ACTION MUST BE TAKEN ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY NOW

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 12th Jun 2007

Fiona Hall put the spotlight on energy efficiency this weekend and challenged decision makers to take action.

Speaking at the North East Liberal Democrats' conference in a panel session with Councillor John Shipley and Dutch Liberal MP Boris Van Der Ham, the energy spokesperson said it is time for 'action not words' on energy efficiency.

The Member of European Parliament said:

"75% of buildings standing today will still stand in 2050.

"Taking action to make these buildings and new builds energy efficient should be a top priority.

"According to scientists, we only have eight years to make the big changes necessary to keep climate change in check. Nuclear is irrelevant - even the Government knows a nuclear programme would be very slow to develop - but we have the means right now to exploit energy efficiency as an instrument to fight climate."

The Liberal Democrat has been campaigning for an EU wide ban on incandescent light bulbs with a petition that was distributed this weekend at the Newcastle Green Festival. She added:

"Improving the energy efficiency of buildings and switching to energy efficient appliances are actions we can take immediately and they have a massive impact on our carbon footprint.

Guest speaker at the conference Boris Van Der Ham, a Dutch Liberal MP who has successfully lobbied the Dutch Government to ban incandescent light bulbs, said that highly energy inefficient appliances should be banned altogether. The Dutch Government has committed to improving energy efficiency by 2% a year, double the target set by the Labour Government in the UK.