Labour's global warming spin
David Miliband, Labour's Environment Secretary, was yesterday involved in a heated debate with green organisation and the Conservative party after it became clear that his financial promise to support clean energy sources would result in less money being available for energy-saving projects.
At the Labour conference, where Mr. Miliband promised £10m to a project run by the Carbon Trust to support the development of clean energy, the Environment Secretary failed to mention that this would mean £10m less for energy-efficiency projects directed at the home-owner.
David Miliband estimated that the Carbon Trust schema would generate enough clean electricity to supply 250,000 houses.
Greg Barker, the Conservative's energy spokesman, accused Mr. Miliband of a "brazen spin" operation in order to get a "good press release."
A spokesman for the Energy Saving Trust said that this was a massive blow to "energy-efficiency programs in the UK.", as the Government had failed to find any new money but was 'recycling' the money already allocated to other projects.
14th October 2006
