Simon Thomas, MP
Greenpeace's campaigns have a real effect on my work as a Member of Parliament. I'm not ashamed to say that Greenpeace is often the source of much of my Parliamentary work; they alert me to issues first, such as the scandal of timber exported from conflict-ridden Liberia.
The most effective combination is when Greenpeace and MPs work together on exposing the myths behind Government rhetoric. One example was joint work to reveal the facts behind Government support for dirty fossil fuel power plants abroad. Following Greenpeace's suggestions, I tabled questions and discovered that UK taxpayers were subsidising these plants and their production of C02 at a rate that shamed the UK commitment under Kyoto. The exposé ended up on Newsnight and forms part of the background to an Environmental Audit Committee investigation of the Export Credits Guarantee Department.
I was proud to succeed Cynog Dafis as Plaid Cymru MP in a by-election in 2000. Cynog was the first Green MP elected to Parliament, standing on a joint ticket with Plaid Cymru. I have sought to continue his environmental campaigns and enjoy hugely my work on the Environmental Audit select committee. I am also the Party environmental policy spokesperson and vice-Chair of Globe UK, the international forum for green politicians.
Wales has a great story to tell on sustainable development. The National Assembly is one of the few legislatures that has sustainable development as one of its founding aims - thanks in no small measure to Cynog and Plaid Cymru MPs. We lead the way on renewable energy and organic farming.
Green politics and the Government's commitment to sustainable development is fast sliding off the parliamentary agenda. Huge bail-outs for nuclear energy; paralysis over real targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency; encouraging developing countries to opt for fossil fuel and expensive infrastructure over local renewable technologies; a refusal to accept the inherent dangers of burgeoning low cost aviation, and a signal failure to bring forward a sustainable waste strategy all point to the need to redouble both MPs and Greenpeace's efforts.
My current campaign is to get to the truth about meeting the Kyoto targets. I've discovered through Parliamentary Questions that the hyped reduction in C02 emissions last year was due mostly to the decline in the steel industry. The underlying trend is away from meeting the targets. I intend to continue working on renewable energy - I am also vice-chair of PRASEG, the Parliamentary renewable energy group - and dig around the Government's scary aviation policy. I also see the war in Iraq as one of the consequences of our common failure in the West to address our oil dependency. GM crops will soon be raising their head again also.
Most MPs only skim the surface of green ideas. It's part of Greenpeace's job to drag them down the depths so that they can drink more deeply of the well of sustainability. We have to start at our own doorstep however, and I pleased to say that that most unusual of Commons' committees, the Catering Committee, has been at the forefront of introducing more fairtrade, organic and regional products to MPs and staff alike.
