With British PM Tony Blair on his way out sometime in the next year -- though he won't be pinned down on a date -- Chancellor of the Exchequer (aka Finance Minister) Gordon Brown is poised to assume leadership of the Labour Party and hence the British government. What will this mean for the environment? The British press is starting to assess.
Sarah Mukherjee of BBC writes that greens haven't been impressed with Blair's follow-through on efforts to fight climate change, but they're "even more worried about Gordon Brown":
[Green groups] say he doesn't "get" climate change, and they feel he's taking an interest only because [conservative leader] David Cameron has made it such a big issue.
They welcomed extra money for green energy in the budget this year, but, they say, it was only a start.
When green push comes to economic shove, many are wondering how keen the chancellor will be to burnish his environmental credentials, and risk unpopular measures like taxing airlines or significantly increasing road tax on gas guzzling cars.
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Comments
View as Flat
GRLCowan Posted 7:40 am
11 Sep 2006
--- G. R. L. Cowan, former hydrogen fan
Burn boron in pure oxygen for vehicle power
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eteChSupport Posted 3:00 am
12 Sep 2006
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seamusenright Posted 11:55 pm
12 Sep 2006
As if this isn't enough, he kowtowed to middle class voters by agreeing to continue with Britain's new independent nuclear deterrent, trident.
The good news is that Brown hates to travel outside the UK, so that might reduce the governments ecological footprint a tad.
This is more than can be said for David Cameron, who went to Norway to see the impact of Gloabl Warming on retreating glaciers... by Private Jet!
D'Oh!
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Newsquoter Posted 11:37 pm
14 Sep 2006
UK Government has abandoned its target for reducing emissions
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