Press release

UK Government's poor green record will undermine Rio influence

13 June 2012

The Government's poor environmental record at home will undermine UK efforts to be taken seriously as a green leader at the UN sustainable development summit in Rio, a new Friends of the Earth report warns today, a week before Nick Clegg joins world leaders in Brazil.

20 years after the first Earth Summit, the planet faces a global emergency: economic meltdown, billions going hungry and dangerous pressure on our natural life-support systems. And the effects are being felt in the UK too, with energy bills rising due to spiralling gas costs and the decline of vital species like bees threatening food supplies.

Friends of the Earth's new report 'Rio+20 Earth Summit: What the UK needs to do to make it matter', says one of the reasons previous UN sustainable development talks have failed is because rich countries like the UK have played chicken with the environment - waiting to see who will act first - and calls for serious leadership now to safeguard the planet.

The environment charity is urging the Coalition Government to take action at home to prove its credibility as a green leader including:

• helping hard-pressed UK households struggling with high fuel bills, by developing clean British energy and cutting energy waste.

• saving British bees and saving the nation millions of pounds by committing to protect nature right across the UK, not just in designated areas - starting with a National Bee Action Plan.

• acting to reduce UK consumption of the planet's limited resources and put sustainable development at the heart of Government policy-making, from how we plan our towns to the way we farm and feed ourselves.

Friends of the Earth's Director of Policy and Campaigns, Craig Bennett, said:

"The Coalition's poor record on protecting the environment at home will undermine UK credibility at these crucial talks to safeguard the planet - its old-fashioned economic thinking sees it handing huge subsidies to oil and gas companies while breaking promises to protect nature.

"David Cameron promised to lead 'the greenest Government ever' but he can't even be bothered to go to the biggest international environment summit in years.

"If he wants to show leadership on the world stage, he must begin at home - this means action such as championing clean British energy and developing an urgent action plan to save our bees and protect our food.

"Unless the world's richest nations seize the initiative by pledging themselves to urgent and meaningful action, this summit will be little more than a talking shop while the world hurtles towards destruction."

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. Friends of the Earth believes that this Rio summit is unlikely to solve the crisis facing the planet we all rely on - but it could be an important step towards a new framework intended to do so. If international summits are to be more than mere talking shops, developed countries such as the UK must take the lead in turning rhetoric into reality.
2. Friends of the Earth campaigners will be available for comment and analysis in Rio from 15-24 June. To set up, please contact the press office in UK on 0207 566 1649 or media officer in Rio **from 18 June only** on 07718 394786.
3. While he's in Brazil, Friends of the Earth is calling on Nick Clegg to help ensure that:
   - world governments stop handing almost $100 billion in taxpayers' money to the fossil fuel industry every year, and use the money to help the billions of the world's poorest people get access to clean, affordable energy.
   - plans coming out of the summit don't undermine existing agreements on sustainable development
   - rich countries stop pushing for dodgy deals to sell off the world's forests and unique habitat and species-rich areas to the highest bidder
   - real progress is made to enable people everywhere to have a say in how the environment is protected and access to justice when it isn't
   - everyone's voices are heard and taken into account during the Rio+20 talks and decision-making - not just the opinions of businesses and politicians
   - the UN's initiative to enable poor communities to access energy prioritises tripling the use of renewable energy by 2030 rather than using dirty energy that will lock poor countries into fossil fuels.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust