Cross-party MPs blast Labour on climate ambition
TODAY cross-party MPs have called on the government to scrap its growth before climate narrative.
The Co-Leader of the Green Party Adrian Ramsay MP was joined by Labour’s Barry Gardiner MP, and Liberal Democrat Dr Roz Savage MP at an event hosted by political comment website Comment Central this morning (11/02) in Westminster.
Speaking to an audience of NGO leaders and FTSE 100 businesses, the panel was united in its calls for the Starmer government to strengthen its climate commitments and scale investment in a green economy.
Barry Gardiner MP, said: “The Labour party criticised the ‘stop-go’ approach of the previous government for the way in which it pulled back on commitments and didn’t give a clear lead to people.
“To have said what we have said previously on Heathrow and now to say to hell with it is not just disastrous from an environmental point of view but disastrous for the message that it gives to the public that it is not serious about the environment.”
The Chancellor has insisted ‘net zero is the industrial opportunity of the 21st century’ as she attempts to boost growth in the UK economy. However, after backing the expansion of Heathrow, cutting environmental protections to accelerate development and the potential for new oil field expansion, the government has faced backlash from across the political spectrum.
Adrian Ramsay MP said: “These sorts of huge climate wrecking projects are what will blow out of the water anything we talk about in terms of clean power and renewable energy. We must tackle the narrative that this government has been allowed to develop that big scale infrastructure, even if they are hugely climate intensive, is the only way forward for a resilient economy.”
Last month the government were forced to strike a deal to stop a vote on Roz Savage MP’s Climate and Nature Bill, which would have made the UK’s climate and environment targets legally binding.
The bill, which was pushed by campaign group Zero Hour, had cross party support as well as huge support from environmental charities, NGOs and public figures.
In order to stop a vote, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband was forced to promise a range of concessions, including input in government policy from the bill’s Parliamentary sponsors and an annual statement on government progress towards international climate and nature targets within six months.
Dr Roz Savage MP, who co-sponsored the bill, said: “The government has no coherent narrative on what it wants to achieve. Ed Miliband got off to a strong start on renewables, but then we are seeing the expansion of runways.”
“I am looking forward to working with the Defra and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to identify what metrics we measure our climate and nature targets by. I’m hoping to get them to commit to a consistent set of metrics that get reported on year-on-year to ensure transparency for the public.”
John Higginson, founder of environmental consultancy Higginson Strategy, said: “From a third runway at Heathrow to the Rosebank North Sea oil field, Labour are at risk of alienating the electorate and rolling back the clock on climate progress. Cross party MPs are calling on the government to remember there is no economy without nature and the environment.”
