FoE supporters contacted their parliamentary candidates to ask them to support four pledges:
- a strong and fair international agreement to tackle climate change;
- a local carbon budget for every local authority;
- investment in switching to a low-carbon economy;
- and tackling the major greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation caused by the UK's dependence on imported feeds for livestock.
The results were:
- Less than 1% of Tory candidates agreed (4),
- 182 of the 446 Lib Dems agreed;
- 96 of the 479 Labour candidates agreed
Andrew Smith, former Labour minister and candidate for Oxford East, said: " A Tory government would threaten the low-carbon transition: sceptic MPs, no to onshore wind, on the fringes in Europe."
The Conservatives also plan to increase oil drilling in UK waters.
According to a green paper on energy policy published in March, a future Conservative government would "implement a tax regime that offers sufficient incentive to keep existing fields open as long as possible, and which also makes new exploration on the UK continental shelf attractive".
It added: "In addition, we will improve the incentives for exploring and developing marginal fields ... opening up new areas, including in the seas west of the Shetlands."
When questioned by George Monbiot, Greg Clarke, the Tory energy shadow, could see no contradiction between this stance and having a carbon emissions reduction target.
In this video he comes across as woolly and superficial in his thinking.
In addition, the Tories want to scrap many quangos and let ministers make more decisions.
This could mean a severe shrinking of anti-pollution measures resulting in a more polluted country.
When I asked Central Office to deny categorically that the Tories would not scrap the Waste and Resources Action Programme or the Environment Agency, they could not do so.
Finally, the LibDems are the only party wanting to scrap nuclear power and Trident.
Use your vote wisely.
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