Still the greenest government ever? A cartoon for WDM by Ben Jennings

The green promises have turned toxic.

And in Ben Jennings’ depiction, so too have Cameron and Osborne.

David Cameron made the headlines back in 2006, visiting the Arctic and posing for photos with huskies to prove his green credentials.

But 2012 has been the year that finally put the nail in the coffin of the Conservatives’ promises to be the greenest government ever.

We’ve seen Tory MPs openly calling for the Climate Change Act to be scrapped. We’ve seen George Osborne pushing for more money for oil and gas at the expense of renewable energy. We’ve seen David Cameron veto the appointment of a new Permanent Secretary at the Department of Energy and Climate Change because the chosen candidate actually wanted to do something about climate change. 

With a huge explosion in plans for fracking for shale gas (and we must hope that it remains just a metaphorical explosion), plans for a target to decarbonise the UK’s electricity sector by 2030 have been put on hold.

All this in a year when the need for action is more pressing and urgent than ever before.