Delegates at the Green Party conference in Newport, South Wales,
passed an emergency motion on Saturday evening in response to the
State of Nature report, which warned of the continuing decline in
wildlife and biodiversity in the UK.
The motion requires the party and its elected representatives to
campaign for a Sustainable Economy Act with clear, binding
targets for biodiversity, soil health and air quality. It
also said the pursuit of GDP growth should be replaced with
health and well-being as primary economic objectives.
The Green Party is the first national party to respond with
specific proposals to the State of Nature report 2019, which
was published on October 3rd. It showed that there's been
no let-up in the decline of wildlife, with 41% of species
declining since 1970 and 133 species already lost. More
than a quarter of mammals in the UK are under threat of
extinction. Agricultural practices and climate change are
having the biggest impact on nature.
The party conference also agreed there should be a Committee on
Sustainability - similar to the Committee on Climate Change - to
adivse on the restoration and protection of natural systems,
including the impact of UK consumption on oversea ecosystems.
, Green party MP for Brighton
Pavilion, said:
"We don't only have a climate emergency, we have a nature
emergency. The State of Nature report showed we are still
moving in the wrong direction and the structure of our economy is
at the heart of what's going wrong."
, former leader of the Green
Party, said:
"From fast fashion to our food system, from choking our land with
plastic to driven grouse shooting, we need transformational
change and the Government needs to listen, learn and start
leading."
