This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/11/may-defends-inspiring-green-plan-as-critics-call-for-immediate-action

The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
May defends 'inspiring' green plan as critics call for immediate action Theresa May defends green plan as critics say it is too slow and vague
(about 1 hour later)
Theresa May has said her government is serious about improving the environment after pressure groups gave a lukewarm response to a new 25-year green plan, praising its ambition but warning that it lacked sufficient plans for immediate action.Theresa May has said her government is serious about improving the environment after pressure groups gave a lukewarm response to a new 25-year green plan, praising its ambition but warning that it lacked sufficient plans for immediate action.
Unveiling the plan at a nature centre in south-west London, May argued that preserving the environment was natural for Conservatives, and reiterated a promise that the current generation in the UK would be the first leave the natural world in a better state. May’s proposals were also criticised by Jeremy Corbyn, who said her pledge to stop all avoidable plastic waste by 2042 was “far too long” to take action.
May spent a significant part of the speech, at the London Wetlands Centre in Barnes, highlighting the issue of plastics pollution, saying people in the future would be “shocked at how today we allow so much plastic to be produced needlessly”. Unveiling the plan at a nature centre in south-west London, May argued that preserving the environment was natural for Conservatives, and reiterated a promise that the current generation in the UK would be the first to leave the natural world in a better state.
The PM spent a significant part of the speech, at the London Wetlands Centre in Barnes, highlighting the issue of plastics pollution, saying people in the future would be “shocked at how today we allow so much plastic to be produced needlessly”.
However, the only immediate new policy was to extend the successful 5p charge for plastic bags to smaller shops in England, as already happens in Scotland and Wales.However, the only immediate new policy was to extend the successful 5p charge for plastic bags to smaller shops in England, as already happens in Scotland and Wales.
Other measures will be consulted on, for example a possible charge on single-use plastic containers such as takeaway boxes, an idea to urge supermarkets to introduce aisles without any plastic packaging, and research funding for “plastics innovation”.Other measures will be consulted on, for example a possible charge on single-use plastic containers such as takeaway boxes, an idea to urge supermarkets to introduce aisles without any plastic packaging, and research funding for “plastics innovation”.
Answering questions from the media after the speech, May denied that the blueprint was bigger on vague promises for the future than on immediate action, calling it “an inspiring plan”. Answering questions from the media after the speech, May denied that the blueprint was bigger on vague promises than on immediate action, calling it “an inspiring plan”.
She said: “It is a long-term plan, it’s about the next 25 years, but it’s a plan which I think speaks to everybody who has an interest in our environment, and everybody who wants to ensure that future generations are able to enjoy a beautiful environment.” She said: “It is a long-term plan, it’s about the next 25 years, but it’s a plan which I think speaks to everybody who has an interest in our environment and everybody who wants to ensure that future generations are able to enjoy a beautiful environment.”
The government was already taking action “in the here and now”, she argued, highlighting the plastic bag ban and legislation to outlaw microbeads.The government was already taking action “in the here and now”, she argued, highlighting the plastic bag ban and legislation to outlaw microbeads.
May rejected the charge that the plans put more emphasis on consumers than producers, and defended the lack of any immediate proposal for a plastic bottle deposits schemes. She rejected the charge that the plans put more emphasis on consumers than producers, and defended the lack of any immediate proposal for a plastic bottle deposits schemes.
Recounting how as a child she would receive sixpence for returning glass soft drink bottles, May said the issue was determining whether for plastics it was more effective to recycle or reuse. Recounting how as a child she would receive sixpence for returning glass soft drink bottles, May said the issue was determining whether for plastics it was more effective to recycle or reuse. “But I think the important thing is to see what is going to have the greatest impact,” she said.
“But I think the important thing is to see what is going to have the greatest impact,” she said. Her speech, and the wider plan for England, produced by Michael Gove’s environment department, were met with some caution by environmental groups, and were criticised by Labour.
But her speech and the wider plan for England, produced by Michael Gove’s Environment Department, were met with some caution by environmental groups. Tanya Steele, chief executive of the WWF charity, said it was positive to hear May’s pledges. Corbyn said plastic waste and “the throwaway society” needed to be tackled more quickly than May’s timetable. “We have to be much, much tougher. Yes, take it on. But don’t do it in 25 years – do it now.”
She added: “But these commitments will only become a reality if they are backed by the force of law, money and a new environmental watchdog.” Tanya Steele, chief executive of the charity WWF, said it was positive to hear May’s pledges. “But these commitments will only become a reality if they are backed by the force of law, money and a new environmental watchdog.”
John Sauven, Greenpeace UK’s executive director, said the British environment “needs a 25-month emergency plan more than it needs a 25-year vision”.John Sauven, Greenpeace UK’s executive director, said the British environment “needs a 25-month emergency plan more than it needs a 25-year vision”.
He said: “If Theresa May wants to persuade people this is more than just husky-hugging, she needs to put some joined-up thinking at the heart of her strategy. You can’t claim to care about climate change and our countryside and then back fracking, or care about the next generation and then let air pollution harm our kids’ health.” He said: “If Theresa May wants to persuade people this is more than just husky hugging, she needs to put some joined-up thinking at the heart of her strategy. You can’t claim to care about climate change and our countryside and then back fracking, or care about the next generation and then let air pollution harm our kids’ health.”
Mary Creagh, the Labour MP who chairs the environmental uudit committee, which called last week for a 25p “latte levy” on all disposable hot drink cups, said this would have greatly reduced the 2.5bn such cups thrown away each year in the UK. Craig Bennett, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, said that while a long-term vision was vital, so was immediate action on areas such as air pollution.
She also said May’s ideas were too tilted towards consumers: “Taxpayers have been left to shoulder the burden of waste disposal costs for too long. My committee wants to make sure that polluters pay their fair share towards managing the environmental impact of the products they create and sell.” “It’s time to stop tinkering at the margins and get to the heart of the problems - especially the nation’s fossil fuels addiction,” he said. “Ministers must pull the plug on coal, gas and oil, end its support for fracking and develop the UK’s huge renewable power potential.”
The Campaign to Protect Rural England said the plan was a “fantastic commitment” and said it hoped to see a bottle deposit scheme soon. But the group said it was “concerned that the plan does not adequately address the growing development pressures on England’s countryside”. Mary Creagh, the Labour MP who chairs the environmental uudit committee, which called last week for a 25p “latte levy” on all disposable hot drink cups, said this measure would have greatly reduced the number of such cups thrown away each year in the UK, currently 2.5bn.
The scale of plastic waste pollution around the globe has become an increasingly important issue amid reporting and campaigns about its impact by the Guardian and others. She said May’s ideas were too tilted towards consumers. “Taxpayers have been left to shoulder the burden of waste disposal costs for too long. My committee wants to make sure that polluters pay their fair share towards managing the environmental impact of the products they create and sell.”
Last year the Guardian revealed that a million plastic bottles were purchased every minute across the globe, driven mainly by the consumption of drinking water. It also revealed that tiny particles of plastic are now present in drinking water worldwide. The scale of plastic waste pollution around the globe has become an increasingly important issue. Last year the Guardian revealed that a million plastic bottles were purchased every minute around the globe, driven mainly by the consumption of drinking water. It also reported that tiny particles of plastic were now present in drinking water worldwide.
In her speech, May – who praised David Cameron for having “restored environmentalism to a central place in the Conservative agenda” – spoke at length about the problem of plastics pollution.In her speech, May – who praised David Cameron for having “restored environmentalism to a central place in the Conservative agenda” – spoke at length about the problem of plastics pollution.
“In the UK alone, the amount of single-use plastic wasted every year would fill 1,000 Royal Albert Halls,” she said. “In the UK alone, the amount of single-use plastic wasted every year would fill 1,000 Royal Albert Halls,” she said. “This plastic is ingested by dozens of species of marine animals and over 100 species of sea birds, causing immense suffering to individual creatures and degrading vital habitats.
“This plastic is ingested by dozens of species of marine animals and over 100 species of sea birds, causing immense suffering to individual creatures and degrading vital habitats. One million birds, and over 100,000 other sea mammals and turtles die every year from eating and getting tangled in plastic waste. “One million birds and over 100,000 other sea mammals and turtles die every year from eating and getting tangled in plastic waste. This truly is one of the great environmental scourges of our time.”
“This truly is one of the great environmental scourges of our time.”
The UK would “demonstrate global leadership” on the issue, May said, using foreign aid to help developing nations deal better with plastics, and would use the Commonwealth heads of government summit in April to push for a charter across member states to reduce the amount of plastic waste in oceans.