Alan Milburn MP

New Ground 68
Spring 2005

Prioritising Green Politics

Environmental policy is sometimes seen as being on the margins of political debate and government priorities. Yet the environment is something that we all experience, every day of our lives. It doesn't matter how wealthy or poor we are, we all share the same air, water and public environment. Its quality is thus an issue of importance to all of us.

For some, environmental policy still has the overtones of 'worthy but not central'. But I believe many people now recognise that economic growth and material wellbeing are not the be all and end all of life. An increasing number of people recognise the central importance of our environment to the enduring wealth and strength of our society.

Seemingly a day doesn't go by without further evidence of the effects of climate change on the way we live. Not just at some point in the distant future, but now. People already recognise that the weather is less predictable than when they were young. It is a gradual change, but the evidence that climate change is caused by carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions is clear. The difficulty is that when the effects of climate change become truly apparent in 30 to 40 years time it will be impossible to tackle the problem. It will be too late.

That is why the Prime Minister has put climate change, along with Africa, at the top of the agenda for our G8 Presidency this year. If you accept that climate change is a problem, then it is a significant problem and global action is needed to address it.

Perhaps the one positive aspect of climate change is - unlike the catastrophic tsunami brought on Boxing Day - it is within our power to address it. At an international, national, local and personal level. There is no magic wand that government, or any other agent in society, can wave to create a more sustainable world overnight. Each of us has a role to play in tackling environmental threats.

So although environmental policy and politics might not make the headlines in the election, there is no area of policy where the government you elect has a more vital role to play than over our common environment.