A frosty reception for Brown's "green" budget (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

A frosty reception for Brown's "green" budget

2:30pm Friday 23rd March 2007

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Well, well, well, what a surprise - Gordon Brown certainly showed off his green credentials. My disappointment is deep but I was not really shocked as the Budget unfolded.

Token tax hikes on gas-guzzlers, increases in grants for micro-generation, home insulation for pensioners and landfill tax aside, there was little to indicate that the probable next Prime Minister has a green heart.

All that eco-hype in the preceding days evaporated as the Chancellor's new green clothes proved as ephemeral as any Emperor's.

And that is a worry for our country and our planet. Here was the chance for Mr Brown to show he cared and he was prepared to take steps to tackle climate change but he showed it was not at the top of his priorities.

In fact he mentioned it three times as often in last year's speech - 13 mentions to just four this time.

Money to protect African rainforests was welcome but it seems to me to be an elaborate way of offsetting some of the UK's carbon when what we should be doing is cutting our own CO2 emissions first.

Perhaps what the message is from this week is that we should not expect much direct help from a national Government led by Mr Brown in the future if a city like Bradford it is take responsibility for its
contribution to global warming.

There is hope that the Government's Climate Change Bill will set up a framework for individuals, businesses and public bodies to do their bit but unless large sums are used as an incentive, I can see little change.

That's where Bradford receipts from the sale of Leeds-Bradford Airport could prove so valuable. As I have mentioned, an investment of £60 or £70 million could provide many energy efficiency pluses around the district and produce savings that could be further invested in building a decentralised low-energy infrastructure.

Woking Borough Council in Surrey sets the perfect example for local authorities. Here are some of its achievements to date:

- The first UK authority to have adopted a comprehensive climate change strategy on a scale that is likely to meet The Royal Commission on Environmental pollution targets of 60 per cent reductions of CO2 equivalent emissions by 2050 and 80 per cent by 2100;

- The UK's first sustainable energy 200kWh fuel cell and the first heating and cooling sustainable energy station in the country to provide a green source of power for the town;

- Through its Environmental Charter and Energy Efficiency Policies the Council has introduced a number of innovative measures to protect the environment and reduce pollution to make Woking a cleaner, greener borough. It has adopted numerous energy and water saving techniques for Council-owned buildings and public places; the revenue saved as a result of these award winning schemes is reinvested in other environmental measures to further improve energy efficiency;

And that could - or rather should - be Bradford too.