In Blueprint for a Green Economy, published by the Conservative party in September, a number of recommendations were made that would require legislation to oblige businesses to consider the environmental impact of their activity. For example:
1. Large companies would have to publish their carbon footprint: “We are recommending that large companies be required to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions to a common standard.”
2. Pension funds would have to consider climate change when making investment decisions: “the 1995 Pensions Act should be amended to adjust the Statement of Investment Principles (‘SIP’) in order to define, for the first time, the actual meaning of the existing requirement to cover ‘social, environmental or ethical considerations’. In this context, we should also require trustees to take climate change considerations specifically into account.”
3. The Finanacial Services Authority would also get new powers on climate change: “We also recommend that the FSA should require all pension funds to include a Climate Change clause in their mandates to fund managers.”
Though some people said that David Cameron’s 70 odd private plane, jet and helicopter flights were of no interest, others, as the Guardian extract above demonstrates, take a different view.
If David Cameron wishes to make businesses publish their carbon footprint, shouldn’t he practise what he preaches? His emissions must be easy to calculate beacuse he is on record as saying that he offsets all the carbon.
So what do you think? Should David Cameron declare his carbon offsetting figures?
6 comments ↓
He came out as a carbon lightweight though, according to the Guardian’s figures … And they didn’t address the overseas donor business … I am not convinced the exception for “paying for travel” is meant to cover this. It is meant to cover going to se Mr JCB in his lair. Not “anytime, anyplace, anywhere” have jet will travel.
Tom, the document you quote is from the Tory Quality of Life advisory group – ergo, not Tory policy. Everyone reading your site knows the score on this. When you elide that distinction, put it under the “published by the Tory party” phrase, it’s technically accurate but misleading – and your excellent site loses credibility. Please don’t let yourself down like this!
Oh come on Visitor. The document was written by Zac Goldsmith and John Gummer. The quality of life group was launched by David Cameron.
At the time he said:
“I’ve asked the group to be radical in its thinking. I want it to work in an open and transparent way, taking evidence from leading NGOs and academic thinkers, engaging widely with the public. The group’s work, which should take about 18 months, will help us formulate a long-term strategy that will make Britain a better place to live without constraining economic growth….”
“…..That’s the central challenge that the Quality of Life group has been established to address. But its real test will be to take the tough long-term decisions to put aspirations into action. That’s the test that a modern, compassionate Conservative party must pass.”
GUARDIAN DECEMBER 2005
I think you should have a long hard think about who exactly is doing the misleading.
Not so much a carbon footprint more of carbon stampede.
Chris – as much as I would like to Dave’s travel not to fall within the overseas travel exemption – I somehow feel that it would be difficult to argue in court that private jet travel did not fall within exemption – overseas travel is overseas travel it just that Old Etonians don’t travel with the oiks. Soemhow doubt that we will see Dave on a bicycle in the near future.
One area where the closer scrutiny is needed of the “Ashcroft” expenditure – is whether it is included in the Tories National Campaign Expenditure Totals – the Act is fairly clear that money spent on promoting the Party or its candidates (or attacking an opposing party) in the 12 months prior to a National Elections counts towards the (audited) national totals – and this is the case even when the expenditure is undertaken by accounting units of the national party (i.e Tory consituency associations) – see Section 72 of PPERA. The interesting thing is that we are now in the qualifying period for the next European Parliament elections in June 2008 – so in theory there should be a limit on the current level of “Ashcroft” expenditure. Shouldn’t the Electoral Commission be doing something?
Cameron has declared on his blog that he offsets via Climate Care. You can see from this page:
http://www.climatecare.org/projects/ashden/
that he was a principle speaker for the 2006 Ashden award. It shouldn’t be too difficult for Climate Care or Cameron to provide accurate offset figures for his travel:
https://www.climatecare.org/calculators/business/
says “Climate Care’s business CO2 calculator makes it easy for any size of UK based organisation to work out and offset their key CO2 emissions.”
I do hope he hasn’t just used the standard calculator though, because clearly helicopter flights and business jet travel will have a somewhat higher footprint than ordinary scheduled flights. I can’t see this detailled on their site, so we must expect that Mr Cameron has made special arrangements for his eco-auditing.
What a total fraud Dave Cameron really is. Talk the talk on green issues but when it comes down to reality take a leather clad seat onboard Ashcrof Airlines where air travel is as cheap as Tory party manifesto promises.
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