Less interest in environment as economy falters

As the government shows signs of watering down the new environmental tax on cars, new research shows that people have less interest in green matters.

Ipsos Mori has found that environmental concerns reached a pinnacle in January 2007, when 19 per cent of people, unprompted, named the environment as one of the biggest issues facing Britain today, compared with just a few per cent several years earlier. But by January 2008, that figure had fallen to 8 per cent, while the economy was rated a top concern by one in five, reports the Financial Times. One very senior member of the shadow cabinet put it more strongly, telling the paper: “People hate this green stuff.”

Of 138 green targets set by ministers, 60 per cent have been missed, according to a recent report by Policy Exchange, a centre-right think-tank. Others have been “chopped and changed” or were always too vague and meaningless, the report said.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association said: “This research tallies with our own – we found that 30 per cent of people felt there was too much coverage of green issues in the media. It’s not the way we would like to see it happen, but a down-turn in the economy is bound to have a silver lining in environmental terms as people are forced to lead more frugal lives.”

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The ETA is a not-for-profit ethical organisation providing motorists with carbon-neutral breakdown cover and insurance products. As well as encouraging responsible driving to reduce carbon, the ETA campaigns for sustainable transport.