May 2004
Environmental Funding Drought
Whilst 4 million homes in the UK face flood threats from global warming, the Government has closed the tap on funding for environmental campaigns.
Fresh doubts are being cast over the Government’s commitment to green issues, as funding for environmental campaigns has been quietly scrapped.
Since the Labour Government came to power in 1997 funding for environmental campaigns is now at its lowest, with a substantial degree of this decrease occurring in the past year. Expenditure this year by the Government on environmental campaigns will total £7.7m, a reduction of 58% on 2000-2001 figures.
This comes at a time when reports have been published from the Office of Science and Technology stating that global warming now puts 4 million UK homes at risk from flooding. Figures show road traffic has increased by nearly 8% and domestic energy by 7%, and carbon dioxide emissions have also risen.
The Government’s "Are You Doing Your Bit" campaign to encourage consumers to change their polluting habits has recently been abolished, and there are no plans to fund another £10m programme. This leaves the Government to find other ways of increasing public awareness.
It is reported that Government cuts are not a result of lack of commitment to green issues but simply a lack in funding resources from central Government.
Regardless of cuts, the Government are not going to ignore environmental issues and funding completely (see our article on the Climate Change Group). The EC’s Enterprise Directorate recommended that EU governments initiate programs to promote the benefits of implementing Environmental Management Systems, particularly amongst small to medium sized enterprises. Waste legislation is continually being tightened in order to tackle the huge volumes of hazardous wastes produced by industry every year. Tony Blair has pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Britain in order to tackle global warming, forcing extra pressure on industry to reduce their energy consumption.
Funding or no funding, the environmental issues faced by the world today are not going to disappear and the Government is attempting to tackle this by implementing further pieces of legislation. Industry can no longer pollute and ignore the consequences, highly evident from the stark increase in annual pollution figures.
If you are interested in reducing your company’s environmental impact and saving money, implementing an Environmental Management System or are unsure of your obligations under the legislation surrounding your activities please contact Galit Hart on 024 76 279 004.
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