Greens challenge Conservative leadership candidates on Earth Overshoot Day
28 July 2022
The Green Party has called on the Conservative leadership candidates to commit to ensuring that the UK lives within its environmental means in the next ten years.
As Earth Overshoot Day [1], the date when humanity has used all the biological resources that Earth regenerates in a year, falls the week after the UK experienced extreme heat caused by climate change [2], the Greens have called on Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to place as much urgency on the climate and ecological emergencies as they are in discussing economic growth.
Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said:
“Just last week the UK witnessed the hottest temperatures on record and the consequences of climate disruption became clear for all to see.
“As wildfires raged and people lost everything as their homes were burnt to the ground, the two candidates to become our next Prime Minister were talking more about economic growth rather than tackling the climate crisis.
“Unfortunately, successive governments have for too long focused on economic growth at all costs, without acknowledging that it’s the quality of our economy that matters, not just the quantity. A narrow focus solely on economic growth will exacerbate the climate crisis and worsen social inequalities.
“On Earth Overshoot Day, I am calling on the Conservative leadership candidates to commit to broadening their focus from economic growth and show how they will ensure that the UK lives within our planetary means within the next ten years.
“Our government should be working across the board to ensure we’re leading the way on pushing back Earth Overshoot Day further every year.
“This requires a shift away from chasing economic growth only, and instead measuring the success of our economy by how it maximises people’s happiness without exceeding planetary boundaries. It also means policies to tackle the scourge of inequality and ensure we share the earth’s resources fairly.”
ENDS
Notes
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https://news.sky.com/story/uk-heatwave-temperature-hits-39-1c-in-surrey-a-new-record-12654770