Greens target fossil free energy, social housing and rail renationalisation

Manifesto outlines £338bn spending spree to deliver sustainable, low carbon affordable future.

Antony Oliver
14 April 2015

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The Green Party this week underlined its commitment to delivering a fossil fuel free, affordable energy supply the UK with an £85bn public programme of investment in renewable generation and energy efficiency measures.

Its Election manifesto, published this week, also pledges to reforms public transport by renationalising the railways and also includes specific promises in to “ban fracking, phase out coal power stations and say no to new nuclear” in it £338bn spending spree. 

“A rapid transition to a zero-carbon sustainable economy will create millions of jobs and secure a safe climate for our children and grandchildren,”

“In the last thirty years there has been an explosion in environmental awareness and activism. It’s been sorely needed but Governments must also prioritise action on climate change to avoid devastating harm to our economy, society and environment,” says the manifesto.

“A rapid transition to a zero-carbon sustainable economy will create millions of jobs and secure a safe climate for our children and grandchildren,” it adds, promising major £35bn investment in renewable energy.

“In 2012 Sweden, Latvia and Finland all generated more than one third of their energy from renewables. Meanwhile the UK was stuck at a shameful 4.2%,” says the manifesto which also promised a public programme of investment in building insulation.

Alongside plans for energy and climate change mitigation the manifesto include a plan to launch a new £45bn programme of domestic energy efficiency, with a pledge to invest to in energy efficiency measures to help cut energy use by one third by 2020, by a half by 2030 and by two thirds by 2050.

“We have a housing crisis with soaring private rents while social housing is being sold off left, right and centre,” says the manifesto. “We need homes that people can afford to live in."

Flood defence investment would also be a priority for public investment for then Greens pointing out that “2014 was the wettest winter ever, leaving thousands of households flooded and costing our country over £1 billion” and promising a ban on building on flood plains.

Secure affordable housing for all is also targeted in the manifesto as a priority for public investment, highlighting that 1.8M households were still on waiting lists for social housing.

“We have a housing crisis with soaring private rents while social housing is being sold off left, right and centre,” says the manifesto. “We need homes that people can afford to live in.”

The manifesto promised to abolish the bedroom tax, provide 500,000 social rented homes by 2020 and bring empty homes back into use. 

The Green also promised to cap rent, introduce longer tenancies and licence landlords to provide greater protection for renters.

On transport the Greens promised action to protect passengers from rising fares by introducing an immediate 10% cut in fares “to give passengers a much-needed financial break”.

“We will return the railways to public hands, saving money and improving services. We will promote walking and cycling to help reduce pollution and improve people’s health,” said the manifesto. “We need proper public transport that takes us where we want to go, affordably and reliably.”

Delivering the Green Party plan would, it said, require investment of £338bn over the next five years some three times that planned by the Coalition’s 2015 budget, paid for largely by taxes including a new carbon tax as the forerunner to a carbon quota scheme to regulate energy demand.

The Green party also promised that “adequate funding” would be made available for research and development to tackle climate change, pollution and biodiversity issues including £2.5bn to research wave and tidal power.

A move towards a circular economy is promised to minimise waste with a target of 70% domestic waste recycled by 2020 moving towards zero.

Commenting on the manifesto the Environmental Industries Commission  welcomed the  Green Party's "ambitious environmental polices many of which we would strongly support".

In particular it commended commitments to: 

• Reducing diesel emissions and use of ultra Low Emission Zones
• Tough carbon reduction targets
• A nationwide insulation retrofit programme
• A focus on product eco-design and recycling
• Encouragement of brownfield development

 "In addition to the environmental benefits, action in these areas would also create many thousands of green jobs.  Having said that, getting the technical details of these policies right would be challenging, and we look forward to being engaged in taking these topics forward,” said EIC.