Green group 'lobbies Brown on climate change'
A coalition of climate change campaigners is putting pressure on prime minister Gordon Brown to stop plans for a coal plant at Kingsnorth.
The group, which includes leaders from the Women’s Institute, RSPB, Oxfam and Greenpeace, believes starting work on the plant will undermine government attempts to reach its environmental targets.
In a letter to Mr Brown, the organisation, named the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition, claims building new coal plants in the UK would send the wrong signal to growing economies like China and India, and could jeopardise a new global deal on climate change.
Ashok Sinha, Director of the coalition, said: "Gordon Brown’s decision on new coal-fired power plants could be a defining moment in the fight against climate change."
He added that if Mr Brown "jumps the right way and unlocks Britain’s renewable potential", the country could show that carbon technologies are the answer to climate change, poverty and energy security.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “Britain currently employs a rag bag of policies to tackle climate change – the deciding factor over whether a power plant is built should be a tax on carbon emissions at their source, not the whim of Gordon Brown.”
| Coal-fired power stations | …at a glance |
|---|---|
| Number of around the world | over 50,000 and rising |
| Environmental impact | Emissions of CO2 and other pollutants, notably particulates |
Last week, the Green Party called on chancellor Alistair Darling to cut fuel tax and levy excess oil company profits.
Related article:
Running your car on windmills
What is the ETA?
The ETA is a not-for-profit ethical organisation providing motorists and cyclists with carbon-neutral breakdown cover and insurance products. As well as encouraging responsible driving to reduce carbon, the ETA campaigns for sustainable transport.
