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Government pledges to go Carbon Neutral

In a bid to lead the way, the Government office estate has announced it will go carbon neutral by 2012. The speech made by Environment Secretary David Miliband confirmed that the Governement would become a pioneering force in acting in an environmentally sustaining manner.As part of this commitment, the Government has set an aspirational target to reduce carbon emissions from all government offices and agencies throughout the UK by 30 per cent by 2020. The Government has already introduced carbon offsetting for official air travel. The measures to make the Government estate carbon neutral will save approximately 800,000 tonnes of carbon - the equivalent of filling the Albert Hall with carbon dioxide more than 20 times a day or taking over three quarters of a million cars off the road. Cabinet Secretary Gus O’Donnell has agreed to ensure that every department within the UK Government responds effectively to the report’s recommendations.Prime Minister Tony Blair, who today met Task Force leaders implementing the plans, said: “Making the shift to a more sustainable lifestyle is one of the most important challenges for the 21st century. The reality of climate change brings home to us the consequences of not facing up to these challenges. I want the public sector to take a lead on doing things sustainably - through the way we run central Government and through the way we buy goods and services.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .