Responding to the inclusion of an Electricity Market Reform Bill in the Queen's Speech today [Wednesday 9 May 2012], Friends of the Earth’s Executive Director Andy Atkins said:

“The Prime Minister must resist pressure from fringe elements within his party to ‘lurch to the right’ on energy - 85 per cent of the public back moves to invest in clean British energy from the sun, sea and wind.

“The Prime Minister must honour his pledge to lead ‘the greenest Government ever’ and seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to make our power system cleaner, more affordable and less reliant on increasingly imported fossil fuels.”

A bill to set up a Green Investment Bank has also been welcomed by the environment charity, Friends of the Earth’s Executive Director Andy Atkins said:

"The Government mustn't bottle the Green Investment Bank – it must be allowed to borrow and lend, just as the Prime Minister promised."

The environment charity also welcomed the introduction of a Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill to enforce the Supermarket Code of Practice. Executive Director Andy Atkins said:

"Supermarkets have been abusing their power for far too long by limiting customer choice and squeezing the life out of farmers by paying them too little.

"The Government must now act quickly - a strong watchdog is needed to loosen the supermarket stranglehold and give us all a fairer and less damaging food system.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. The Government has a once-in-a-generation chance to fix our broken power system with an Electricity Market Reform Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech today. Friends of the Earth’s Clean British Energy campaign, backed by Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden, is calling on David Cameron to use this opportunity to end our reliance on costly fossil fuels and to provide better support for companies developing renewable power from UK wind, sun and water – something which is backed by 85 per cent of the public.

Friends of the Earth is calling on the Government to ensure the Electricity Market Reform Bill:

• decarbonises (almost entirely) our electricity generation by 2030;
• introduces an Emissions Performance Standard to limit the level of pollution allowed from power stations in line with the 2030 target;
• makes our electricity system more efficient to cut energy waste;
• provides simple, straightforward support for renewable energy, to allow new companies, communities, schools and hospitals to plug into clean power.

Friends of the Earth’s Clean British Energy campaign is urging the Government to listen to the public and transform our broken energy system by developing clean and affordable power from our wind, sun and water. For too long the Big Six energy companies have locked Britain into importing costly gas and coal – causing our fuel bills to rocket. Backing renewable power and cutting energy waste will stabilise fuel bills and create new jobs. To find out more visit: www.cleanbritishenergy.co.uk.

3. Friends of the Earth has been campaigning in partnership with other organisations for supermarket reform for eight years. This demand for action was prompted by our research on the negative effects of the concentration of market power in the grocery sector. We also researched the effect on suppliers in the UK and overseas, the environment, and the direct impact on consumers through reduced choice and innovation in the supply chain. We demanded a stronger Code of Practice and an ombudsman to enforce the code and proactively seek to improve fairness in the supply chain. To find out more see here.