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Cameron having kicked his pledge on ``The Big Society``into touch now dumps his pledge
on being the Greenest Government.His failure to keep his promises nearly equal his `U` turns.
UK's climate change adaptation team cut from 38 officials to just six
Former senior official John Ashton attacks government for 'spooking potential investors' in energy infrastructure
John Ashton said the UK could not move out of recession without looking to green industries.
The number of people employed by the government to work on the UK's response to the effects of climate
change has been cut from 38 officials to just six, triggering accusations that David Cameron's promise
to be the greenest government has been abandoned.
The UK is facing a multi-billion pound bill over the next few years for the costs of adapting to the effects
of climate change - including flooding, much fiercer storms, droughts, heatwaves and more extreme weather
. The government's advisers, the Committee on Climate Change, have warned that the measures needed
to prepare the UK's infrastructure will include defences for power stations, transport and communication
networks, changes to how buildings are constructed, and new ways of trying to prevent flooding, such as
an upgrade to the Thames Barrier.
But the number of officials charged with dealing with the issue within the Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has been dramatically reduced. A freedom of information response to a
question by Friends of the Earth confirmed the reduction from 38 to six posts.