cutting out poisonous chemicals, and guarantee chemical safety standards by making manufacturers prove that their products are safe.

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.

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. Britain can’t afford to become isolated in Europe when decisions are being made to save our planet.

Liberal Democrats will work for:

• A Green Road to Recovery. Now is the time for big investment to create jobs and make Britain and Europe greener. Liberal Democrats want to create new jobs in green industries, money in people’s pockets from saving energy, and a transport network we can all be proud of.
   
• Green, Affordable and Secure Energy. Liberal Democrats want Britain to lead the drive for an open market place for energy in Europe to deliver secure supplies of cleaner energy and lower bills. 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.
   
• No Nuclear Power. Nuclear energy creates dangerous waste for which there is no agreed solution 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.
   
• Replacing the Common Agricultural Policy with a new policy that 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.

More detail

There is more information on Liberal Democrat policies on the environment in our full manifesto.