Stone: Government must take climate change seriously
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North MP Jamie Stone has urged the UK Government to "take climate change seriously" following the publication of a report by a parliamentary group.
The Science and Technology Select Committee warned that anybody believing that technology will present a "one-size-fits-all" solution to greenhouse gas emissions from transport would be mistaken.
Even if the Government were to swap existing vehicles for cleaner versions, sufficient emissions cuts would still not be achieved to combat climate change.
The report stated: "In the long term, widespread personal vehicle ownership does not appear to be compatible with significant decarbonisation."
Responding to the committee's report, which has highlighted the lack of policies in place to deliver the net zero target by 2050, Lib Dem MP Mr Stone said: "Climate change is the major crisis affecting not just the UK but the world.
"Leading scientists have recently warned that we only have 12 years to make changes or risk major climate catastrophe.
"This report confirms what we already know: the Conservatives are failing to take the climate emergency seriously, despite the devastation that will be cause if we sit on our hands.
"The Lib Dems would place tackling climate change at the heart of government.
"We would restore subsidies to renewable energy, reintroduce standards for zero-carbon homes and aim to reach net zero by 2045."
Of the report, a Government spokesman said: "From transport to heating, electricity to agriculture, we are working to put in place the right measures to help us tackle global warming.
"We welcome the committee's report and will consider its findings. We are going further and faster to tackle climate change than any other major economy having legislated for net zero emissions by 2050."
