SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Putting 'Next Generation First'? Critics Denounce UK's 'Climate-Wrecking Budget'
'It's almost as if the recent UN climate agreement in Paris never occurred'
Mar 17, 2016
The UK's newly unveiled budget is touted as one "that puts the next generation first." Yet, with tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry and insufficient support for the renewable sector, critics charge that "it's a climate wrecking budget."
Chancellor George Osborne announced the new budget Wednesday, telling parliament, "Doing the right thing for the next generation is what the government and this Budget is about, no matter how difficult and controversial it is." The issue of climate change, however, was left out.
Among the problems climate campaigners point out is the budget's plan for a tax break for the North Sea oil and gas industry of 1 billion pounds ($1.41 billion) over the next five years.
Osborne "also scrapped a carbon tax for businesses like Tesco Plc and raised a climate change levy that applies to electricity from renewables as well as from fossil fuels," Bloomberg Business reports.
"The direction for this government is becoming increasingly clear," stated Nina Skorupska, Chief Executive of the London-based Renewable Energy Association, "with a huge tax cut for oil and gas with the most polluting industries continuing to be protected, but a tax raise for renewable generators through the now thoroughly misnamed Climate Change Levy."
She added that "renewables are getting continually squeezed and blocked."
Environmental group Friends of the Earth offered similar criticism to the budget, with campaigner Liz Hutchin stating: "The Budget was full of 'next generation rhetoric,' but tax breaks for the climate-wrecking oil and gas industry pose a real threat to the security of people, the economy and planet.
"It's almost as if the recent UN climate agreement in Paris never occurred," she added.
Greenpeace UK offered this tweet in response to the budget:
Green MP Caroline Lucas pointed to the recent UN climate deal as well, charging: "Once again the Chancellor is taking the country down a dangerous path by ignoring the threat of climate change. This Budget locks us into fossil fuel dependency and contradicts the Prime Minister's call to action at the Paris climate talks. His plans to cut tax for North Sea oil and gas--rather than investing in a just transition away from fossil fuels--are myopic and dangerous.
"This climate-wrecking budget shows that the Government's talk of putting the next generation first is nothing short of sheer hypocrisy. If our Government were serious about creating a decent society for our children and grandchildren, then they would be pulling out all the stops to support British firms and businesses in the renewable energy sector and to keep fossil fuels in the ground," Lucas said.
Denouncing the budget as having "unfairness at its very core," Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also took issue other aspects of the budget, and said it marked "the continuation of austerity." Indeed, analysts have pointed out that it stands to benefit wealthier families and big business.
Corbyn also "attacked cuts to disability benefits and criticized 'mate's rates' corporate tax deals--but welcomed a new levy on sugary drinks," as BBC News reports.
He and his party also tweeted out responses to the budget, including the ones below:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
austerityclimate changeenvironmentfossil fuelfriends of the earthjeremy corbynunited kingdomclimate crisis
The UK's newly unveiled budget is touted as one "that puts the next generation first." Yet, with tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry and insufficient support for the renewable sector, critics charge that "it's a climate wrecking budget."
Chancellor George Osborne announced the new budget Wednesday, telling parliament, "Doing the right thing for the next generation is what the government and this Budget is about, no matter how difficult and controversial it is." The issue of climate change, however, was left out.
Among the problems climate campaigners point out is the budget's plan for a tax break for the North Sea oil and gas industry of 1 billion pounds ($1.41 billion) over the next five years.
Osborne "also scrapped a carbon tax for businesses like Tesco Plc and raised a climate change levy that applies to electricity from renewables as well as from fossil fuels," Bloomberg Business reports.
"The direction for this government is becoming increasingly clear," stated Nina Skorupska, Chief Executive of the London-based Renewable Energy Association, "with a huge tax cut for oil and gas with the most polluting industries continuing to be protected, but a tax raise for renewable generators through the now thoroughly misnamed Climate Change Levy."
She added that "renewables are getting continually squeezed and blocked."
Environmental group Friends of the Earth offered similar criticism to the budget, with campaigner Liz Hutchin stating: "The Budget was full of 'next generation rhetoric,' but tax breaks for the climate-wrecking oil and gas industry pose a real threat to the security of people, the economy and planet.
"It's almost as if the recent UN climate agreement in Paris never occurred," she added.
Greenpeace UK offered this tweet in response to the budget:
Green MP Caroline Lucas pointed to the recent UN climate deal as well, charging: "Once again the Chancellor is taking the country down a dangerous path by ignoring the threat of climate change. This Budget locks us into fossil fuel dependency and contradicts the Prime Minister's call to action at the Paris climate talks. His plans to cut tax for North Sea oil and gas--rather than investing in a just transition away from fossil fuels--are myopic and dangerous.
"This climate-wrecking budget shows that the Government's talk of putting the next generation first is nothing short of sheer hypocrisy. If our Government were serious about creating a decent society for our children and grandchildren, then they would be pulling out all the stops to support British firms and businesses in the renewable energy sector and to keep fossil fuels in the ground," Lucas said.
Denouncing the budget as having "unfairness at its very core," Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also took issue other aspects of the budget, and said it marked "the continuation of austerity." Indeed, analysts have pointed out that it stands to benefit wealthier families and big business.
Corbyn also "attacked cuts to disability benefits and criticized 'mate's rates' corporate tax deals--but welcomed a new levy on sugary drinks," as BBC News reports.
He and his party also tweeted out responses to the budget, including the ones below:
The UK's newly unveiled budget is touted as one "that puts the next generation first." Yet, with tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry and insufficient support for the renewable sector, critics charge that "it's a climate wrecking budget."
Chancellor George Osborne announced the new budget Wednesday, telling parliament, "Doing the right thing for the next generation is what the government and this Budget is about, no matter how difficult and controversial it is." The issue of climate change, however, was left out.
Among the problems climate campaigners point out is the budget's plan for a tax break for the North Sea oil and gas industry of 1 billion pounds ($1.41 billion) over the next five years.
Osborne "also scrapped a carbon tax for businesses like Tesco Plc and raised a climate change levy that applies to electricity from renewables as well as from fossil fuels," Bloomberg Business reports.
"The direction for this government is becoming increasingly clear," stated Nina Skorupska, Chief Executive of the London-based Renewable Energy Association, "with a huge tax cut for oil and gas with the most polluting industries continuing to be protected, but a tax raise for renewable generators through the now thoroughly misnamed Climate Change Levy."
She added that "renewables are getting continually squeezed and blocked."
Environmental group Friends of the Earth offered similar criticism to the budget, with campaigner Liz Hutchin stating: "The Budget was full of 'next generation rhetoric,' but tax breaks for the climate-wrecking oil and gas industry pose a real threat to the security of people, the economy and planet.
"It's almost as if the recent UN climate agreement in Paris never occurred," she added.
Greenpeace UK offered this tweet in response to the budget:
Green MP Caroline Lucas pointed to the recent UN climate deal as well, charging: "Once again the Chancellor is taking the country down a dangerous path by ignoring the threat of climate change. This Budget locks us into fossil fuel dependency and contradicts the Prime Minister's call to action at the Paris climate talks. His plans to cut tax for North Sea oil and gas--rather than investing in a just transition away from fossil fuels--are myopic and dangerous.
"This climate-wrecking budget shows that the Government's talk of putting the next generation first is nothing short of sheer hypocrisy. If our Government were serious about creating a decent society for our children and grandchildren, then they would be pulling out all the stops to support British firms and businesses in the renewable energy sector and to keep fossil fuels in the ground," Lucas said.
Denouncing the budget as having "unfairness at its very core," Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also took issue other aspects of the budget, and said it marked "the continuation of austerity." Indeed, analysts have pointed out that it stands to benefit wealthier families and big business.
Corbyn also "attacked cuts to disability benefits and criticized 'mate's rates' corporate tax deals--but welcomed a new levy on sugary drinks," as BBC News reports.
He and his party also tweeted out responses to the budget, including the ones below:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.