Bell Ribeiro-Addy is among 21 Labour MPs calling for a Green New Deal in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. In an open letter issued by the Socialist Campaign Group, MPs have called for “climate action to be at the heart of everything our country does as we rebuild”.
The MPs call for building and retrofitting low carbon homes, affordable green public transport, public ownership of energy, ecological restoration, a ban on fracking, and welcoming climate refugees.
Their statement echoes the Labour Party’s October 2019 report, ‘Thirty by 2030’ with policy proposals to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions to net zero by 2030.
Just this week, the Arctic Circle recorded record temperatures of 38C.
Bell-Ribeiro Addy, Labour Member of Parliament for Streatham, said:
“We face an unprecedented economic recession on the one hand and an unprecedented climate emergency on the other. Only a radical Green New Deal with a net zero carbon emission target of 2030 will address the two great crises of our time.
“If we’re serious about delivering ecological and economic recovery post-Covid, climate action needs to be at the heart of everything we do. Investment in low carbon homes, affordable green public transport and restoring ecology would provide a much-needed jobs boost.
“Climate breakdown is an invisible enemy but this kind of green investment would lead to noticeable improvements in people’s daily lives in areas like Streatham, where air pollution in particular is a real problem.”
ENDS
Notes:
- ‘Thirty by 2030’ report, The Labour Party, (October 2019): https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ThirtyBy2030report.pdf
- BBC News, Arctic Circle sees ‘highest-ever’ recorded temperatures (22 June 2020): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-53140069
- Full text of letter:
The recovery from Covid-19 must tackle the urgent climate crisis facing our planet. With the highest ever temperatures recorded in the Arctic Circle, we cannot delay in taking action to save our planet and future generations.
We believe that the necessary and urgent action must consider not only the historic responsibility of the UK in greenhouse gas emissions, but also the need for a just transition for workers employed in the energy industry.
Thanks to work of campaigners, trade union representatives of energy workers and others, since conference 2019, Labour Party policy includes:
- International exchange of technology and expertise to support other countries’ transitions
- A path to net zero by 2030
- A ban on fracking
- A just transition, based on public ownership of an integrated, democratic energy sector
- Free or affordable green public transport
- Ecological restoration to increase biodiversity
- Welcoming climate refugees
- Building and retrofitting social and council housing with low embedded carbon
We support the recommendations of Labour’s 2019 report ‘Thirty by 2030’, and the work of Labour for a Green New Deal in continuing to push for Labour conference policy to be made a reality, to save our planet for our children, and to fight for climate action to be at the heart of everything our country does as we rebuild after the coronavirus pandemic.
Diane Abbott MP, Tahir Ali MP, Paula Barker MP, Apsana Begum MP, Christine Blower, Pauline Bryan, Richard Burgon MP, Ian Byrne MP, Shami Chakrabarti, Jeremy Corbyn MP, John Hendy, Ian Lavery MP, Clive Lewis MP, John McDonnell MP, Ian Mearns MP, Grahame Morris MP, Kate Osamor MP, Kate Osborne MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Zarah Sultana MP, Jon Trickett MP, Claudia Webbe MP, Mick Whitley MP, Nadia Whittome MP
For further information about this press release, please contact Ollie Collard, Communications Officer, Office of Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP at oliver.collard@parliament.uk.