CLIMATE CHANGE BILL MUST HAVE TEETH AND BITE - HUHNE

5.03.45pm GMT Tue 14th Nov 2006

Liberal Democrats campaiging against climate change.

Commenting on the likely contents of the Climate Change Bill, which will be announced in tomorrow's Queen's Speech, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Chris Huhne MP said:

"The Climate Change Bill has to have teeth and bite. There must be annual targets that allow the Government's progress on climate change to be assessed. It is not rocket science to allow both for the economic cycle and for the weather - economic forecasters do this all the time.

"Failing to set annual targets is not because they are difficult, but because ministers do not want to be held accountable by parliament.

"The bill should also contain proposals for how targets can be met. Both ministers and the Conservatives are now talking about tackling carbon emissions, but lamentably failing to come up with specific proposals.

"If targets alone were the way of solving problems, this would be the best-governed country in the world.

"Only the Liberal Democrats have put forward ways of tackling emissions from cars and planes, which are the only sector of the economy whose carbon emissions have risen since 1990. The green tax switch - taxing gas-guzzlers and planes to cut income tax - is essential. We should tax pollution not people."