To be ConservativeHome’s Environment Correspondent at this conference is a bit like being John Simpson or Kate Adie at the BBC – one needs to run from one event to another with no time in between. Indeed, the whole conference feels like an environmental event – from the new logo to the main backdrop to the fringe calendar.
The session on the environment in the main hall today began with a “Hot Topic” session – a debate between style guru Stephen Hadley and the Independent’s Travel Editor Simon Calder on the motion “Cheap flights are a false economy”. In a lively exchange, Hadley argued that travellers within Britain and to destinations in Europe should take the train instead. “We are at a point of change … Selfishness can no longer have primacy … there are costs to be paid,” he argued. There is “absolutely no evidence”, he added, that air travel is a vital part of the economy.
Low-cost flying improves lives and creates jobs and wealth, said Calder. He disputed the idea that carbon emissions from flights made a significant contribution to global warming – they amount, he said, to 2% of the world’s carbon emissions, the same proportion that comes from the world’s cow population.
Contributions from the floor were thoughtful. Nicola Bates from Hornsey and Wood Green said that money raised from carbon tax on flights should be invested in the railways. Another delegate argued that it was not about flying or not flying – but about the type of fuel we use.
Some of the texts and emails that flashed across the screen were less serious. “Increase car tax on Jaguar cars”, said one, apparently from a “Pauline Prescott in Hull”. Another rather banally wrote: “Green issues are great” and then there was “More wind power please”. One flashed across: “Has anyone thought we should join with the Greens in the European Parliament?”
The motion was soundly defeated – 57% voted against it, 43% for.
The guest speakers were stirring. Jeannette Wilks, a green activist and not a Tory, bounced onto the stage and, Cameron-style, spoke without notes. She called on the party to become, once again, “the party of the land”. She emphasised the dominant theme – that “our planet is more important than anybody’s politics”. Zac Goldsmith said that pressure for action on climate change was coming from all quarters – big business, political parties and even evangelicals in the US who are now asking: “What car would Jesus drive?” Action for the environment, he argued, was not at odds with economic growth – we need to be “pricing the environment back into the market.”
Then came the frontbenchers. Shadow Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, with www.qualityoflifechallenge.com on the screen behind him, announced the launch today of a new website – How green is your car – providing environmental information about every car available in the UK. He called for less Government interference in the railways – “it’s time for Whitehall to stop playing the fat controller.”
Shadow Environment Secretary Peter Ainsworth reminded us of the Cold War, when a whole generation faced the threat of nuclear war. Now, he warned, we are in a “Hot War” against global warming. “Our fragile earth is warming at an alarming rate.”
The most striking message Ainsworth struck was that climate change is above party politics. While Labour and the Liberal Democrats had attacked Cameron on the environment, Ainsworth has “no time at all for silly party political games”.
He proposed the following:
- A Climate Change Bill which will cut carbon emissions
- An independent body to monitor climate change and recommend solutions
- A successor to Kyoto that will promote green growth
- Replace Labour’s tax on industrial emissions with a carbon levy
But, all speakers added, it is not just about what Government can do. It is about the choices we all make – about travel, food and recycling.
The local election campaign slogan “Vote Blue, Go Green” is clearly here to stay.
