LPNI EC passed support for the following statement at the end of June 2020. Now it seems it is the perfect time to highlight the dire need for a Green New Deal to take on climate change.

During the past few years the climate crisis has been more evident than ever before. Wildfires have ravaged Australia, the USA, the Russian Siberia and even in the Mournes & Sperrin mountains.

Typhoons have rocked South East Asia, Hurricanes have continued to destroy the Southern US, and storms become more prevalent across the British isles.

Multi-decade droughts continue throughout Africa and the Middle east, turning Savannahs into deserts.

Beyond the climate emergency as a macro scale issue, COVID-19 has brought the day to day issues of ecological disaster closer to home. More pandemics are predicted as eco-systems collapse, our pollution costing us our health, our access to green spaces becoming more and more important, and our hopes of affordable and comfortable housing are being held up by the interests of private wealth.

To prevent the worst effects of climate change, we must keep the global temperature increase below 1.5°C.

Unfortunately, over 1°C in temperature increases have already occurred, causing floods, droughts, heatwaves, pollution, and hundreds of thousands of deaths. Tackling climate change is indivisible from the social, racial and economic justice that society faces everyday.

Just 100 corporations are responsible for the majority of carbon emissions yet the Tories are continuing to deregulate the fossil-fuel industry while cutting support for renewables.

The only chance to bring about change to our lives, through green and red initiatives, is through a socialist Green New Deal – demands for decarbonisation and transformation of the economy that attacks inequality while curbing global warming, based on public ownership, public investment and democratic control. Taking this fight to the tories should be the priority of any democratic socialist party.

Through this knowledge, this CLP will commit to;

• Affirm its support for Labour for a Green New Deal;
• Organise events to educate constituents about the Green New Deal and feed this into its political development.
• Commit to the motion below internally and debate the submission of this motion to the Labour 2021 conference at the August General meeting.

NOTES:

The UK faces a post-covid unemployment crisis with insecurity and low-pay rife for workers.

Intensifying climate and environmental breakdown brings devastating threats to public health and livelihoods.

Keir Starmer has pledged to “hardwire the Green New Deal into everything we do”.

BELIEVES:

Privatisation has undermined decarbonisation and pandemic response measures.

Ahead of COP26, Labour should promote a just, green recovery combining efforts to address unemployment, climate change, and public health.

We can solve the unemployment crisis and rapidly decarbonise with a socialist Green New Deal that has public ownership of industries including energy, water, transport, mail, telecommunications.

RESOLVES TO SUPPORT:

A government program creating millions of well-paid, unionised green jobs with publicly owned entities, including:

Mass investment in green technologies;

Expansion and electrification of public transport, including free local bus networks;

Just climate adaptation, investing in fire and rescue services, flood defences, and resilient infrastructure;

Retrofitting all homes by 2030 with mandatory building standards;

Agricultural transition;

Universal basic services, including:

National Care Service;

Universal free broadband;

National Nature service including ten new national parks and strategic rewilding.

A just transition away from polluting industries with a comprehensive re-training program and green job guarantee on union rates for affected workers.

Repealing all anti-trade union laws.

Creating well-financed publicly owned national and regional green investment banks.

Using public procurement to promote decarbonisation, environmental protections, and international justice in global supply chains.

1. A global socialist Green New Deal, cancelling debt and freely sharing technology and resources internationally.