Call to Government to help councils achieve carbon emissions targets (South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats)

South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats <info@secambslibdems.org.uk>

Call to Government to help councils achieve carbon emissions targets

December 11, 2009 6:19 PM

As world leaders try to reach agreement on reducing green house gases at the Copenhagen climate change conference, leading Liberal Democrat Jonathan Chatfield points to the woeful local reductions in carbon emissions and calls for more government support for district councils for their efforts to get people to reduce their CO2 emissions.

Figures published by the Office of National Statistics in November showed that in the period from 2005 to 2007 the level of emissions from households fell only slightly in four of the five council districts in Cambridgeshire and that in South Cambridgeshire there was no reduction at all.

Jonathan Chatfield the Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson for South East Cambridgeshire said:

"It is clear that our district councils need far greater help from central government if they are to get anywhere near the level of reduction in carbon emissions needed to meet even current targets.

"It is particularly disappointing that South Cambs failed to record any fall in emissions.

"With households producing over a quarter of all carbon emissions in the UK, the Government has to bring in much tougher standards for new house building and the insulation of existing homes, with support for existing homeowners."