The British government is in “danger of losing credibility on climate change” because more than half of all its departments are failing to reduce their carbon emissions enough to reach levels that the nation as a whole is expected to meet.
Apart from the Ministry of Defence, which only reduced its emissions because of a part privatisation, the government now emits 22% more than it did in 1999, according to the green watchdog, the Sustainable Development Commission.
The commission, which describes itself as government’s “critical friend”, says the intention of making central government carbon neutral by 2012 is “extremely difficult to achieve” without major “offsetting” of emissions by purchasing credits, which “should only be implemented once all possible reductions have been achieved”.
“Unless government takes serious action to cut its own carbon dioxide emissions it will lack credibility in its challenge to society to do the same,” says the SDC.
I think the Labour government has already lost credibility on the issue – just check out what they did at the last Budget. Far too little far too late.