Leaked Labour Manifesto Promises 'Leading Role' on Tackling Climate Change

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Update 17/05/2017: The full manifesto has now been published, and the key climate and energy promises are in line with the leakedย version.

The UK is failing to tackle climate change and needs a Labour government to put the country โ€œback on trackโ€, according to a leaked version of the partyโ€™s 2017 general election manifesto.

The promises in the document, uploaded by political news and gossip website Guido Fawkes, match the partyโ€™s previous pledge to make โ€œsecuringโ€ the UKโ€™s environment one of its key actions if it were to win the election on Juneย 8.

According to the document, a Labour governmentย would:

  • Put the UK back on track to meet its Paris Agreement climateย targets
  • Banย fracking
  • Introduce a new Clean Airย Act
  • Nationalise key parts of the energyย sector
  • Prioritise access to the internal energy market and Euratom in Brexitย negotiations

The text is not final, with the senior party figures due to discuss the manifesto laterย today.

Climateย Leadership

The leaked manifesto makes clear that a Labour government would prioritise action on climateย change.

According to theย document:

โ€œTackling climate change is non-negotiable, yet recent years have seen a failure to progress towards our targets. A Labour government will put us back on track to meet the targets in the Climate Change Act and the Paris Agreement. Building a clean economy of the future is the most important thing we must do for our children, our grandchildren and futureย generations.โ€

It goes on to say that Labourย would:

โ€œโ€ฆ reclaim Britainโ€™s leading role in tackling climate change, working hard to preserve the Paris Agreement and deliver on international commitments to reduce emissions while mitigating the impacts of climate change on developingย countriesโ€.

It said the Conservatives โ€œbroke their promise to be the โ€˜greenest government everโ€™โ€, and that in contrast Labour would โ€œdefend and extend existing environmentalย protectionsโ€.

It goes on to sayย that:

โ€œThe Conservatives threatened bonfire of red tape, as part of Brexit, is a threat to our environmental protections and to the quality of our lives. Their record on combating climate change and environmental damage has been one of inaction and brokenย promisesโ€.

Itย said a Labour government would โ€œcontinue to work constructively with the EU and other European nations on issues such as climateย changeโ€.

Policies

The document outlined a number of policies it would implement to reduce the UKโ€™s greenhouse gasย emissions.

It said Labour would ban fracking, as not doing so โ€œwould lock us into an energy infrastructure based on fossil fuels, long after the point in 2030 when the Committee on Climate Change says gas in the UK must sharplyย declineโ€.

It nods to nuclear and carbon capture and storage technology, saying both will form part of its low carbon energyย plan.

It also said a Labour government would โ€œenforce the highest modern standards for zero carbonย buildingsโ€.

It promised to introduce a new Clean Air Act to โ€œdeal with the Tory legacy of illegal airย qualityโ€.

The document also revealed Labourโ€™s plans to nationalise the energy sector, allowing it to โ€œdeliver renewable energy, affordability for consumers, and democraticย controlโ€.

It promisedย to regain โ€œcentral government control of the natural monopolies of the transmission and distribution grids, and of responsibility for the policy andย information functions of theย regulatorโ€.

It also pledged to set up โ€œat least one publicly owned energy company in every region of the UKโ€ and increase support for community energyย cooperatives.

When it comes to the Brexit negotiations, it said a Labour government would โ€œprioritise maintaining access to the internal energy market and will retain access toย Euratomโ€.

It also accused Conservative MPs and Brexiteers of pushing to leave the EU to weaken regulations, including โ€œenvironmental safeguardsโ€. A Labour government โ€œwill never consider these rights a burden or accept the weakening of workers rights, consumer rights or environmental protectionsโ€, itย said.

It also pledged to bring national rail back into โ€œpublic ownershipโ€, complete the HS2 rail line, create municipal bus companies, and listen to recommendations for upgrading the National Cycle Network. Those policies would โ€œencourage and enable people to get out of their cars, for better health and a cleaner environmentโ€, itย said.

It said the party โ€œfully supportsโ€ the Sustainable Development Goals, and pledged to use some of the ยฃ200 billion spent by national and local government โ€œin the private sectorโ€ for environmentalย protection.ย 

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Mat was DeSmog's Special Projects and Investigations Editor, and Operations Director of DeSmog UK Ltd. He was DeSmog UKโ€™s Editor from October 2017 to March 2021, having previously been an editor at Nature Climate Change and analyst at Carbon Brief.

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