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UK election: Environmental issues taking a backseat on campaign trail, say activists

The election was called by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak from the governing Conservative Party, who has been accused of setting the United Kingdom back on climate change.

UK election: Environmental issues taking a backseat on campaign trail, say activists
Young climate campaigners take part in a UK Student Climate Network protest in central London on Nov 5, 2021. A panel of scientists convened by the UN published a report on the impacts of climate change on the planet, including on the natural world and human civilization. (Photo: AP)
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LONDON: While polls suggest that the environment is among voters’ top concerns at this week’s United Kingdom general election, activists say green issues have not been a sufficiently prominent theme on the campaign trail.

Voting is set to take place on Thursday (Jul 4), with the main opposition Labour Party expected to return to power after 14 years.

The election was called in May by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak from the governing Conservative Party, who has been accused of setting the UK back on climate change.

Last year, the Conservatives announced they would push a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars back from 2030 to 2035, claiming this would not affect net-zero targets.

In response, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats said they would bring that date forward again to 2030.

These differing approaches to climate change and environmental protection among the leading political parties mean that voters can choose between various climate plans.

But for activists who wanted green policies to be the top issue on the campaign trail, it has been an uphill struggle.

Ms Carla Denyer, co-leader of the left-wing Green Party, said it has been “very concerning how little” the issue of climate change has come up in the election.

“The decisions the UK government makes over the next five years will be absolutely pivotal in the direction the UK takes, and whether we manage to decarbonise – not only whether we managed to meet our targets in terms of dates, but if we manage to do it in a way that also makes this country fairer,” Ms Denyer added.

"When you have got the cost-of-living crisis, you've got underfunding in the NHS (National Health Service) and schools, universal basic income and everything else – has that meant that actually, these incredibly important climate policies are starting to be almost forgotten about?

LETTER ON CLIMATE ACTION

Hundreds of UK-based scientists and academics have signed a letter urging all parties to make ambitious pledges on climate action. They warned that a failure to act would make the UK and the rest of the world more dangerous and insecure.

Among these scientists was Dr Alix Dietzel, who rejects the idea that green policies should be put on the backburner when money is tight.

“You can always say things are unaffordable if you're putting the money elsewhere,” said the senior lecturer in climate justice at the University of Bristol.

“I think it's more unaffordable to not be ambitious because long-term, it’s going to affect GDP (gross domestic product) across the world, including in the UK and it's going to make us poorer overall,” she added.

COSTS TO CONSUMERS

The issue of costs to consumers was why the Conservatives pushed back the ban of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

Both Labour and the Conservatives say they will be able to hit the UK's current target of reaching net zero by 2050.

On the other hand, the Liberal Democrats say more action is needed so that the target can be hit by 2045. The Greens want to get there by 2040 at the latest, promising to spend US$50 billion a year to do so.

The centrepiece of the Labour Party's renewables policy is a new publicly owned Great British Energy Company to invest in clean energy sources.

The Conservatives are pledging to treble offshore wind capacity and fast-track small nuclear power stations.

Polls suggest that the environment is one of the top concerns among voters – some of whom told CNA about their concerns.

“I've moved from voting Labour to voting Green Party because I think that the environment's a really important policy that we need to be thinking of when voting,” said one voter.

Another questioned the source of funds to support a green agenda.

“On the one extreme, you've got the Green Party (which) understandably is making a lot of promises and expectations. But it comes with a very, very high cost,” he added.

Source: CNA/lt(ca)

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