04 September 2012
Owen Peterson replaces Caroline Spelman – another step away from the Greenest Government?
Damian Carrington of the Guardian has produced an assessment of the new environment secretary .... But the most important issue is far broader: the fate of David Cameron's pledge to make his government the "greenest ever". As the economy has tanked, the Tory right has looked to bury that pledge in the name of growth at any cost. But environmental campaigners should prepare for deep disappointment: despite listing "trees" as an interest, Paterson is no treehugger. In May, he reportedly told the Cabinet that it should end all energy subsidies, such as those for wind and solar power, and fast-track shale gas exploitation. He also urged more aviation capacity, which seems far more likely now Justine Greening - implacably opposed to a third runway at Heathrow has been removed. As MP for North Shropshire, Paterson has spoken against wind farms and the new pylons needed to carry their power to the national grid.
His appointment marks a sharp lurch away from the green-minded policies which sheltered in the environment department and a significant weakening of the green voice at the Cabinet table. His predecessor, Caroline Spelman, presided over the disastrous attempt to sell-off England's publicly owned forests and woodlands. But she spoke convincingly, if quietly, about the value of the nation's natural environment and the false economy of despoiling it in the desperate search for a quick fix to the recession. The responsibility for guarding the nation's natural capital now lies in Paterson's hands. To read the article in full:
