Greens attack Blair over pollution

The Government faced fresh accusations of "misleading the public" today over climate change.

The Green Party launched an attack on Tony Blair, accusing him of failing to deliver on promises to tackle climate change and cut carbon dioxide emissions.

"Tony Blair is simply upping the rhetoric," said Dr Spencer Fitz-Gibbons, the party's spokesman on climate change.

"There have been no policy changes, yet the public are being taken in and think the Government are addressing the issue. They are not. We need to see some action from all three parties on this issue."

The Greens were today debating the issue at their annual conference in Westonsuper-Mare, and are expected to call for urgent policy changes.

The demand for government action was backed by new figures from the World Wildlife Fund claiming Britain is responsible for 30 per cent more CO2 emissions than the Government admits to. Labour committed to a 20 per cent reduction in CO2 by 2010 in its 1997 manifesto.

Andrew Lee, the WWF's campaign director, said: "In 2005 Britain will chair the G8 and Tony Blair has pledged that climate change will be top of the agenda. There is no doubt that the time to act is now. It is now that timely action can avert disaster.

"It is now that with foresight such action can be taken without disturbing the essence of our way of life, by adjusting behaviour, not altering it entirely."

The Government's chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, also recently courted controversy when he claimed the threat from global warming was worse that of terrorism.

However, debate has raged over exactly what steps the Government should be taking to cut emissions of CO2.

According to the Green Party the key for London is improving public transport. Dr Fitz-Gibbons said: "If London had a perfect public transport system, then many, many more people would stop using cars. That is where we need investment, not in spending millions building new roads around the country.

"If people have an alternative, we think they will take it. We are not saying that people will suffer as a result of reducing emissions - it just needs investment in the right areas."