Greenpeace publishes top ten climate steps for Blair

Global warming roadmap shows what PM must do to regain trust of greens

Greenpeace today published a list of ten steps Tony Blair must urgently take on climate change if he is to regain the trust of environmentalists.

The government's climate change review is launched today, with the likely result that ministers will promise more action to tackle the climate threat. But last month Greenpeace withdrew its endorsement of the government's global warming policy following a number of disappointing failures to act on rhetoric. Despite a number of fine speeches, the Prime Minister's pro-business bias has seen emissions rise under New Labour.

The suggested measures announced by Greenpeace today include; a demand for tough environmental standards for all new buildings, an end to all subsidies for oil, coal and nuclear power, and an increase in funding for renewable energy.

Greenpeace's Executive Director Stephen Tindale said: "These are the ten steps Blair must take if he's serious about leading on climate change. Global warming is killing tens of thousands of people every year and Britain's failure to act decisively is a result of irresponsible political decisions taken in Downing Street. The Prime Minister's friend George Bush might describe Mr Blair's record as 'all hat and no cattle'. This list is a roadmap that, if followed, will get the government back on track."

Greenpeace's top 10 domestic action points for tackling climate change are:

1. Ensure the rapid expansion of renewables. The government should fund power connections for offshore energy. This will support the development of wind, wave and tidal power.

2. Support massive expansion of combined heat and power (CHP) generation. All new housing developments, public and commercial buildings should be required to include CHP plants for heating, hot water and electricity. Government should fund changes to local electricity networks to make uptake of CHP and domestic renewable energy generation possible.

3. Set tough environmental standards for all new buildings. Regulations should ensure that all new buildings are built to zero emission standards. Buildings should incorporate renewable power such as solar PV and solar water heating and state-of-the-art energy efficiency.

4. End fuel poverty and encourage energy efficiency. Set high energy efficiency standards for social housing and provide financial incentives and grants to encourage energy efficiency improvements in existing buildings. Energy efficient buildings should be eligible for reductions in Council Tax and Stamp Duty. In addition, there should be zero VAT on energy efficient products.

5. End all government subsidies for dirty fuel industries immediately. The government must stop all subsidies for oil, coal and nuclear power - including export credit guarantees - and invest this money instead in renewable energy schemes.

6. Reverse the recent decision to allow UK industry to emit substantially more CO2 under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

7. Make a clear commitment to increase the cost of petrol and diesel. The government needs to send a clear message to car manufacturers and the public that current levels of CO2 emissions and pollution from transport is unacceptable if we are to combat climate change. Revenue raised should be used to improve public transport.

8. Make Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) progressive. VED should be dramatically increased for inefficient vehicles such as SUVs. Incentives should be provided for state-of-the-art fuel efficient vehicles.

9. Withdraw the Airports White Paper. The government should include aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. There should also be a tax on aviation fuel and an increase in air passenger duty (APD) to reflect the true environmental impact of flying. These measures would help reduce air travel and make new runways unnecessary.

10. Fund hydrogen pilot projects. The government should fund local authorities to pilot the infrastructure needed to move to a hydrogen economy.

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