TO STEPHEN CRABB MP –

We, at Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth, are disappointed that measures announced in the recent budget will further weaken your government’s ability to reduce emissions of climatechanging gases in the UK.

These policies announced by the Chancellor concern us:

•Electricity from renewable sources will no longer be exempt from the Climate Change Levy, a tax on energy use paid by businesses. This will reduce the financial viability of renewable energy projects and undermine the growth of the low-carbon economy.

•There will be an expansion of tax relief for oil and gas exploration. This is another indication of your government favouring fossil fuel extraction over the development of renewable energy.

•Vehicle excise duty, from 2017, will increase for low emission cars and decrease for those with the highest emissions. For instance, a Toyota Prius hybrid could see road tax increase from £10 in the first year to £140.

A Land Rover Freelander would see its first year rate fall from £800 to £140.

•Fuel duty will remain frozen, breaking a previous government pledge that it would rise if oil prices remained below $75 a barrel.

•Money raised from vehicle excise duty will go into a road building fund, which can be expected to increase car use, rather than into better public transport or cycling.

Following your government’s ending of subsidies for onshore windfarms (which means that 250 cheap and clean power projects will no longer be built), the cut of £40 million set to fall on energy efficiency measures at DECC, and the cancellation of the Renewables Obligation scheme for large-scale solar farms, the measures announced in the budget demonstrate that your government is failing to recognise the severity of the threat posed by climate change and to implement adequate measures to address it.

Government claims that UK CO2 emissions fell by 194 million tonnes between 1990 and 2012 are misleading. These cuts have been outweighed by a rise of 280 million tonnes in emissions resulting from imported goods manufactured in countries like China (BBC News website, March 19).

And a study by the London School of Economics concluded that, without the recession in 2008 forcing down emissions, the UK would not have hit its domestic carbon reduction target for 2012 (reported in Carbon Brief, April 30).

The Committee on Climate Change warned, in its latest report to Parliament, that virtually all low-carbon measures are due to expire during the present government’s period of office and are not being replaced by convincing policies. We urge you to oppose policies that undermine the UK’s ability to effectively tackle climate change and benefit from the rapidly growing low-carbon economy.

Gordon James

Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth