How the environment fared in the spending review20 October 2010
The Chancellor's axe has fallen. The spending review brought mixed news for the environment - and for the Government's aim to be the greenest ever.
On the plus side, green business got a welcome boost with £200m pledged to support low-carbon technologies like offshore wind.
This will mean thousands of new green jobs in areas like the North East that need it most.
And, thanks to campaigning by Friends of the Earth supporters, there was a reprieve for feed-in tariffs and the renewable heat incentive.
This will encourage more people and businesses to generate clean, green energy and help wean the UK off its expensive addiction to coal and oil.
But savage cuts to home insulation and bus schemes will hit the UK's poorest people and the planet hard.
Slashing energy-efficiency grants to some of the UK's most vulnerable people will send a chill into many homes - while cutting £300m from buses will devastate services that the poorest rely on most.
Andy Atkins, Friends of the Earth
Plans to widen the M62 and M25 will increase traffic and emissions. And by pushing up rail fares the Chancellor is encouraging more people to drive and fly - the opposite of what he should be doing.
Green farming
The retention of funds to help farmers go green is welcome news. The environment department (Defra) is to be congratulated for doing this.
But the Government must make a minimum spending commitment for this work. And it must show that it's not drawing money away from other projects that are also vital for rural communities and the quality of our countryside.
Green Bank
On a positive note, George Osborne promised a new bank to help green industries and jobs get off the ground. But the crucial detail is still to be decided.
A Green Investment Bank is critical to the UK's low-carbon future - but it needs more money and to happen fast.
Please help us convince the Government to make it a real bank not just a fund - before the big decisions are made.
© Conservative Party
