Policy & Politics Blog

6 July 2011

MEPs create climate of concern for Cameron

Trying to unravel the complexities of voting in the European Parliament can be a tough job. It took us a while yesterday to get to the bottom of what happened when MEPs voted on a proposal to support tougher EU climate targets, and exactly who had voted for what.

But when the dust had settled, it was clear that a proposal to support the EU unilaterally increasing its 2020 emissions reduction target from 20% to 30% had been defeated - and that the votes of Tory MEPs had been crucial.

Government policy clearly supports the 30% EU target. But sixteen of the twenty-five Tory MEPs supported a key amendment that made tougher EU action dependent on what other nations do, thus voting against David Cameron's wishes. The amendment was passed by just nine votes, meaning the Tories had helped swing the outcome. Only two Conservative MEPs voted in line with Government policy, and one of those was a prominent climate sceptic who opposes more action on climate change. If all Tory MEPs had supported the Prime Minister, the amendment would have been defeated.

Tougher EU action is crucial and should not be conditional on what other countries do. There are two reasons for this.

The climate science is absolutely clear - we need to act now if we want to give ourselves a reasonable chance of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. We can't sit on our hands and wait.

And secondly, if the EU acts now, we can reap the enormous job and business benefits that a green industrial revolution will bring. That's why over 70 leading European companies including Asda, Ikea, M&S, Unilever and Vodafone support a 30% target.

Yesterday's vote is a blow for David Cameron's green credibility. He's not said much about the environment since promising to lead the greenest Government ever. It's time for him to break his silence and show some real political leadership on climate change.

Posted by Tony Bosworth | 06 Jul 2011 | Climate Change