Greens warn: this election is last chance to stop climate change

The Greens have launched what they describe as a radical and transformative manifesto with a warning that this could be the last general election where voters can choose MPs with a realistic chance of stopping runaway climate change.

Unveiling the manifesto, based on 10 proposed bills on issues including the climate emergency and an economic vision based on equality, the Green co-leaders, Siân Berry and Jonathan Bartley, said their party was the only one taking the issue seriously.

Speaking at a wildlife centre in south-west London, Bartley castigated Labour and other parties for failing to match their commitment for net zero carbon emissions by 2030, at the centre of the manifesto plan for a “green new deal”.

Labour’s conference passed a motion making this commitment, but it is believed the party’s manifesto will water this down.

The green new deal would “decarbonise every sector of the economy by 2030, while delivering social justice across Britain”, Bartley said: “Our very planet is ringing the alarm. Hitting snooze for another 15 years simply isn’t an option.”

He continued: “The Conservatives say net zero by 2050. Not good enough. The Lib Dems say net zero by 2045. Not good enough.

“Labour members said net zero by 2030, but the party appears to be rowing the boat back. Not good enough. While the other parties are catching up, we’re racing ahead into the distance.”

Berry told the launch that it was “the last election where we can take the first step down the right path, and that is what we must do”.

Speaking afterwards, she stressed: “If we don’t get our carbon emissions down by 2030, there’s a 50/50 chance of tipping into runaway climate change, which doesn’t bear thinking about.

“When I was a young person worried about climate change people would say to me: ‘You’re the future, your generation can sort this out.’ I can’t say that to the young generation, because there isn’t time for someone who is 15 now to get into power and do the things that are needed. It’s actually up to this generation of politicians.

“Specifically, it’s those people elected in this election. The next set of MPs might be left with an impossible task.”

The green new deal would seek to deliver on the 2030 target by reshaping the economy around industries such sustainable energy. The other nine promised bills cover:

• A second EU referendum.

• At least £6bn extra a year for the NHS.

• Scrapping university fees.

• A “sustainable economy bill” to ensure the economy functions within environmental limits.

• A “future generations bill”, requiring decisions to consider the needs of the future.

• Creating a universal basic income.

• Building 100,000 zero-carbon social rented homes a year.

• Improving tenants’ rights and lowering rents.

• Introducing proportional representation voting and an elected upper house of parliament.

The Greens hope their distinct offering will cut through, amid signs the party could, as in the 2017 election, become marginalised during a tough Labour-Conservative battle. After good local election results, and an almost 12% vote share in May’s European elections, the party is now polling at about 3%.

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Berry warned there was a danger of the Greens being squeezed but said the electoral system and wider political culture was to blame.

“In general elections there’s always a squeeze, a focus on the two big parties. But our system is broken,” she said. Berry highlighted the first TV election debate on Tuesday, in which only Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn will take part, with Berry and other leaders given a brief chance to contribute in a later programme.

“The idea you’re going to have two people whose views on Brexit are not that far apart, you’re not going to have anyone there really holding them to account on their promises on the climate emergency, is ridiculous,” she said. “That’s a real symptom of how bad our democracy is in general.”

The party, which has formed an anti-Brexit electoral pact with the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru, has set its sights on eight new target constituencies, including Bristol West, Bury St Edmunds, Dulwich and West Norwood, Exeter, Forest of Dean and Isle of Wight.