Central government emissions to be cut - PM
Carbon emissions from central Government will be cut by 10 per cent in the next 12 months, Prime Minister David Cameron announced today.
Speaking to staff at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) this morning, the PM said Government department headquarters will also publish online in real time their energy use so that the public can hold ministers and civil servants to account for their carbon footprint.
A government steering group chaired by Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne will be established to ensure the target is reached. It will comprise representatives from key departments and the private sector.
The Prime Minister will write to his colleagues to reaffirm the commitment and invite them to bring forward their plans to help meet the target.
The PM said:
I don’t want to hear warm words about the environment. I want to see real action. I want this to be the greenest government ever. Today, taking our lead from 10:10, I commit us to a 10 per cent reduction in carbon emissions across central Government in the next twelve months. You’ll be driving this forward.
But I have also made sure all Cabinet ministers are involved, developing plans to show how they will meet their share. And the public will be involved too - because we’re going to publish the energy use of government headquarters in real-time, so people can hold us to account for our performance. If we do this, we’ll cut the Government’s energy bills by hundreds of millions of pounds.