UK political parties stipulate policies on climate change

A recent article from the Guardian stated that the UK’s Labour party is boasting itself as the forerunner in the fight to cut greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

The group is proud for being the first to put the climate change at the agenda of the G8, to call a UN Security Council meeting on climate change and to pass a climate change bill which targets to lessen the country’s carbon gas emissions by one-third by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050.

As a result, 2008’s greenhouse gas emissions were 66 million tonnes lower compared to 1997 figures and  carbon dioxide emissions dropped 10.8 million tonnes. Moreover, the country’s current carbon dioxide emissions are 21 per cent lower than the 1990 levels.

In other related news, the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) is pushing a climate change bill in the Scottish parliament which will target a 42 per cent reduction in emissions by 2020. The SNP however opposes any expansion plans for nuclear power stations, arguing that Scotland has the natural wave and wind power resources to produce clean energy.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats, like the SNP, are against to nuclear power station extension as well. Although, they had earlier passed an amendment recognizing that coal could be used as energy resource.

The Liberal Democrats also proposed a Future Transport Fund for the country to invest in a nationwide high speed train network, to introduce a mandatory zero-carbon vehicle emission targets by 2040, to generate 10 per cent of all vehicle fuels from renewable sources by 2015, and to ensure that the UK’s emission targets will include the shipping and aviation industries.