“In 2009 the amount of carbon dioxide and other gases fell by 8.6 percent, largely due to the contraction in industry caused by the recession,” reports the Telegraph. While the Labour Party is of course terribly upset to hear about the loss of British jobs, “We should still recognise the good progress we are making towards meeting our targets, and should not underestimate the effort made so far by government, industry, business and homeowners alike,” said Joan Ruddock, the Energy and Climate Change minister.
Tory energy flack Greg Clark took Ruddock to task for the statement. “Before Gordon Brown’s recession hit, carbon emissions had fallen by just 1.4 percent under Labour. Ministers should be embarrassed that their green claims are based on our broken economy.”