I was one of the lead sponsors of the Labour Party’s Opposition Day motion in Parliament. The motion declares a national environment and climate emergency. This made the UK the first country in the World to do so. This symbolic declaration has been met with calls on the Government to increase its ambition to set a target of net zero emissions before 2050. I have included a copy of the motion at the bottom of this email for your information.

This follows protests from thousands of students across the country and around the world who have spoken out against current complacency on climate change and environmental protections. These students are right to be concerned as it is today’s younger generation who will see the devastating impact if we fail to act.

Instead of acting with urgency and introducing strong environmental policies, the Government have been doing the opposite. The Conservatives have effectively banned the cheapest form of renewables, new onshore wind, through restrictive planning measures and the removal of subsidies. This has led to the deployment of new onshore wind falling by 94%. The Government have also sought to override local democracy by pushing fracking on the UK, in the face of overwhelming local opposition based upon air pollution, earthquakes and risks to local water quality.

In comparison Labour have committed to rapid and drastic action. Only concerted government intervention through a Green Industrial Revolution can deliver the scale of change needed. This will also create hundreds of thousands of good jobs, transforming whole regions of the UK such as the North East.