N I: Wilson blocks climate change ad

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Northern Ireland's Environment Minister Sammy Wilson has blocked a government advertisement campaign on climate change.



The advertisements urged people to reduce energy consumption and cut carbon dioxide output.

Mr Wilson said the Scottish executive had objected to the advertisements and stopped them being broadcast.

He said the adverts were part of an "insidious propaganda campaign" which would not be imposed on people in NI.

Mr Wilson said they were "giving people the impression that by turning off the standby light on their TV they could save the world from melting glaciers and being submerged in 40ft of water".

He said that was "patent nonsense".

Mr Wilson said he wrote to the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to say that the advertising campaign Act on CO2 "was not welcome".

He explained that he did not believe in its message that "man-made greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause of climate change" and that the campaign was contrary to his personal views.

He told DECC: "I do not wish for climate change messages to be promoted by other Whitehall departments here".

Mr Wilson has also advised Whitehall that such messages can only be promoted in Northern Ireland with his permission and he wants to see what he terms "postcode lockouts" used to prevent them "leaking" into that part of the UK.

He also told the DECC that this applies to specific organisations licensed to use the "Act on CO2" brand, including the Carbon Trust.

Mr Wilson's departmental website says it takes a lead on climate change issues.

His own political party manifesto also makes similar claims: "The DUP has... called for year-on-year targets in order to achieve reduced Carbon emissions." (DUP 2007).

Alliance leader David Ford has criticised Mr Wilson's decision.

"The simple fact is that there is scientific evidence, accepted by the overwhelming majority of scientists, that manmade climate change will affect our environment if it is not brought under control," he said.

"Almost the only misrepresentation that the minister did not utter was the suggestion that one week's snow proves there is no global warming.

"The rest of his comments merely prove how unrepresentative his personal opinions are."

Commenting on Mr Wilson's approach to climate change and its Act on CO2 campaign, the DECC told the BBC that human behaviour causes climate change.

They said their commitment to this campaign was guided by the "best science, the most up-to-date information and the evidence... the only way we can tackle it is by working together".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7878399.stm