Nature - UK Climate Projects Evaporating; Despite Tut-Tutting, Staff Going, Funding Ends This Month

[hatrack]

An acclaimed series of climate-change projects are being discontinued by Britain's international-relations body, despite concerns from the government department that funds the work. The British Council has decided not to continue funding several of its climate-change projects beyond this financial year. Although the council insists that it "has no intention of terminating our work around climate change", staff are starting to leave the programme and much of the work will be stopped.

The programme previously cost around £3 million (US$5 million) a year and has involved some 100 million people from around the world in projects that build links between scientists, artists, policy-makers and members of the public.

David Viner, who heads the council's climate programme, says that funding will not be continued for most work past the end of this month, and that all current climate-change programmes will be ended by March 2012. Nearly all staff specifically working on climate-change projects are either set to leave or have left, he says.

"The programme was based on a robust, evidence-based strategy," says Viner. "The work was very well received and welcomed by a plethora of external stakeholders. It put the United Kingdom right at the heart of the debate and gave it credibility," he says.

EDIT

http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110610/full/news.2011.364.html

[ClarkUSA]

1. Taxpayers wasted £6B on that PR snore called the royal wedding and Tories cut this piddling amount?

England has gutted funding for green tech since Cameron came into office. But no expense is spared for the parasitic Royals, for whom Tories have always been political and financial toadies.