The
Shadow Chancellor will today warn of the cost implications of climate change on
the public finances.
In
a speech at the IPPR think tank in central London, he will call on the
Government to include the fiscal risks posed by climate change in future fiscal
forecasts.
He
will lay out how under the next Labour government the Office of Budget
Responsibility will be made truly independent of government, and asked to model
for the effects of human-made climate change on the public finances.
Recent
research has shown the potential loss to UK GDP from climate change and
environmental degradation as much as £75bn a year by 2050.
John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, speaking today at
the IPPR conference in London, is expected to say:
“The
truth is that meeting the challenge of climate will require more than marginal
adjustments. It will require a transformation of our institutions and how our
economies are run.
“Over
the last few years the Office for Budget Responsibility has established itself
as an independent, authoritative voice on economic analysis. The next Labour
government will guarantee and reinforce that independence by making the OBR
report not to the Treasury but to Parliament.
“We
want thorough and genuine oversight of our own fiscal plans. We want the public,
whether businesses or voters, to be absolutely confident that the public
finances are properly scrutinised and managed.
“And
we want to ensure that the overwhelming challenge of climate change is
addressed from the very centre of government. This includes the potential
losses to the public finances.
“The
next Labour government will therefore ask the OBR to include the impact of
climate change and environmental damage in its long-term forecasts. The public deserve
to know what impacts we might expect on the national purse from the degradation
of our environment. Sound, responsible economic management should already be
accounting for this.
“We’ll
make sure the OBR has the resources needed to deliver the best available
modelling of the economic impacts of the environment. It will become a new
centre of expertise for environmental macroeconomics.
“And
we will make sure not just the next Labour government, but future governments,
will be absolutely committed to addressing this, our greatest single public
challenge.”
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