'More work is needed' to meet Isle of Man climate change targets
She acknowledged that other political priorities had taken precedence in 2024, which had been "a challenging year for taking climate action".Despite this, Barber outlined a number of areas in which she said progress had been made.She said residents were being supported to make their homes more energy efficient, and that further help would be offered later this year.The minister added that, as of the start of this year, fossil fuel boilers could no longer be installed in new buildings.She also said emissions and sustainability audits were being carried out for the airport and the TT festival. Barber added that work on a land management framework had continued during the last year.
'Absolutely committed'
In a lengthy debate, Douglas Central MHK Chris Thomas praised the report's "honesty" but asked what the consequences would be "for being so far behind".Peel and Glenfaba member Kate Lord-Brennan said the targets were "just not achievable" and it was "time to re-evaluate" them.And Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Tim Glover read out a long list of items in the report that had either not been started, put on hold or had missed deadlines.Among them was banning the registration of new petrol and diesel cars on the island from 2030 and hybrid vehicles from 2035. These plans have been put on hold.The aim of the government's energy strategy to supply 100% of the island's electricity from carbon neutral sources by 2030 was labelled "at risk". Tynwald also heard that plans to deliver a strategy to take account of climate impacts - across all areas of society, economy and the natural environment - had not yet been started. These were among more than 26 examples outlined by Glover, which he said demonstrated "how far behind we are with actually meeting our obligations".
'Falling emissions'
Not all parliamentary feedback was negative, however.Member of the Legislative Council Paul Craine described the government's overall plan as "very ambitious" and said "we should be celebrating that so many of these areas we [have] moved on".He said: "Emissions are down by 3.8%. Without our actions I'm sure they would've risen."In closing, Barber said it was important to "take the time to get decisions like this right" and, as a result, the government "may struggle with our time frames".She said there would be an update on the island's energy strategy towards the end of the year.The minister said this "significant piece of the jigsaw" would be debated in Tynwald."The work is absolutely ongoing, the team are absolutely committed, and the co-benefits of action are absolutely clear," she added.Tynwald voted to receive the report, with only three votes against do so in the House of Keys.
Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Evening Standard
23 minutes ago
- Evening Standard
UK facing ‘very significant' volume of cyber attacks, security minister warns
'We think these proposals will provide a powerful deterrent, and what we're wanting to do is break the business model of the cyber criminals who think that they can get away with extorting money from UK-based institutions,' he told PA.
The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
South Western Railway unveils ‘platform hoover' trains to tackle ‘extreme' Waterloo overcrowding
A fleet of new trains dubbed 'platform hoovers' are being rolled out in an effort to alleviate 'extreme overcrowding' on services to London's Waterloo. South Western Railway (SWR) invested £1 billion in the Arterio trains, which were supposed to be deployed in 2019, but only six were in operation at the start of the year. Now, a SWR spokesperson has confirmed that eight more trains have been launched in the past two months. 'As of today, we are running 14 Arterios on more than 160 services every weekday, on routes to Dorking, Guildford, Hampton Court, Kingston, Reading, Shepperton, Twickenham and Windsor & Eton Riverside,' the spokesperson told The Independent. 'We're looking forward to many more customers enjoying the increased capacity and comfort the Arterios bring to journeys as we introduce more trains into service over the coming weeks.' The announcement follows Labour MP Fleur Anderson's campaigning efforts to engage with rail operators about the issue. The Putney MP told the Standard: 'I have raised [the problem of] extreme overcrowding on the stations. 'As the Waterloo line gets closer to London, it's more full. By the time it gets to Putney, it is quite overcrowded but Wandsworth Town is really bad. Lots of people just can't get on the train.' She added that the layout of the Arterio trains means they are capable of fitting many more passengers onboard. 'They've been described as 'platform hoovers' – which everyone in Wandsworth Town will love to hear about,' she said. SWR had promised the new Arterio trains would 'transform every journey on our suburban network', with 'more capacity, quicker journey times and better reliability and punctuality for our customers'. But it wasn't until January 2024 that the first Arterio train carried passengers between Waterloo and Windsor – around five years later than planned. According to reports, the rollout of the new trains were delayed as existing drivers were required to run day-to-day services and were unable to get time off to attend training programmes. The trains, which were built by Alstom in Derby, have been designed to carry more than 50 per cent more passengers than the eight-car Class 455 trains they will replace.
The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
Michael Gove warns Angela Rayner made ‘a big mistake' warning of return of riots
Michael Gove has branded concerns made by Angela Rayner about a repeat of last year's summer of violence as 'a big mistake', claiming it could 'tacitly encourage' riots. The former Tory cabinet minister, who was Ms Rayner's predecessor as the secretary of state responsible for communities, added that history showed warning violence could break out made it inevitable. His comments follow a no holds barred briefing the deputy prime minister gave to cabinet colleagues on Tuesday, where she linked economic woes and immigration to community tensions and said the government needed to acknowledge the public's 'real concerns' about societal changes, as well as falling living standards. She was speaking following violent scenes in Epping, Essex where protesters have clashed near the Bell Hotel which is believed to contain asylum seekers . Noting that 17 of the 18 areas with riots last year sparked by the Southport murders were among the poorest in the UK, she told colleagues that 'while Britain was a successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith country, the government had to show it had a plan to address people's concerns and provide opportunities for everyone to flourish'. Mr Gove, who is now editor of The Spectator, comes with significant ministerial experience in dealing with community tensions and riots. As a former justice secretary he was also responsible for the law courts and in 2011 during the riots which broke out in London he was a key member of David Cameron's cabinet as education secretary. Speaking on ITV This Morning, he said: 'I think this is a mistake on Labour, to brief this out, I think it is a big mistake, it reminds me of what happened in the 1970s when [former US president] Jimmy Carter when America was going through difficult times said 'this country is in the grip of a malaise'. 'You do not, if you are the government, accentuate the negative in this way and you certainly don't suggest to people that violence might be about to break out in this way.' Asked about comments made by Reform leader Nigel Farage appearing to sympathise with protesters in Epping, he said: 'I think it is understandable why Nigel Farage says it but I don't believe that anyone should be doing anything to anticipate or to seek to in any way say this is inevitable. 'Because that either tacitly encourages or makes the government seem at the mercy of events. 'Of course you deal with migration, of course the government can and should do more to show that people are being deported and asylum seekers are being processed effectively. 'But the key rule in politics is show, don't tell. 'You give hope, you do not double down on despair.'
