3 March 2021
- Jonathan Bartley: “The economy is not somehow separate from the environment but entirely dependent on it”
In response to the Chancellor’s Budget announcement today, Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley said:
“We are deeply disappointed that, in the middle of a climate emergency, the Chancellor has failed to put climate at the heart of his Budget today. It’s no good talking about the climate the week before the Budget and the week afterwards and then sidelining it in the Budget itself. The economy is not somehow separate from the environment but entirely dependent on it.
“We welcome the launch of the first Green Bond, although would call for independent and stringent monitoring to avoid greenwashing. We also welcome action on electric vehicles, although this is no substitute for the modal shift in transport, moving people out of cars and onto fast, efficient, and accessible public transport, as well as supporting active travel.
“The change to the Bank of England mandate so that it favours lending to sustainable sectors does sound promising, but we need to see the small print to see just how successful this will be.
‘The freezing of fuel duty is another disappointment, but we would have gone much further than just returning to the annual escalator by imposing a high and rising carbon tax on all fossil fuels. A carbon tax is the fastest and most efficient way to make the biggest polluting companies pay for the carbon they emit, signalling to markets that we are serious about rapid progress towards net zero.
“The Chancellor had an opportunity in the year the UK hosts the UN climate talks to show global leadership. He has utterly failed to do that.”
ENDS
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We have a once in a species opportunity to build a better society in response to The Climate and Ecological Crisis. Instead the Chancellor appears to have decided on be embracing the same business as before model with a few small nods in the direction of green policies. We could and should be heading more rapidly towards a fossil-fuel free future. This would help us stabilise the climate and reduce the deadly effects of air pollution.
We do not need more roads, airport expansion, coal mines, oil exploration or HS2. We and our children and their future children need more imagination from the government. There are a wealth of initiatives and technology available to solve the problems. We do not need to rely on the magical thinking that some as yet to be developed new technology will save us and allow to continue as we have been.
I love the UK and want to see the divisions and inequalities repaired. Instead I am obliged to comment that it looks like this budget is designed to support The Conservative Party's re-election rather than the real needs of the electorate. This is a legacy I believe this Government will come to regret making. They need to revise their thinking and policies to become true net zero heroes.
Economic systems are a human designed tool used by us to keep our house in order. Instead, people and the planet have become a tool to support The Economy. We need to redesign our Economic Systems and reimagine what we call success. We must act from the heart to support better Planetary Health for all.