Ahead of the expected publication of the government’s long
promised ten point plan on the environment, the Green Party sets
out five tests for to meet if the plans are to be welcomed as a serious
response to the climate emergency.
Green Party co leader said: “The
promise of this ten-point plan represents an important change of
emphasis by the government, but years of delay and blocking
action means the government is still not on course to meet even
its inadequate commitments. We are looking to the Prime Minister
to demonstrate that he has grasped the urgency of tackling the
climate emergency.
"Boris Johnson can’t just say a few warm words on climate to earn
himself a cuddly new image after his year of chaos. Over the last
nine months we have seen what failure to prepare in the face of
an emergency means for the people of the UK and this cannot be
allowed to happen when it comes to tackling the climate crisis
also.
“That is why, today, I am setting out five principles to follow
to make this ten point plan worth the paper it’s printed on.”
The Green Party’s five tests are as follows:
Transform the whole economy
Too often, climate policies from government focus almost
exclusively on energy. We need a fundamental reset of the whole
economy, decarbonising every sector, ditching high carbon
infrastructure projects such as road building and investing
instead in projects including nature conservation public
transport and walking and cycling infrastructure. The ten point
plan must set out how we go net zero across every single sector,
including housing, transport and agriculture, without simply
relying on the development of new technologies that do not yet
exist.
Only provide subsidies for new and emerging clean energy
technologies
Subsidising and extracting fossil fuels across the United Kingdom
pours petrol on the fire of the climate emergency. The ten point
plan must involve a clear transition towards leaving all fossil
fuels in the ground and disentangling all of our institutions
from oil, gas and coal. Subsidies should solely be used to
develop new clean energy, rather than dirty and dangerous
sources, including new nuclear, which need to be phased out. The
application of such a test would be likely to result in 100%
renewable energy.
UK must carry its own net-zero burden
The UK must reach net-zero by its own effort, not by offloading
the heavy lifting onto other countries. This means no purchasing
of carbon offsets from countries that have made better progress
on renewable energy or relying on imported dirty electricity.
With our incredible renewable resources we should aim to be an
exporter of clean energy.
Prosperity for all
We can’t take action on climate without lifting everybody up. The
ten point plan must have a comprehensive Green New Deal and a
credible strategy for winding down polluting, outdated sectors,
protecting all livelihoods with a basic income and creating
millions of good, well-paid Green jobs.
Prioritise the local
Across the world, leadership on moving to net zero has come from
local authorities and regional governments. The changes that we
need to see must be rapid and have to come from the bottom up. In
the UK we have seen this with local authority climate emergency
plans. We need government to share the power to tackle climate
change with local government and to provide the money and
resources for them to take action to deliver on those plans.
