Hilary Benn on "the green struggle"

If politicians promise much and deliver little, environment secretary Hilary Benn is not your typical politician. On the day of our interview he was an hour late, although this may be understandable given his responsibilities at the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). He is all apologies as he dashes into his palatial, wainscotted office where our photographer is waiting.

Benn’s delight with his manual wind-on film camera reveals an old fashioned side to his character. “I’m a whirling capstan man myself,” he says of recording equipment. “I like to see some evidence of physical movement.”

But 10 minutes into the interview he suddenly throws up his hands exclaiming: “I’ve got to go and vote!” and rushes out of the room, calling back that we will continue the interview afterwards.

His aide doesn’t see it quite like that, saying our time is up and we will have to finish the interview by way of cold, dead email exchanges.

Well, that seemed to be that. But out in the street I bump into Benn coming back from the vote. With yet more profuse apologies he promises to continue the interview over the phone. But will he call? We all know what a politician’s promise means. But he does seem a thoroughly decent bloke, and I get the feeling he’ll keep his word come hell or high water (something he’s seen more than his fair share of during his short tenure as environment secretary). He seems to bask, too, in the good-guy glow emanating from elder-statesman father Tony. And he didn’t come out too badly on the rectitude front when Peter Hain, his opponent in the deputy leadership contest last year, got nailed for not declaring more than £100,000 in campaign contribution. Anyway, he does call, and we resume the interview.

Benn has spent much of his eight months as environment secretary working to deliver the UK’s carbon emission reduction targets. Indeed he describes himself as the minister for climate change. Defra works with other departments on policies that tackle the issue – for example it worked with the communities department and local government on the Code for Sustainable Homes.

Benn’s mantra is that climate change is everyone’s problem. “The task here is not just about the government saying ‘hey folks, don’t worry, leave it to us, we’re going to do it all for you’. That isn’t going to work,” he says. “We are moving into the phase where all the bits of government, all the parts of society, all the bits of business, those responsible for the built environment, each of us as individuals, recognise that this is something for us and not just for somebody else.”

But Benn hasn’t had much time to prove himself on climate change. The minute he stepped over the threshold of Defra, he was confronted by a summer of floods followed by an autumn of foot-and-mouth outbreaks.

Paul King, chief executive of the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), who has worked with Benn, says he believes the minister’s concern over global warming is genuine, and praises Benn’s role in securing agreement on the roadmap to a new international agreement on climate change at Bali last year.

“Early indications are good and he has a good reputation from his previous job,” says King. Benn was secretary for state for international development for four years before becoming environment secretary. King adds that Benn recognises the importance of one of the hardest nuts to crack – the contribution of the existing building stock to carbon emissions.

The guidance from government could not be clearer. The role of the Environment Agency could not be clearer. Planning authorities have to take responsibility for giving permission to build on floodplains or not

It is on this issue that Benn made his first move, in the form of the Green Homes Service. This will visit people in their homes and advise on energy efficiency, green travel options and waste reduction. It will be run by the Energy Saving Trust and is basically its current offering with knobs on.

He recognises that advice alone won’t crack the problem and sees the new service as a first step. “I think the difficulty is that only the most hardy and committed will go out and source photovoltaic cells, wind turbines or whatever,” he says. “We’ve got to make it easier for people. I think the next stage is to create a market in which folk will come and knock on your door and say: this is the work that can be done, we can organise it, we put the money upfront and this is the way you will pay it back over time. It could be through an energy bill, or through a mortgage if you have the work done when you move house.”

A few energy-saving lightbulbs and some draughtproofing are all very well, but what about the bigger picture? Benn takes this opportunity to mention all the other things the government is doing on the environmental front. He trumpets a whole range of initiatives: phasing out energy-hungry lightbulbs in advance of Europe, landfill tax, site waste management plans.

He sees the European carbon trading scheme as the key market-driven mechanism to tackle climate change and is pleased that Defra has come up with the carbon reduction commitment, which is intended to encourage companies outside the scope of the EU scheme to cut emissions. He recognises the UK is lagging behind other countries in Europe when it comes to investment in renewable energy, but points to the just-launched feasibility study into the Severn Barrage and the London Array, which will be one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms when it is completed in 2010.

The other big issue in Benn’s in-tray is flooding. Won’t the problem get worse if we keep building on floodplains? He is adamant that Defra has done enough to tackle this. Local authorities have the tools in the form of the new PPS25 to determine where developments should go and they are compelled to talk to the Environment Agency about this, too.

“The guidance from government could not be clearer. The role we have given the Environment Agency could not be clearer,” he insists. “Planning authorities have to take responsibility for decisions to give planning permission or not.”

So what is Benn doing to tackle flooding in existing properties? Well, he’s raising spending on flood defences from £600m to £800m a year by 2010. He also accepts the need for a more joined up approach to water course management, drainage and runoff. And he says the government is consulting on whether the Environment Agency should be given overall responsibility for implementing surface water drainage plans as well as looking after rivers.

He wants stronger measures to get people to implement sustainable drainage systems. Last week Defra launched a consultation into whether householders should need planning permission to pave over their gardens unless they use permeable materials.

Benn is clearly getting to grips with the job and is seizing it with enthusiasm, but can he deliver on the government’s carbon reduction targets? That may be one promise he can’t keep.