Philip Hammond: Fuel duty cut won't stop HMG being green

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » 26 Mar 2011, 20:20

The Guardian - 25/03/11

Philip Hammond: Fuel duty cut won't stop government being 'greenest ever'

Andrew Sparrow speaks to the transport secretary about road safety, high-speed rail, cycling and using public transport.

Article continues ...

JohnB · Post by **JohnB** » 26 Mar 2011, 22:14

Tackling climate change effectively had to go alongside supporting growth, he insisted, saying: "Anyone who thinks that you can do sustainable climate change agendas while ignoring growth and jobs is fooling themselves. If the public feels that the climate change agenda is driving a lack of focus on maintaining economic growth and keeping jobs, they will turn against it."

It would be interesting to ask what his definition of "green" is. As we discussed recently, the dictionary definitions cover a very broad range.

It's like if in 1939, the government had said we were going to war with Germany, but we also have to consider the people who don't believe that Hitler is a threat, those who don't care either way, those who don't want a war, those who support Hitler, and those who make money supplying arms to Germany, so it's not going to be all out war. I rather suspect we'd now be speaking German, driving on the wrong side of the road, and get shot if we didn't say Heil Hitler when approached by anyone in authority.

madibe · Post by **madibe** » 26 Mar 2011, 22:14

JohnB · Post by **JohnB** » 26 Mar 2011, 22:15

maudibe wrote:twit

Who, me or Hammond?

madibe · Post by **madibe** » 26 Mar 2011, 22:38

not you, obviously!

sorry for ultra brief response to this item - but life is too short

JohnB · Post by **JohnB** » 26 Mar 2011, 23:13

maudibe wrote:not you, obviously!

I use Twitter, so wasn't sure

.

@ecohamlets

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 27 Mar 2011, 22:21

Hamster needs to read that Excellent Tim Jackson book that Ken's just ordered. One particularly good chapter explodes the myth of the poss of "Decoupling" (i.e. Carbon growth from economic growth).

And that includes the Renewables industry: we (renewables-builders and buyers) boost both the economy and Carbon outputs while we are building the kit, but the Carbon comes down afterwards (because they produce low-Carbon energy) AND SO DOES THE ECONOMY (because there's less need to drill or mine for FFs.

However, that's the world economy: people who talk about Green Growth in the UK can have their cake and eat it, because a lot of our FFs are imported

DominicJ · Post by **DominicJ** » 28 Mar 2011, 10:36

JohnB wrote:It's like if in 1939, the government had said we were going to war with Germany, but we also have to consider the people who don't believe that Hitler is a threat, those who don't care either way, those who don't want a war, those who support Hitler, and those who make money supplying arms to Germany, so it's not going to be all out war. I rather suspect we'd now be speaking German, driving on the wrong side of the road, and get shot if we didn't say Heil Hitler when approached by anyone in authority.

Hitler wasnt a threat to the UK, the vast majority of the public didnt want a war, the government simply closed the debate and waged one anyway.
Churchill had dictatorial powers Hitler couldnt even dream of.....

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 28 Mar 2011, 10:38

Godwin's Law. Stop the thread!