As I write, the eventual outcome of the general election is still in the balance and with parliament well and truly hung (although I prefer the less pejorative phrase 'balanced parliament'), it's anyone's guess as to who will actually form a government. But it's clear that the Lib Dems are going to have a major influence on whatever form that government eventually takes.
Of the three main parties, the Lib Dem manifesto was the strongest on green issues and you'd hope these would go with Nick Clegg as he decides what to do. However, with other pressing issues such as the economy and electoral reform in the mix, I'm not the only one concerned that climate change and other environmental issues will be pushed aside. Those of us asking the climate question over the past few weeks have been keeping climate change in the election agenda.
So Greenpeace has signed an open letter to Clegg - along with Campaign to Protect Rural England, Friends of the Earth, Green Alliance, Wildlife Trusts, WWF and RSPB - asking him to stick by his party's commitments on reducing emissions and increasing clean energy production in a low-carbon economy, as well as rejecting a third runway at Heathrow. In all the noise being generated in the electoral fallout, we can't risk these commitments being compromised for the sake of political convenience.
Yet from the commentary I can hear on the TV behind me, it sounds like it's going to be some time before the final shakedown and we know what kind of ride we're going to have in the next parliament, however long it lasts.
