Climate change policy 'too dependent on technology'

An environmental expert has claimed that over-reliance on technical advancements indicates Britain will not meet European targets to reduce biodiversity loss by 2010.

Policy officer at Environmental Protection UK Ed Dearnley said: "[The government] have just assumed that technical progress and emissions from individual vehicles like cars, lorries and buses will sort the problem out, which it hasn't really."

A study released last week by the journal Science reported that international targets, established by world leaders in 2002 at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), will not be achieved.

According to Mr Dearnley, methods other than technological development could be employed to reduce climate change. He added: "We might encourage people to shift onto more sustainable modes of transport."

A recent report from the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee showed that while poor air quality is not seen as a government priority, it causes premature deaths in up to 50,000 people a year.

Posted by Claire Manning