Economy

George Osborne is ‘seriously misinformed’ on sustainable business, says Al Gore

Published

12 years ago

February 1, 2013

Blue & Green Tomorrow

Former US vice-president Al Gore has criticised the UK government over its environmental commitments, adding that the stance taken by the chancellor George Osborne was “seriously misinformed”.

Speaking to Channel 4 News yesterday evening, Gore, an ardent green campaigner who has won several awards for his activism, said the coalition had forgotten its “greenest government ever” pledge.

“There [were] such hopeful signs when prime minister Cameron came into power”, he said.

“I have worried that there are influences in his party that have backed him off but I don’t give up hope and I think it is cause for optimism that both in the United Kingdom and in the United States, solid majorities of people want to see this issue dealt with.”

Gore, whose 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth is one of the highest-grossing documentaries of all time, went on to condemn Osborne’s position on mixing economic growth with environmental sustainability. The chancellor has been vocal on this in the past, saying in 2011, “We’re not going to save the planet by putting our country out of business”.

Gore said, “I’m not an expert on your politics and don’t wish to interfere in your politics but anyone who opposes a direct conflict between the health of business and the health of the planet and the health of the environment in a great country like the United Kingdom is seriously misinformed.

“Business suffers from flooding and from drought, from these wind storms. Sustainable business prosperity really has to be based on a view of the future that is grounded in facts.”

Blue & Green Tomorrow wrote earlier this week on how Osborne’s championing of the controversial HS2 high-speed rail network proved his ideological objection to renewable energy.