Whitehall Watch

Must sustainability always suffer from political short-termism? Peter Madden says it’s time to take the longer view.

It can’t be much fun at Downing Street at the moment. Energy and food prices are rising sharply. There is the looming threat of a recession. Opinion poll ratings are at their lowest ever.

In these circumstances, there is an enormous temptation to reach for the short-term, populist, panacea – or what politicians call “getting back in touch with voters”. A poor performance in the local elections – dump the dustbin tax; a small-scale protest convoy by hauliers – start backtracking on fuel duty; a potential economic recession – ditch the green stuff.

This would be a major mistake. The sensible response to the oil shock would be to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels and invest heavily in energy efficiency and renewables. This would make us much more resilient and competitive in the resource- constrained world of the future. Increased demand for oil, coupled with dwindling reserves, means that prices are set to remain high.

For climate change, too, bold action now will save us an enormous amount of pain later. This is the message at the heart of the Stern Report – that it makes overwhelming economic sense to act now. However, although “taking tough decisions for the long-term” has become something of a mantra for Gordon Brown, there are signs that his fight for political survival is pushing him in the opposite direction.

The combination of high prices and looming recession mean that politicians face a paradox: at the precise moment we most need bold environmental action,it is most difficult to take for electoral reasons.
 
The lessons from the London mayoral election are harsh. Ken Livingstone, whatever you think of him, implemented bold and well-thought-through environmental policies. This counted for little when Boris Johnson was elected on a platform of dismantling the congestion charge and ‘anti-politics’.
 
The threat of being blind-sided by populists is very real, as governments across Europe are finding. But running away will not fix the problems in the long term. There will, of course, be losers when governments take action to benefit the majority, but they should not and cannot pander to every interest group.

What we need instead is some real political leadership. This is what Brown promised he would give the country. Chasing the agenda doesn’t appear to be working for him, and is probably not what people want. So how about a bit more courage? What, after all, has he got to lose?

But even more than Brown, it is David Cameron to whom we really need to turn for leadership. How he responds at this pivotal moment will help to decide whether our political class can measure up to the climate change challenge. Over the last couple of years, Cameron has provided some consensus on the big environmental issues, and something of a buffer against Daily Mail populism. He clearly wants to do the right thing on green issues and to be seen as a serious leader-in-waiting, rather than chipping away indiscriminately at Brown’s crumbling edifice. But after more than a decade out of power, the siren voices of short-termism and populism will be loud. Will he continue to be brave in championing the environment? Leadership is one half of the equation.

The other half is re-engaging citizens in the political process. As long as political support and engagement remains shallow, it will be difficult for government, of whatever persuasion, to take the decisions necessary for the long term. Senior politicians from across the spectrum are now talking about rebuilding trust, empowering the people, and devolving power including through more participative democracy. Cameron has put “giving people more power and responsibility over their lives” at the heart of his philosophy, while Brown talks of “the citizen in control”. It is certainly time for some genuine devolution of power. All three major parties talk about it, while no government seems able to do it.
 
And when politicians do feel the need to play the populist card, wouldn’t it be great if they had some environmental aces up their sleeves? Let’s get away from the sense that environmental policies are always punitive and anti-aspirational. Rather than tax rises, how about some tax cuts or subsidies for green behaviours?

Peter Madden is chief executive of Forum for the Future.

28 June 2008

Peter Madden

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