Lord Mandelson accused of lobbying green policies

• May. 5 by Lucas Coe (0)

Lord Mandelson has received criticism for setting up a supposed lobbying unit to reduce the impact of green legislation on UK businesses.

The unit, which is part of Lord Mandelson’s Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), appears to be in direct conflict with Ed Miliband’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

It has sparked a joint response from the UK’s six biggest energy suppliers (British Gas, Npower, Scottish Power, E.ON, EDF, Scottish and Southern Energy):

‘The establishment of an energy department should have made life much simpler. But because of who the business minister (Mandelson) is, BERR is still involved at lots of different levels in the decision-making. It’s hard to say that if you’re an outsider this is anything more than a mess.’

In recent weeks, the BERR unit has had a consultation with the EU over cyber-junk in efforts to try and reduce electronic waste being sent to child labourers.

Corporate companies from Western Europe and the US have been sending old computers to regions of West Africa for children to dismantle and sell components for cash, which is burned and smashed, forming poisonous toxins and sharp debris.

View cyber junk hotspots here.

During talks with the EU, the BERR only consulted with companies within the electronic industry, without approaching environmental agencies or trade unions for their views on how to reduce e-waste.

This has left Mandelson and his department open to further accusations of acting on businesses’ behalf, while ignoring the needs of the environment and UK workers.

The BERR’s explanation of the unit’s formation on their website has done nothing to cool the situation, declaring it influences the DECC:

‘The Energy and Climate Change Unit, in BERR’s Enterprise and Business Group, is working to help create the conditions for UK business success through key energy and climate change policies by working closely with and influencing the Department for Energy and Climate Change.’

It seems this another example of this Labour government struggling for power within ranks, while potentially neglecting the environment at the same time.