We need a Green New Deal
Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Young people have grown up in an age of crisis. We’ve seen austerity rip our communities apart and come of age in a pandemic, all while sailing past climate tipping points. Watching as storms and wildfires fill our phone screens, and then our streets. Our classrooms are overcrowded and our libraries have closed down. Our energy bills are unaffordable. Half our paychecks go on renting flats from landlords who don’t care if our ceilings rot from mould. Meanwhile, the billionaires and fossil fuel CEOs profiting from these crises have gotten richer and richer. And our political leaders have done nothing to stop it.
We refuse to sit back and watch our futures burn, so we're calling for a Green New Deal.
A bold plan to tackle climate change at the speed and scale required. A plan that reprogrammes our economy so that its people, communities and ecosystems that matter, not profit. That will deliver a good green job to everyone that needs one and give everybody warm and affordable homes. It means putting power back into the hands of communities, whether that’s through publicly owned transport networks or making sure we put workers and local communities first as we move on from the era of fossil fuels. It's a plan to face up to the UK's historic exploitation of people and planet, redistributing wealth and support to those places that need it.
Sponsored by
To:
Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
From:
[Your Name]
We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned by the Government’s lack of ambition when tackling the existential threat of the climate crisis, alongside spiralling ineqaulity.
We believe the solution to these crises is the Green New Deal, and call on the Government to deliver the below five policy priorities urgently.
Priority one: Decarbonise, fast.
Totally decarbonise the economy of the United Kingdom in a way that enhances the lives of ordinary people, workers and communities and works to eliminate social and economic inequality. Among other things, this should include:
- A mass programme of home insulation and retrofitting heat pumps warming homes, lowering bills and reducing emissions.
- Public ownership of public services, including transport, water and energy suppliers, with a duty to ensure access and reduce consumption, so our utilities are run for public good, not private profit.
- 100% renewable energy, from a mixture of community-owned renewables and larger suppliers
Priority two: Transform the economy
Transform our economy so the financial system serves the needs of people and the planet, with an accountable and democratic government in the driving seat. Our economy must work in the interest of everyone – with greater democratic participation, accountability and common ownership – empowering those communities currently marginalised and respecting natural ecological limits. Among other things, this should include:
- End ‘austerity’ once and for all – we need to invest in our public services and end the transfer of wealth from public to private sector
- Change Treasury rules to ensure all public investment is aligned with climate targets
Priority three: Promote global justice
Promote global justice by supporting all peoples and countries to decarbonise quickly and fairly, in line with timeframes set out by science. The Green New Deal will ensure the UK does its fair share to tackle climate breakdown – and more – to account for historic emissions and the exploitation of resources and communities, particularly those in the Global South. Among other things, this should include:
- The UK should reach zero carbon by 2030.
- End ALL UK financing of fossil fuel extraction overseas.
- Honour climate finance obligations to developing countries in full and on time
Priority four: Jobs and a just transition
Create millions of new well-paid, secure, unionised jobs across the country guaranteeing healthy and fulfilling livelihoods for all workers, and communities including those in today’s high emissions sectors. Among other things, this should include:
- Millions of government-created good green jobs in green infrastructure and the care economy, with regional worker-led just transition strategies for shifting the economy from high-carbon sectors like fossil fuels, arms and industrial agriculture to renewables, nature-friendly farming, health and care.
- A Green Jobs Guarantee – good, green jobs for anyone who wants one.
Priority five: Protect and restore
Protect and restore vital habitats and carbon sinks, including forests and wild areas, and ensure the provision of clean water, air, green spaces and a healthy environment for all. Among other things, this should include:
- Establish a National Nature Service, creating thousands of new, well-paid jobs in tree-planting, conservation and nature-based flood prevention.
- Support farmers to adopt nature-friendly farming methods through subsidies, training, public procurement policy and access to land, to protect our air, soil and water.
- Make polluters pay for the environmental harm they cause by enforcing legal liability with adequate damage payments and/or criminal convictions for the worst offenders.
We believe that these priorities would lead the Government to act with the speed and scale required. We urge the Prime Minister to listen to young people, and protect our future by delivering a Green New Deal.