Coalition trouble with commitment

Tim Jones

Politicians break promises. We are told it is naïve to think otherwise. However, society can only function through the making of promises. It is how we collectively agree to work together.

In campaigning, we often have to comment and make judgements on promises rather than actions. During the general election campaign, we rated each opposition party based on what they said they would do. There was nothing else to go on.

Today we learnt that, rather than trying to be the ‘greenest government ever’ the coalition has dropped its pledge to introduce a limit on emissions from new power stations. An ‘emissions performance standard’, if set at the right level, would have prevented new dirty coal power stations from being built, such as Hunterston in Ayrshire or Kingsnorth in Kent.

The promise to introduce an emissions performance standard was made not once but over and over again by both Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. This culminated in a pledge to introduce one in the Conservative manifesto. The Liberal Democrat manifesto said they would “block any new coal-fired power stations … unless they are accompanied by the highest level of carbon capture and storage facilities”.

Most recently, in May the coalition agreement between the two parties said the government would introduce an emissions performance standard.

By dropping that commitment the government has made it more likely new coal power stations will be built. Shadow climate change and energy minister Ed Miliband has criticised the coalition for dropping the emissions performance standard, even though he refused to introduce one whilst in power.

For the moment, thanks to active campaigning rather than sensible government policy, not one coal power station has begun to be built. The plans at Kingsnorth remain on hold, and opposition is growing to Peel Energy’s plans for a coal power plant at Hunterston. You can register your opposition here.

Because politicians so easily break promises, we have to make sure they keep to them. Before the election the Conservatives said they would “give aid as grants not loans”; doing so would mean overturning the Labour government’s unjust climate loans which threaten to lock countries into deeper financial debt. The Liberal Democrats said they would “support the UN Adaptation Fund”; something the Labour government refused to do.

Over the next few months we will see whether these pledges will be kept. Take action here to remind the coalition of the promises they made.