GE17: Manifestos on the Environment

Less than a week to go until the “snap” General Election 2017 that nobody wanted but what are the parties promising on the environment?

Here’s a quick summary:

Green Party

• preserve all EU environmental laws and principles after Brexit
• introduce Environment Protection Act to preserve wildlife and habitats and ensure all have right to access green space
• work towards global temperature rise of below 1.5 degrees
• ban fracking
• end fossil-fuel use
• support onshore wind and solar power
• all new homes to be zero carbon by 2020 and improve energy efficiency of old homes
• remove diesel cars through scrappage
• £2 million for cycle and walking schemes
• redirect farmer subsidies towards sustainable land management
• marine protection network around the UK, maintaining sustainable fish stocks

Labour

• will meet international climate targets and transition to low carbon economy
• protect current EU environmental standards and principles
• nationalise the energy market
• ban fracking
• interest free loans for landlords to improve energy sufficiency of their properties, as well as improving insulation in 4 million homes
• introduce a Clean Air Act
• invest in electric vehicle manufacture and use
• targets to reduce plastic bottle waste
• plant 1 million trees to help natural flood management
• protect land and sea habitats

Liberal Democrats

• maintain EU environmental standards
• create governmental office for sustainability
• create blue belt for marine life
• introduce a Zero Carbon Britain Act, Green Buildings Act, Zero Waste Act, and an Air Quality Act
• expand renewables by 60% by 2030
• diesel scrappage scheme
• plant a tree per citizen
• maintain Paris climate obligations
• £2 million for flood prevention
• redirect farmers’ subsidies towards healthy food and effective land management

Conservatives

• continue to meet the international goal of reducing emissions by 80% by 2050
• £600 million investment to make every car have zero emissions by 2050
• upgrading poor fuel homes by 2030 to EPC band C
• possible offshore wind technology, particular in the Scottish isles (if they are still within the UK….)
• subsidies for farmers guaranteed until 2022 (new schemes to come into play after that)
• improving water courses with landowners to manage natural flood defenses
• commercial fishing to preserve fish stocks
• free vote on the Hunting Act

 

Hope this helps you come to the right decision for the environment this Thursday!