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Don't sideline the environment!

Last modified: 11 January 2010

Aerial shot of rainforest, Sumatra
Aerial shot of rainforest, Sumatra - Marco Lambertini (BirdLife International)

Billions of pounds needed to build a sustainable future for the UK are being squandered on wasteful and environmentally damaging policies.

A new report from the RSPB highlights the waste and outlines ways the Government could spend public money on protecting nature and building a low carbon economy.

At the same time, the charity has started to gather names for its largest ever petition, aimed at showing the scale of public support for the environment as we approach a General Election.

More than 80,000 people have already signed its ‘Letter to the Future’ – urging politicians to consider the health of the planet for future generations when making decisions about where to make cuts and where to invest - since September.

The RSPB is aiming to have tens of thousands more in time for a General Election in May.

Examples of waste outlined in the report, ‘Challenge 2010’ include:

 

  • The push to get more biofuels in people’s cars could increase motorists’ bills by up to £20 a year – some £720 million – over the next four years. Yet a lack of checks means those biofuels may be grown on land carved from the world’s rainforests.
  • The £2.5 billion in EU subsidies that goes to landowners and farmers each year, yet does little to protect wildlife or provide public services like improved water quality.
  • Since being bailed out by the taxpayer, banks like RBS have lent billions of pounds to oil companies.

 

Yet:

  • The money paid for environmentally harmful biofuels at the pumps could help meet the UK’s contribution to saving the rainforests instead of speeding their destruction.
  • Just £16 million a year would help save 32 species of bird from extinction on the UK’s Overseas Territories.
  • Publicly owned banks could use the public’s money to kick-start a green investment bank to fund renewable energy, new wildlife habitats and climate change adaptation work.
  • £40 million a year would give every child in England that qualifies for free school meals an out-of-classroom learning experience.

Martin Harper, the RSPB’s Head of Sustainable Development, said: “This report is a rallying cry for politicians in the run up to an election and at a time when they are struggling to reform our economy.

“The environment should not and must not be sidelined in that struggle – it should be at the heart of a truly sustainable recovery.

“Our message is simple: cut wasteful spending that pollutes and damages the environment and invest in protecting nature and all the services it provides.

“In the coming months our campaign aims to show the huge popular support for such an approach.

“Our children will have to pay for the billions we are spending to see us through this recession. The least we can do is use the money to build a future they’ll thank us for.” 

 

What can I do?

If you feel passionately that we need to make decisions today that will safeguard nature into the future, then please sign the Letter to the Future and together we can make the world a richer place.

Sign the letter