Indeed Environment Secretary recently confirmed that Labour expect to miss their own target to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2010 against the 1990 baseline.
Over 90% of our energy is dependent on fossil fuels and increasingly reliant on imports. With the era of cheap oil now well and truly over, UK energy is fast becoming uncompetitive and vulnerable to geopolitical shocks. This is felt in each of our pockets, with gas prices having risen by 47% in the last year, with gas and electricity prices rising at twice the rate of the EU average.
So what is needed is an environmental and energy revolution, comparable to the impact of the internet, to create a low carbon economy.
Conservative plans include a decentralised energy revolution paying people who produce energy from renewable resources; introducing smart-grid and smart meter technology to reduce transmission costs and energy usage; a new national recharging network - enabling Britain to lead the world in replacing traditional cars with electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles; enabling biogas and methane to replace up to 50% of our residential gas heating; and low carbon buildings, transport and commerce - including a new entitlement for every home to be fitted with up to £6,500 of energy efficient improvements.
These measures will strengthen our economy, help guarantee our energy security, protect our environment for future generations and in the process create hundreds of thousands of jobs, just when we need them.
