RSPB Campaign
It is our responsibility to create a clean and healthy environment to pass on to our children. That is why Conservatives have put green issues back at the heart of our politics and that is why they will be at the heart of our government. We urgently need to face up to the impact on wildlife from the degradation of ecosystems, the world’s current unsustainable demand for resources, the dangers of climate change, and a damaging illegal wildlife trade. We need to find new ways to help endangered species and habitats and conserve our natural world for future generations.
Conservatives will press for further reform of the CAP to create a more productive, sustainable and competitive farming industry, both here and in the developing world, and to deliver taxpayers greater value for money. We will press for the abolition of production subsidies across the EU. There must be a shift of resources away from direct payments towards funding for environmental schemes and measures to help the farming industry modernise. We support the Campaign for Farmed Environment to recapture the environmental benefits of set-aside, and will seek agreement for success to be measured in terms of biodiversity gain rather than just the amount of land put aside.
We will take action at home and internationally to protect endangered species. We will tackle the smuggling and illegal trade in wildlife through our New Border Police Force; oppose the resumption of commercial whaling and press for a total ban on ivory sales and the destruction of all existing stockpiles. A Conservative Government will produce a White Paper on protecting the natural environment, including a focus on restoring habitat. This will identify the policy changes needed to protect and enhance our natural environment and the vital ecosystems that support life. The White Paper will set out ways to promote new green spaces and wildlife corridors to help wildlife adapt and thrive in the face of climate change. We will also pioneer a new system of conversation credits to use market mechanisms to incentivise conservation and create new habitat. Conservatives will maintain national Green Belt protection, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Parks, Sites of Special Scientific Interest and other environmental designations which protect the character of our country’s landscape. And we will launch a national tree planting campaign to green our towns and cities by planting up to one million new trees in the next Parliament.
It is imperative that the conservation measures under the Marine and Coastal Access Act are implemented effectively to help restore the health of our seas. Conservatives campaigned for a Marine Bill and worked hard to improve the legislation before it became law. We will take a holistic approach to marine management, underpinned by sound science and ecosystems based management, and will ensure that a network of Marine Conservation Zones are put in place to protect our marine environment from exploitation. Conservatives will also fight for wholesale of the Common Fisheries Policy to encourage sustainable practices, give local communities a greater say over the future of their fishing industry and bring to an end the scandal of fish discarding.
A Conservative government will take immediate action to tackle climate change and give Britain international leadership in a low carbon world. Around 20 per cent of global emissions are due to deforestation. We will press for financial support from within a reformed EU budget to be given to developing countries to halt deforestation; push for only legally-harvested timber and timber products to be made available on the market; and, introduce a new criminal offence under UK law for the import and possession of illegal timber. In 2007 we took the tough decision, as a party committed to fighting climate change, to vote against the Government’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), because the absence of clear sustainability criteria could lead to such biofuels damaging biodiversity and food security. Biofuels have an important part to play in reducing carbon emissions but they must be accompanied by robust sustainability criteria and we will demand clear and effective sustainability safeguards.
We will reduce carbon emissions in line with our international commitments. Conservatives will promote small- and large-scale low carbon energy production and make it easier to go green, including through a ‘Green Deal’ to cut household energy bills.
Conservatives will create more opportunities for young people to learn and explore our natural world. We will encourage twinning of schools and farms and will tackle the damaging compensation culture and excessive regulation that makes teachers fearful of taking pupils on outdoor activities. Conservation volunteering provides a wealth of worthwhile activities for young people of all backgrounds. We want to make it easier for people, especially teenagers, to volunteer for a wide variety of causes – whether it is helping to maintain woodland paths, restoring habitats for threatened species, repairing fencing or cleaning up parks and beaches. Our National Citizen Service programme would see a big expansion in the number of young people engaged in some form of volunteering and conservation charities should be heavily involved.
We have also pledged to work towards zero waste, encourage incentives to recycle, and reform the water industry to encourage sustainable water management.
