16 March 2022

Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, has the following response to the launch of the Government’s Nature Recovery Green Paper and Environmental Targets consultation out today:

“The Nature Green Paper and Environmental Targets consultation out today fall embarrassingly short of stopping and reversing nature’s decline.

I’m glad the Government admits our National Parks and AONBs are currently failing to contribute towards the 30×30 goal. But the targets set out in this consultation are pitiful. On biodiversity, the aim for a 10% increase on 2030 baseline by 2042 is feeble. As sewage continues to pour into our waterways, there’s no target to improve the overall condition of our rivers. And the Government’s definition of ‘effective protection’ for nature is vague at best, downright evasive at worst.

It’s also very disappointing to see major policy ideas omitted entirely – from improving access to nature via a right to roam, to a ban on industrial fishing in England’s marine-protected areas. With COP15 mere months away, we have a chance to show leadership on the world stage in restoring nature and protecting our planet – this Green Paper is not it.”

Caroline Lucas also tweeted about the Green Paper here.

ENDS

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14 March 2022

The UK government’s new visa scheme does not go far enough to help families fleeing war in Ukraine, the Green Party has warned.

Benali Hamdache, Green Party migration and refugee support spokesperson, said:

“This is a pale imitation of the welcome the European Union has rolled out. The European Union has waived all visas and given refugees the right to asylum for three years. We’ve created a bureaucratic hosting process that will mean refugees won’t be able to live independently. 

“The generosity of sponsors is appreciated, but will there be spaces for families? What happens if the relationship between host and sponsor fails? 

“Basically, the government is passing on their responsibility and leaving it down to the British public’s kindness and desire to help. The charity of individuals should not be relied on to replace the joined up humanitarian approach that could be provided. Priti Patel’s priorities are all wrong”

ENDS

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11 March 2022

* A plan to address the underlying causes of food poverty

* Emergency investment in sustainable food production to increase domestic supply

* Transform farming to help tackle the climate and ecological emergency

* Halve the UK’s 10 million tons of food waste

With the UN World Food Programme warning that the war in Ukraine threatens to disrupt a third of the world’s wheat market and double global wheat prices [1], the Green Party has called for an emergency food security summit, alongside action on the cost of living crisis, to tackle the underlying causes of food poverty. They also argue this is the opportunity to invest in sustainable methods of food production which work to capture carbon while improving soil quality and biodiversity. 

Adrian Ramsay, co-leader of the Green Party, said:

“Ukraine has been one of Europe’s bread baskets for centuries. The Russian invasion will inevitably lead to food shortages and spiralling food prices, further exacerbating the cost of living crisis. 

“That’s why the Green Party is calling for an emergency food summit alongside action to address the underlying causes of food poverty. 

“Such a summit must involve farmers and food producers in planning how we can immediately increase the UK food supply. This is the time to learn from the good work of many UK farmers who are demonstrating how agriculture can help tackle the climate and ecological emergency and supply healthy and sustainable food. In particular, we need to adopt farming methods that end our dependence on imported fossil fuel based fertilisers and focus on growing grains for human consumption not for farmed animal feed. 

“Farming currently contributes up to a third of UK greenhouse gas emissions and two thirds of wildlife loss. We need to seize this opportunity to turn this around and adopt farming methods which work to capture carbon while improving soil quality and biodiversity.

“We also need to end the scandal of 10 million tons of edible food waste per year in the UK [2]. An emergency summit must look at what action we need to take to halve this waste mountain – an aim that is in line with UN goals.  

“We must tackle food poverty and transform farming and food production into the secure, sustainable and healthy alternative we know it can become.” 

Notes

[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60653856 

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/sep/04/how-food-waste-is-huge-contributor-to-climate-change 

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10 March 2022

• ‘Neither Conservatives nor Labour are stepping up to the level required in this humanitarian crisis.’

Migration and Refugee Support Spokesperson Benali Hamdache said,

‘Priti Patel is making our country look cruel and incompetent in the face of the humanitarian disaster unfolding across our continent. But Labour’s failure to back visa-free access is even more shocking and it is deeply depressing to see Labour politicians mimicking the tough stance of this awful government.

“The vast majority of the public want to allow Ukrainian refugees to come to Britain without having a visa as they flee for their lives. Yet politicians from both main parties are unrelenting in applying cruel bureaucracy that is rejecting refugees at our borders. The UK stands alone in Europe in turning away those in need. This is a national disgrace. 

“Neither Conservatives nor Labour are stepping up to the level required in this humanitarian crisis.

“The need to waive visas has never been more pressing, and that welcome must be extended to Black, Asian and Arab refugees fleeing conflict, not only those from Ukraine.”

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8 March 2022

Responding to the announcement from Boris Johnson that the UK is to phase out oil imports from Russia by the end of this year [1], co-leader Carla Denyer said: 

“The decision by the UK government to phase out oil imports and the European Commission to cut its dependency on Russian gas by two-thirds this year [2], goes right to the heart of this deadly invasion. Fossil fuel money is blood money as it is funding Putin’s brutal assault on Ukraine.

“However, it is crucial that this announcement by Boris Johnson is not a prelude to an energy strategy that seeks to ramp up North Sea oil and gas production or reboot deeply unpopular fracking.

“We need to end our dependency on all oil and gas and urgently invest in domestic renewables and home insulation. This is the way to address the cost of living crisis affecting millions of households as well as tackle the climate emergency and deliver longer term energy security.”

Notes 

[1] https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-to-ban-russian-oil-imports/

[2] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_1511

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