UK conservative would ban stand-by modes

LONDON, ENGLAND - New televisions would be sold without stand-by buttons under Conservative moves to launch a "green consumer revolution" in government.

David Cameron also called for washing machines to have energy-saving programs as their standard setting and for families to be given cash incentives to boost their recycling rates.

The Tory leader announced he was setting up talks with industry chiefs to ensure all electrical products sold in the UK were energy-efficient. It could also lead to printers being set up to use both sides of paper automatically.

Mr Cameron wants to persuade manufacturers and importers to make electrical goods "greener" but aides said he was not ruling out legislation.

He told a conference in London: "This country emits an astonishing 800,000 tonnes of carbon a year through leaving electrical appliances ticking over, or on standby, when they are not being used. That is completely unsustainable, as well as a colossal waste of money... it is time industry manufactured products that automatically economize on their energy use."

Consumers had to be given "carrots not sticks" to persuade them to live greener lifestyles. Mr Cameron praised schemes by Conservative councils to pay people to recycle by giving them vouchers to spend in local shops, which he said had boosted recycling rates by 30 per cent.

He also said he wanted to introduce U.S.-style schemes enabling householders to see how much gas and electricity their neighbours were using, which he said would drive down energy consumption. A Tory government would also seek to force energy companies to inform consumers on their bills how much money they might have saved by using the cheapest tariff available.

Labour sources claimed that Tory hostility to co-operation at EU level would undermine their attempts to persuade manufacturers to make products more energy efficient.

Related News

three mile island nuclear power plant

Three Mile Island at center of energy debate: Let struggling nuclear plants close or save them

THREE MILE ISLAND - Three Mile Island is at the center of a new conversation about the future of nuclear energy in the United States nearly 40 years after a partial meltdown at the Central Pennsylvania plant sparked a national debate about the safety of nuclear power.

The site is slated to close in just two years unless Pennsylvania or a regional power transmission operator delivers some form of financial relief, says Exelon, the Chicago-based power company that operates the plant.

That has drawn the Keystone State into a growing debate: whether to let struggling nuclear plants shut down if they cannot…

READ MORE
norwegian energy

Are Norwegian energy firms ‘best in class’ for environmental management?

READ MORE

heating-and-electricity-costs-in-germany-set-to-rise

Heating and Electricity Costs in Germany Set to Rise

READ MORE

h2 production plan

Toshiba, Tohoku Electric Power and Iwatani start development of large H2 energy system

READ MORE

Environmentalist calls for reduction in biomass use to generate electricity

READ MORE