Memo to Labour : let’s have energy systems integration for the many

An integrated system will make it practical and possible for solar panels to go on many roofs.

The Labour Party’s consultation document, A Greener Britain, seeks proposals about different aspects of environmental policy. In this series of articles, Redgreenlabour supporters offer their thoughts. Please comment on these contributions which the authors may well revise and submit to the consultation in due course. We also urge you to submit your own responses to the Party – whether as individuals or through your branches, CLPs, unions, SERA or other environmental groups. The deadline is 24th June.

The UK electricity system needs “radically different forms of grid planning and operation” if it is to stop using fossil fuels, researchers at the Energy Futures Lab at Imperial College argue in a briefing paper published last month, writes Gabriel Levy. Continue reading “Memo to Labour : let’s have energy systems integration for the many”

Fracking, climate change and the labour movement

The anti-fracking struggle is well alive in the UK and protesters across the country have made the headlines with their brave resistance against this extreme method of extracting gas by pumping large amount of water, sand and chemicals into the ground. Many communities supported by environmentalist and climate campaigners are resisting the fracking industry and the labour movement is playing an increasing role in supporting those struggles, writes Clara Paillard.

The Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership included a ban on fracking as part of its 2017 General Election  programme.
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Low carbon future: making it fair

This is what fuel poverty looks like!

The Labour Party’s consultation document, A Greener Britain, seeks proposals about different aspects of environmental policy. In this series of articles, Redgreenlabour supporters offer their thoughts. Please comment on these contributions which the authors may well revise and submit to the consultation in due course. We also urge you to submit your own responses to the Party – whether as individuals or through your branches, CLPs, unions, SERA or other environmental groups. The deadline is 24th June.

Q:How can a future low-carbon energy system be made to work for consumers?

Britain has an ageing population and nearly a decade of Tory cuts to public services has had a devastating impact, creating a crisis in housing, social care and the NHS. A Corbyn government would end austerity and aim for a well-funded public sector with local council, health organisations and community groups working in better partnerships with each other, writes Jay Melia-Jones.

Britain has ambitious targets to tackle climate change – an 80% reduction of carbon emissions by 2050. To realize this we need to take control of our energy network, bringing it into public ownership and giving power to local communities to reduce rising inequality.
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Green space: a right not a privelege

Photo: Phil Dolby

The Labour Party’s consultation document, A Greener Britain, seeks proposals about different aspects of environmental policy. In this series of articles, Redgreenlabour supporters offer their thoughts. Please comment on these contributions which the authors may well revise and submit to the consultation in due course. We also urge you to submit your own responses to the Party – whether as individuals or through your branches, CLPs, unions, SERA or other environmental groups. The deadline is 24th June.

Q: How can access to green spaces be improved and how can the use and function of these spaces be maximised?

The national policy forum consultation document which asks this question also talks about: “green spaces such as national parks and areas of outstanding national beauty.” It’s certainly the case that access to these spaces, as well as to our beaches, seas, lakes and river is hugely important for the physical and mental well-being of millions of people writes Terry Conway.

The barriers to regular access are legion and include: Continue reading “Green space: a right not a privelege”

Time to strengthen Climate Change Act

The Labour Party’s consultation document, A Greener Britain, seeks proposals about different aspects of environmental policy. In this series of articles, Redgreenlabour supporters offer their thoughts. Please comment on these contributions which the authors may well revise and submit to the consultation in due course. We also urge you to submit your own responses to the Party – whether as individuals or through your branches, CLPs, unions, SERA or other environmental groups. The deadline is 24th June.

Q:  What steps need to be taken for the UK to put itself on course to meet climate targets?

The Climate Change Act 2008 was a notable Labour Party achievement, making the UK the first nation to set a legislative obligation to tackle climate change, writes Sam Mason.  Progress towards the target “to ensure that the net UK carbon account for the year 2050 is at least 80% lower than the 1990 baseline” has been made. Largely achieved through emissions reductions from the power sector by phasing out coal for example, it’s now time to urgently tackle the more difficult areas of transport, buildings, and industry.

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For regulations with teeth

Photo: Takver

The Labour Party’s consultation document, A Greener Britain, seeks proposals about different aspects of environmental policy. In this series of articles, Redgreenlabour supporters offer their thoughts. Please comment on these contributions which the authors may well revise and submit to the consultation in due course.
We also urge you to submit your own responses to the Party – whether as individuals or through your branches, CLPs, unions, SERA or other environmental groups. The deadline is 24th June.

Q: How should environmental rules and regulations be adapted for the future?

The Tory government claims it is committed to leaving the environment in a ‘better state’ after Brexit than it is now. It says that its EU Withdrawal Bill will ‘ensure that the whole body of existing EU environmental law continues to have effect’, writes Sean Thompson. But, as currently drafted, the bill will leave our environment less well protected than it is now.

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Free public transport

Photo: Bernard Spragg

The Labour Party’s consultation document, A Greener Britain, seeks proposals about different aspects of environmental policy. In this series of articles, Redgreenlabour supporters offer their thoughts. Please comment on these contributions which the authors may well revise and submit to the consultation in due course. We also urge you to submit your own responses to the Party – whether as individuals or through your branches, CLPs, unions, SERA or other environmental groups. The deadline is 24th June.

Q: What action should be taken to address poor air quality?

Labour’s 2017 election manifesto pledged to introduce a new Clean Air Act to deal with today’s plummeting air quality in particular in the big cities, writes Alan Thornett. Such an Act, however, needs to be radical if it is to be effective in getting large numbers of cars off the road.
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Planning for a Just Transition

Photo: Takver

The Labour Party’s consultation document, A Greener Britain, seeks proposals about different aspects of environmental policy. In this series of articles, Redgreenlabour supporters offer their thoughts. Please comment on these contributions which the authors may well revise and submit to the consultation in due course. We also urge you to submit your own responses to the Party – whether as individuals or through your branches, CLPs, unions, SERA or other environmental groups. The deadline is 24th June.

Question #5; ‘How can jobs be created and existing skills and workforces maintained in a future low-carbon economy?’

The transition to a sustainable economy will require many people to change their occupation. In Britain, many unions have been reluctant to take serious environmental action for fear that rapid change in employment would mean job losses, writes Andrea Grainger. Many remember Thatcher’s efforts to shut the pits which resulted in huge unemployment and the devastation of mining communities. Job losses however are not a natural consequence of the transition to a sustainable economy, but rather the result of poor planning, disrespect of working people, and overconfidence in trickle-down economics. A Just transition is possible.

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Britain’s Toxic Air a “National Health Emergency”

Photo: David Holt – Toxic London air pollution from Hackney

The recent joint select committee report is extremely critical of the government’s approach to air quality, writes Jon Duveen. It points out that there are about 40,000 early deaths a year from the toxic air in Britain, the majority of these are in London but significant deaths occur in other major cities. Andrew Selous MP, acting Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, said: “Poor air quality has been classified as the largest environmental risk to the health of the British public, equating to around 40,000 early deaths every year. It is even more concerning that children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing health conditions are most at risk
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The extinction of species

Photo: Barta 1V

The mass extinction of species, currently taking place before our eyes, is arguably the most damaging aspect of the whole global environmental crisis, writes Alan Thornett.  The Earth is losing species 1000 times faster than the normal background rate, resulting in what is known as the ‘sixth extinction’ the greatest extinction of species since the demise of the dinosaurs.

Continue reading “The extinction of species”