The report "Geenhouse gases through the roof" (Leicester Mercury, May 23) sadly comes as no surprise to me.

The people of Leicester, who used to be so proud of the title of Environment City, perhaps don't realise how this city has fallen behind others in its ability to control its environmental impact.

Apparently, the Lib Dem-Conservative administration is more concerned with lowering council tax at any cost and in-fighting than taking measures to address this problem. More long-term thinking is needed if we are to discharge the responsibility we have to the city.

The council should be setting a better example to begin with. In Woking, the council has made a 77 per cent cut in its energy consumption in just 15 years by investing in its own "combined heat and power" (CHP) systems for its buildings. We think that Leicester City Council should do the same.

What makes it worse is that we're behind Nottingham and Coventry. Even major conurbations like Birmingham have less carbon dioxide impact than we do.

This is a city that is standing still in terms of sustainability. Opportunities are being lost, partly by a council that is divided over how to save money in the short term rather than invest in a sustainable future. While they fight among themselves, Leicester gets a silver medal in pollution.

The public has a right to know how poorly they are being served by the usual suspects talking the talk but not walking the walk, and that there are alternatives, like the Green Party, that will seek to take long-term decisions in the interests of all, now and in the future.