London - The British government yesterday earmarked more than £100 million sterling for "green" projects promoting offshore wind farms, recycling and low-carbon technology, as the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, called for a "constructive partnership" between government, business, the green movement and the public to agree core environmental principles, Rachel Donnelly writes from London.
Promising to push concern for the environment higher up the political agenda, Mr Blair said in a speech in London that new ways to help individuals play their part in improving the environment, reflecting the reality of everyday life, must be found.
But as the Prime Minister pledged to put the environment at the heart of policy-making, as he promised in a speech in 1997, the Conservative leader, Mr William Hague, accused Mr Blair of returning to the issue because a general election was around the corner. "I think he has ignored these issues. I think he feels, `Now there is an election, I have to make a speech on the environment'," Mr Hague said.