ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

Global warming and climate change are happening now, and Jersey must begin to adapt.
We must ensure that we are playing our part in meeting the Kyoto Agreement and other
objectives.

The JDA believe that, while the rest of Europe is moving away from archaic incineration
technology, we should not be proposing to increase our own use of it. The JDA strongly
oppose the planned replacement of the Bellozanne incinerator by a larger one at la
Collette. This project is oversized, overpriced, a bad neighbour and a source of pollution.
Pressure reactors (MSW plants) providing the possibility of a recycling rate of up to 99%,
such as used in Cardiff, currently under consideration in Alderney, and widely used in
USA, must surely be the way forward. They are cheaper – £20 million rather than £80
million, cleaner and produce more useful residues, such as “recycled plastic timber”, and
are suitable to install on the Bellozanne site, where St. Helier residents may continue to
benefit from the historic covenant. One could also be operational in just 18 months. We
call for this option to be pursued in earnest, if necessary bringing in other consultants
without vested interests in incinerator construction.

The JDA believe in the “3 R's” strategy – Reduce, Re-use and Recycle – as the
foundation of waste management. In particular, we consider that recycling targets must be
raised. In the longer term, the introduction of the Continental system of returning
packaging to suppliers for recycling would be beneficial. Levying a duty on excess
packaging may also be a helpful measure in discouraging waste.

We believe that Jersey's farming industry should be encouraged and supported in

developing new crops to take full advantage of changes in the local climate.We consider
the present £750,000 funding for agricultural improvement to be totally inadequate.

We foresee long-term benefit to the tourism industry from hotter weather. We do not
believe that it should continue to be allowed to wither in the short term.

The JDA generally support the protection of our countryside and heritage as a core value.
In particular, we would defend the remaining unspoilt coast as both a tourist attraction and
an important contribution to local quality of life. We do, however, endorse the judicious
redevelopment of “brown-field” sites to provide our requirements for residential and
commercial premises, especially improved provision of family houses.We also would
encourage the avoidance of environmentally unfriendly materials e.g. uPVC.
We remain opposed to large-scale development on the Waterfront, which would blight the
Town Centre as well as making the “gateway” to the Island visually unwelcoming, and
would like to see a return to the original vision of mixed small-scale development and
public open space, with due allowance for rising sea level. The JDA oppose any further
major developments on low-lying coastal land, such as Goose Green Marsh, due to the
certainty of flooding within a few decades.
We also back the overdue creation of the “Millenium” Town Park.

The JDA call for investment in a greatly improved bus service on principal commuter
routes and around Town, as the only realistic solution to the present congestion and
pollution. We feel that cheaper fares are the way forward, and believe that it is unfortunate
that the terms of Connex's present agreement do not encourage them.
We would like traffic management policies to become more focussed on the purpose of
efficiently moving people and goods in and out of Town.
We suggest a preferential parking rate for small cars.

The JDA support controls on the extraction and use of our water resources, to prevent
reckless users inflicting shortages on the wider public.

The JDA believe that all new buildings should be embracing the latest energy saving
design features, as demonstrated by the Beddington Zero-energy development (BedZED),
recently visited by the Environment Scrutiny Panel and also featured on BBCTV. Energy
waste from existing homes is the fastest growing source of CO2 emissions in the UK and
Jersey will be no different.
The JDA believe that reducing energy consumption is desirable and achievable in the
short term. The JDA propose, as a practical solution, proven in the UK, that grants to be
made available towards the insulation of buildings, e. g. loft insulation and draught-
proofing.
We also would encourage the installation of solar panels and small wind turbines, with
contributory grants also available for these purposes.

The JDA believe that a modest Development Tax should be introduced on the sale of
property, excluding principal residences, ring-fenced to fund environmental measures,
especially as most development is by non-local companies that will pay no tax under
zero/ten.

We suggest that consideration be given to upgrading our very inefficient street lights with
designs that shine downwards instead of all around, to give the same level of illumination
where it is required without wasting electricity to light the sky.

The foregoing proposals are a range of measures and approaches that can be realistically
adopted in the short to medium term, i.e. by the current and 2008-12 governments. In the
coming decades, it is clear that far more radical shifts in lifestyle and far more expensive
replacements of infrastructure will be forced upon the people of Jersey, by the
consequences of the reckless neglect of the planetary environment that prevailed in the
19th and 20th Centuries. However the remit of the JDA is to develop practical, affordable
and acceptable policies for here and for now. We do bear in mind, though, that what our
own generation leaves behind today is what our children's generation will have to start with
tomorrow.