Lib Dems in Uttlesford Back Green Action Plan

12.50.54am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 5th Sep 2007

LIBERAL Democrats in Uttlesford have welcomed plans that will make Britain a zero carbon country by the middle of the century.

The plans will be debated by Liberal Democrats at the party's conference in Brighton on 17th September. Members from Saffron Walden will be going to the conference to back the proposals.

Cllr Peter Wilcock, Uttlesford Group Leader and delegate to the conference said, "Liberal Democrats have long argued that we have to tackle the problem of pollution and damage to the planet. The proposals put forward by Sir Menzies Campbell that we will debate at conference will mean that by the middle of this century, Britain will be a zero carbon country.

"That will mean that we will be producing overall no extra carbon dioxide, the main polluting gas that is leading to global climate change. Increasing amounts of carbon dioxide we are currently producing are almost certainly the cause of the extreme weather conditions we have suffered over the summer.

"Liberal Democrats have made the environment the main feature of our conference later this month. Going green means changing for the better many of our activities. And it means the Government changing policies as well. Under Labour for example, Gordon Brown has cut the tax burden on pollution, whilst putting up the tax burden on people.

"That means under Gordon Brown it has become cheaper to pollute. I strongly believe that people in Uttlesford will benefit from the Lib Dems' green tax switch. At our conference we will debate plans to switch the tax burden from people to pollution.

"We will cut national income tax and scrap council tax. To pay for this, we will increase green taxes on the most polluting activities. For example, we will increase the taxes on the most gas-guzzling cars and on aircraft.

"Liberal Democrats in Uttlesford are looking forward to conference. We will be meeting Chris Huhne MP, Huhne MP, our Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, and we will be discussing with him how we believe Uttlesford will benefit from the Lib Dem's green plans."

Cllr Martin Foley, Deputy Group Leader and Councillor for Thaxted said: "This summer has seen terrible flooding in the North and West of England linked to our changing climate. Councils such as Uttlesford need to re-evaluate the risks we face in the future in every village and town in our area. In Thaxted for instance a full Engineers Report is being done into drainage, on my request, to make sure we know the risks and we can plan accordingly."

Friends of the Earth director, Tony Juniper said: "We are delighted that the Liberal Democrats have come up with a range of progressive policies aimed at making the UK carbon neutral by 2050. The leadership must now increase pressure on the other main parties to follow suit.

New policies are urgently needed to cut UK emissions, which have risen under Labour despite promises of substantial cuts. This must include strengthening Government proposals for a new climate change law. Politicians from all parties must insist that it includes international aviation and leads to a cut in UK carbon dioxide emissions of at least three per cent every year."