Climate change at the heart of Liberal Democrat policies

12.00.00am GMT Fri 4th Feb 2005

There is now a consensus in the world's scientific community that climate change will have catastrophic consequences worldwide; the uncertainty is how soon it will be irreversible. The Head of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (a United Nations scientific body) says it could be too late, and the International Climate Change Task Force says that we may have 20 years, perhaps only 10. Many scientist are saying we may have a bit longer.

The consequences are dire. The world's major cities under water; millions of emigrants from low-lying land; deserts; damaging weather events; farmers having to adapt very rapidly to new climates; lots more.

Politicians have been slow to react and slower to take action. Finally, the Prime Minister is addressing the issue in his speeches, but has not opened a dialogue with voters about the need to tackle the problem. His policy moves have been small, inconsistent, and sometimes directly opposed to the fine speeches. The Conservatives have little to say, and their rhetoric sometimes seems to imply that any attempt to address the problem is an assault on voters' rights.

By contrast, Liberal Democrats are engaging the public and adopting policies which can bring about large reductions in greenhouse gases. Our strategies include pressing George Bush to implement the Kyoto Protocol, setting up an environmental court to enforce standards, using financial incentives throughout the tax system to encourage lower emissions (especially from transport), speeding up electricity generation from wind, waves etc., and evaluating the environmental impacts of all our policies to ensure they are neutral or beneficial.