An environmental group says the government is not doing enough to meet its own targets for cutting pollution. The Green Alliance charity has published a report calling for a clear plan of action. At the moment responsibility for environmental issues is divided between the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Transport, Environment and the Regions, the Treasury which decides on energy taxes and the Ministry of Agriculture. The report recommends one united department to ensure that the government fulfils its promises to reduce pollution from traffic, factories and homes.
Nobody knows who's got responsibility.
We've got to bang heads together and rationalise and improve efficiency. The alliance says more needs to be done to encourage householders to stop using coal and oil and move to cleaner power sources such as solar power for heating and hot water. Its report points to the success of countries like Denmark and Holland where a single agency co-ordinates energy policy and solar power is much further developed. The Department of Trade and Industry said it welcomed the report and that its review of renewable energy will come out soon. Foreign Office initiative Earlier this month, the Foreign Secretary Robin Cook told the Alliance that he intended to make the environment a key issue in future foreign policy.