How should we assess David Cameron's ambitious green pledge? Is it all about climate change, energy security and jobs? What about forests, national parks and badgers?



David Cameron's statement that the coalition would be the "greenest government ever" should be a gift for journalists like me, who aim to play a part in holding politicians to account. The prime minister made the statement - now we hold up the government's actions against it. But it's not that simple in practice.

What does "greenest government ever" actually mean? How can it be measured? Our green-o-meter below, launched today, is a bit of fun aimed at illuminating a serious issue.

Green-o-meter Photograph: Guardian

I'll need your help - more below - but let's start with what Cameron himself said.

The prime minister picked out three issues for special attention: the green economy, climate change and energy security. His argument for action is a straightforward economic one.

"We've got a real opportunity to drive the green economy to have green jobs and make sure we have our share of the industries of the future."

Next let's take the government's climate change advisers, the Committee on Climate Change. Its chief executive, David Kennedy, was more specific, telling me there were three green challenges on which the government should be judged: vastly improving the UK's woeful energy efficiency, complete reform of the energy industry to allow low-carbon technologies to flourish and (of course) passing the CCC's carbon budgets into law, the latest of which sets a 60% cut in the UK's emissions by 2030.

The government is in the process of tackling the first two. Its "green deal" to improve the insulation of homes is now before parliament and it is consulting on changes to the UK's free market in electricity. On the third - the carbon budget - I'd be astonished if the government does not accept it.

So far, so good? The coalition has largely started off in the right direction on the issues above, but warning lights have flashed about the ambition of the green investment bank and the emissions performance standards that should prevent dirty fossil fuel power stations being built. We'll be watching to see if the government keeps on track.

But there's a whole lot more to being green than jobs, energy and emissions. And that's where the government starts to look pretty pale green. While the department for energy and climate change did relatively well when the axe was wielded in the comprehensive spending review, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was savaged. Defra took the biggest cut in Whitehall.

The price of that is beginning to emerge: cuts to flood defence spending in the face of rising risk, proposals to sell off the national forests and proposals for DIY badger culls that fly in the face of the science. There is proposed legislation due this spring in a Defra white paper on the natural environment, so we will be watching that closely too.

And this is where you come in. How should we judge the coalition on its pledge to be the "greenest government ever"? Is action on climate change the most important issue? What about the controversial issues of nuclear power and high-speed rail? Please tell us how you think the coalition's green credentials should be assessed in the comments below.