Originally posted by Juliette on April 23, 2010 10:16 AM
Or, "Really, who needs a Climate department in an Environment Ministry?"
A few weeks ago, I wondered what became of democracy when a utility company becomes powerful enough to force an Environment Minister to resign. Soon after that Minister resigned, a new one was appointed, essentially a puppet of CEZ, the Czech power company - she used to be their spokesperson. I was wondering how she would handle the obvious conflict of interest. Now, unfortunately, we have the answer. Ms Rut Bizkova made no mystery of where her allegiance lies this week with one of her first acts: terminating the entire Department of Climate and Air Protection, as well as a deputy Minister who was critical of the plans to expand the country's biggest coal power plant.
One of our campaigners in Czech Republic, Jan Rovensky, said, “It is no secret that Deputy Minister Kutak and his department were the main critics of the Ministry's intention to use outdated and inefficient technology at Prunerov. Bizkova used the easiest but least dignified way to deal with resistance, by silencing dissenters. The next step of such a “noble” Minister might well be to review employee loyalty to the Ministry of CEZ.”
It's all pretty depressing, both if you're a citizen in Czech Republic and see vested interest wiping out proper government, and if you live in the Federated States of Micronesia, a country put at risk by this expansion. So who needs a Department of Climate in an Environment Ministry? Our planet.