Well it took just over 4 days to get resolved after the General Election but the United Kingdom now has a new government after the election resulted in a hung parliament (which was due to no party receiving an outright majority in total number of seats in parliament). After a long weekend of negotiations a coalition government takes charge in Britain which is ostensibly a Conservative government with a light flavoring of Liberal Democrats (who possessed enough additional seats to form a majority coalition government). So what does this mean for environmental issues in Great Britain and will this lead to the “Greener Britain” that David Cameron promised on his first speech as the new Prime Minister?

In truth as with most things there is both good news and bad news to be found. Both the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats campaigned from a greener platform that the Conservatives but feeling is that the need for Lib Dem support will certainly mean a more ‘active’ level of attention from the cabinet where all things green are concerned. The bad news, the UK like much of Europe is engulfed in such an economic storm at present that trying to reduce the deficit and grow jobs simultaneously might lead to some key matters being delayed until more stability is found, this would be the case for any ruling party. Also on the positive side ‘green issues’ are of higher importance (according to polls) in the UK than the States so all parties are committed to making Britain a carbon neutral economy as soon as viable.

Just days after the election some commitments have already been made which are causing a response:

No third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport: This major decision has caused applause from Greater London residents concerned with noise and air pollution and has been a topic of impassioned debate for a few years now.

Emissions reductions: The new government have made commitments to reduce carbon emissions by 10% within the first year and there are talks pending which may see reduction by some 30% within the first four years of this term.

Renewable energy: Very vague comments have been published about ‘encouraging  marine energy’  but the two coalition parties don’t see eye to Green Party has first ever Member of Parliament in the UK eye on wind turbines. The Lib Dems would like to add 15,000 wind turbines in the coming years while the Conservatives show no such ambitions. The stumbling block? Voters in rural areas where most would be located don’t want the Wind Farms for aesthetic reasons and these same voters vote conservative.

Nuclear power: Another contentious issue, Lib Dems are firmly against nuclear power which contradicts the Conservative approach although the financing of new plants would be the stumbling block which may result in the status quo remaining.

Transport: A provision for building new high speed rail network and also a mandate for a national grid of charging stations for all electric vehicles.

There are also a number of commitments to the power grid, home improvements and other measures to hasten the growth of the green

Green Party has first ever Member of Parliament in the UK

economy. The full publication can be read here (you’ll need to scroll down to ‘environment’)

The fact of the matter is that a greener Britain should be viable and the hoped for resultant investment would be a factor in trying to match the far more environmentally sound economies of Scandinavia and Northern Europe. On a related note – Caroline Lucas became the first ever member of parliament representing the Green Party.