Tuesday, June 11, 2024

 

The environmental stakes are high on 4th July

“Far from being a period of “stability” after chaos, we are heading into an even more tumultuous five years.”

By Paul Atkin, Greener Jobs Alliance

In a recent survey by IZA, 83% of people in the UK said they wanted more action from the government to stop climate breakdown.

The climate vote survey shows that not a single Conservative MP has a good voting record on climate and their government has gone out of its way to try to mobilise people against action on it.

The fewer of them that come back, the better.

Whoever you vote for, the next government will be facing an acceleration of the degeneration of our environment, a divergence between current plans and targets that are both necessary and legally imperative, an increase in the costs of adapting to the impacts that are already occurring; and an international context in which the United States, which mainstream parties in the UK tend to defer to, could be going full rogue state on climate alongside its militarisation drive if Donald Trump is re-elected.

Far from being a period of “stability” after chaos, we are heading into an even more tumultuous five years. And, as Mike Childs, head of science, policy and research at Friends of the Earth, puts it:

“If Labour forms the next government, they will have to produce a comprehensive and lawful climate plan that meets our domestic carbon budgets and our international commitment to reduce emissions by two-thirds by 2030 – or face possible legal action if it falls short. Warm words on how to tackle an overheating planet are not enough. We need urgent action now.”

We will need massive pressure through the labour movement and throughout society to back that up. Buckle in!


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