Government's CO2 cuts 'too slow'

By Mark Kinver
Science and environment reporter, BBC News

The commission said the government was now more aware of its eco-impact

The UK government is not doing enough to cut its own emissions, its environmental advisory body has said.

The Sustainable Development Commission said the government's efforts fell some way short of the action needed to meet the targets in the Climate Change Act.

The new law requires future governments to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050.

However, the commission said good progress was being made in areas such as reducing water use and recycling.

In its seventh annual assessment of the government estate's environmental performance, the commission found that carbon emissions from offices had fallen by 6.3% since 2000.

But it added that this level of reduction was not enough to meet the target of a 12.5% cut by 2010-11.

"The government is doing better, and we should give them credit for that," Rebecca Willis, the commission's vice chairwoman, told BBC News.

"However, things have been somewhat overtaken by events. The science of climate change shows that things are getting worse more rapidly than people had imagined."

She added that this had led to a gap between "aspirations and the government's delivery".

"We are very pleased that the government has set the 80% target for the whole of the UK, but they do need to lead the way in terms of government departments' and agencies' performances."

"The government is now going to have to think about how it aligns the targets for its own estate with the national targets that are now enshrined in law."

'More ambition'

The commission said that the government was making good progress in other areas, such as recycling and reducing water consumption.

The government should be confident that it has the mechanisms in place to achieve some really ambitious cuts Rebecca Willis, Sustainable Development Commission

Figures showed that total waste had been reduced by almost 30%, and that 35% of the waste being generated was being recycled.

The assessment also found that water consumption had been reduced by almost 18%, and carbon emissions from road vehicles showed a 10% reduction over the past 12 months.

Ms Willis said that the people responsible for government procurement were "much more aware of carbon and wider sustainability issues than they ever have been in the past".

"So the government should be confident that it has the mechanisms in place to achieve some really ambitious cuts," she suggested.

A spokesman for the Office of Government Commerce welcomed the latest assessment of the government's environmental performance.

"The government is fully committed to protecting the environment, including working to limit the effects of climate change within its own estate," he said.

"Progress has continued to be made since the period reviewed by the commission, and a comprehensive delivery plan has been produced... detailing departmental activities to achieve the targets for sustainable operations across Whitehall."

The commission said that it would publish a report in Spring 2009, which would outline its recommendations to the government on how it could improve its future environmental performance.