Tomorrow is pre-budget report day.
Hello? Hello? Oh, you are there. I thought I’d lost you for a moment. It may not sound terribly exciting, but the pre-budget report is of huge importance to the birds, wildlife and nature we care about.
The decisions our political leaders take to fix the nation’s finances will have major implications for the health of our natural environment, our wellbeing and that of future generations.
If we get the investment right now, in tropical forests, renewable energy, marine and agriculture, we will reap huge dividends for years to come.
The UK Government must remember that the generations of children who will one day be paying back our financial debts also deserve to live in a world that has healthy air, seas, rivers and forests.
The RSPB thinks the UK Government should use this pre-budget report to cut spending on things that pollute and damage the environment, and put the money into protecting nature and all the services that it provides.
The current financial crisis presents an opportunity to lay the foundations of a sustainable future.
We need to invest up to £200 billion in environmentally sustainable, renewable energy over the next decade or pay far more in the future to live with the consequences of dangerous climate change.
If the UK follows this prescription, it will create the bedrock of future prosperity. We are playing ‘catch up’ with other European economies on the scale of our low-carbon industries, but we have the potential to position ourselves at the leading edge of developing – and exporting – low carbon goods and services.
The pre-budget report is the last chance in the life of this parliament to deliver a credible, coherent plan to put the UK on the path to a strong, sustainable economic future.
Now is the time to turn words into action.