22 June 2019

Alexandra Phillips, Green MEP for the South East and a champion of the Green New Deal has reacted to today’s release by Community Energy England of its annual report on the state of the sector (1).

Alexandra said: “The report describes 2018 as “a year of uncertainty and challenge”.

“There’s only one source of that uncertainty, the total failure of government policy to engage with the needs of this crucial part of the renewables sector that is also an essential part of strong, resilient local economies right across the country.

“Community energy should be at the heart of the government’s policy, but like the whole renewables and energy efficiency sector it has been trapped in an uncertain policy environment, given limited encouragement then all too often had the rug pulled out from under its feet, as with the sudden ending of the feed-in tariff.”

“The report says ‘very few new community energy projects were developed’ last year, despite the fact that this was the year the urgency of our climate emergency became clear.

“Eighty two per cent of people think the government should do more to help communities generate their own energy.

“The government should listen to the people, and the call for the restoration of tax relief on investments in community energy projects made today at the conference.

“Community energy is a crucial part of the Green New Deal – it contributes to tackling the climate crisis, taking people out of fuel poverty and creates secure, local jobs, keeping money circulating in local economies, rather than being swished off into the coffers of giant multinational companies.”

Notes

(1)   https://communityenergyengland.org/pages/state-of-the-sector-report-2019/

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21 June 2019

Green Party co-leaders Sian Berry and Jonathan Bartley will today jointly be signing the Manchester Declaration calling for a “right to repair” for consumers.

They will be joined by a representative from the Restart movement at the “Library of Things” – a community-focused lending library of useful appliances and tools – in the Upper Norwood Library.

Jonathan Bartley said: “We all know how annoying it is when an appliance that we know used to last for decades dies after a few years, when a new computer won’t work with an older printer, when an expensive kitchen appliance becomes useless for the want of a minor part.

“As consumers, we should have the right to goods made to last, designed so that if an element goes wrong it can be repaired (ideally at home or at a repair cafe), that parts will be available when needed and documentation available to assist the repairer.

“There is no technical reason why this shouldn’t be the case. It is companies seeking to maximise profits, to push sales, that are exploiting us all, and trashing the planet. The governments that should be forcing them to act for the common good, producing a circular economy, are generally failing to act (2).”

Sian Berry added: “We are committing to using our political influence at local, national and EU level to trigger the switch to a circular economy, and fight for our right to repair.

“Planned obsolescence does not benefit the consumer. It certainly doesn’t benefit our planet. The only thing it benefits is the pockets of corporations.

“Up and down the country Green councillors are supporting and encouraging Repair Cafes and Restart Parties. These are great examples of communities getting together, supporting each other, sharing skills, creating environmental benefit, but their work is made unduly difficult by the failure of companies to properly design and make products.”

Notes:

1. https://manchesterdeclaration.org/
2. Jonathan will point to the fact that the French government has made it a crime to intentionally shorten the life of a product; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42615378

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20 June 2019

Responding to this morning’s decision of the Court of Appeal on the case brought by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) against the government over Saudi arms sales, Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, said:

“The Court of Appeal verdict is a stunning rebuke for the government. 

“It has failed in a basic legal obligation to make a systematic assessment of the past violations of human rights law, as it should have done before granting export licences.

“The government should also take this opportunity to rethink its whole approach to a regime notorious for its abuses of its own citizens, and actions in Yemen.

“British arms sold to Saudi Arabia are implicated directly in rights abuses. The sales are also making the world a less stable and secure place, threatening all of our futures.”

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18 June 2019

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, has welcomed the news that the UK now looks set to host the 2020 global climate talks.

He said: “Having this crucial global gathering on our climate emergency in the UK will be a great opportunity for us to learn from the top experts and campaigners, and galvanise the struggle for climate action in our country.

“But if we are not to be embarrassed in front of the world, the policies of this or a subsequent government are going to have to change radically.

“To be the hosts of COP26 when you are still pursuing the failed policy of fracking, massively subsidising fossil fuels, planning on expanding aviation and traffic, and building sub-standard energy-inefficient homes, would be a massive embarrassment.

“The UK has a proud record as a pioneer with the 2008 Climate Change Act. But we won’t be able to still trade on that legacy in 2020, as the British delegation was trying to do at the climate talks last year in Katowice.”

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18 June 2019

Reacting to the opening of the consultation on Heathrow expansion this morning, the Green Party’s co-leaders have said this should not be happening.

Sian Berry, co-leader of the Green Party and its candidate for London mayor, said: “The only answer to the Heathrow consultation is ‘no way’.

“Aviation clearly has to contract, not expand, while we need to promote and encourage cleaner options like train travel, which could replace many Heathrow flights.

“Huge numbers of Londoners already suffer from the noise and air pollution from Heathrow, see their transport systems overloaded and their lives disrupted.”

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader and Lambeth councillor said: “We are in a climate emergency.

“The Committee on Climate Change has already said a net-zero carbon target means the government has to rethink aviation expansion.

“This is something the government has clearly failed to grasp. From airport expansion to new roadbuilding, fracking to allowing homes with dreadfully poor energy standards to still be built, its actions are a direct opposite to its words. They are a betrayal of our society.”

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