Nov 30 2009

The Tories Go Green

Posted by: Jonathan Marshall

In an intriguing departure from partisan political trends on this side of the Atlantic, the British Conservative Party--which leads in the polls--is taking an aggressively pro-environmental stance.

Last week, one of the party's top leaders, George Osborne, promised to slash carbon emissions from government agencies by 10 percent within a year, create a new investment bank to fund "green" initiatives, and pay households to recycle waste.

Saying that the British Treasury has long been "at best indifferent, at worst obstructive" toward environmental policy," he vowed to change that attitude if the Conservatives take power in the next election.

"I want a Conservative Treasury to be in the lead of developing the low carbon economy and financing the green recovery," he said in a speech at Imperial College London, a university known for its strong science curriculum.

While some commentators called into question the Conservatives' sincerity--claiming their words to date have spoken louder than their actions--James Murray of BusinessGreen called Osborne's speech "not far short of a master class in political positioning, responding to the legitimate complaints made by those within the environmental movement and proposing policies that, on the face of it, offer appealing solutions."

Noting that Osborne was making a "shameless play for traditional Labour voters," Murray added, "the government has no one but itself to blame. . . . It is an open secret that the Treasury has put the kibosh on any number of innovative green policy proposals over the past 13 years - all it took was for Osborne to point out the uncomfortable truths."

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