You can’t level up without a Green New Deal — here’s how we got one.
In November last year, governments from 197 countries met in Glasgow for the UN climate talks Cop26, hoping to come up with plans to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. But the meeting was a disappointment, failing to deliver on its own rhetoric. This is followed by a UK autumn budget that barely mentions the climate crisis, and a net zero strategy that falls far short of what we need. It comes after the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its harshest warning yet this summer, after wildfires, floods and hurricanes across the globe: The climate crisis is already happening because of how we live and power our economies .
The pandemic over the past year and a half has been extremely difficult for all of us and has widened inequality in the UK. But it also makes us realize what matters: our health, our loved ones, and the communities around us. Yet over the past decade, the benefits of growth have not been equitably distributed, living standards have not changed, and much of our country has been left behind. As we tackle the climate crisis, we need to answer the questions that dominate our politics: How do we make the economy work for everyone?
Here’s the heart of the government’s favorite phrase: ‘escalation”. That’s the right question. This administration has made ‘Upgrading communities across the country is one of their flagship missions. But despite a lot of lip service, they haven’t yet developed a strategy for getting it done. The goal of upgrading should be simple: improve people’s living standards, especially in communities facing decades of deprivation and neglect. The economic aftershocks of the pandemic will make this more difficult, but business as usual will not reduce it.
The government will not be able to improve troubled parts of the country without confronting our greatest challenge: the climate crisis. Our government has set a legally binding goal to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. The UK’s commitment to rapidly cutting emissions means the economy will have to change dramatically over the next decade. This must be done in a way that reduces inequality and improves people’s lives. Some of the communities in need of upgrading are those hardest hit by the deindustrialization of the 1980s.
This administration has failed to connect the dots: We cannot upgrade and build back better from the pandemic without a plan to address the climate crisis. If we take the right actions, we can create a society that meets everyone’s needs while avoiding climate collapse. Without action, we will repeat past economic shocks, rising global inequality and climate catastrophe.
“The government will not be able to improve the troubled parts of the country without confronting our greatest challenge: the climate crisis. “
This is a huge challenge, and we urgently need a practical, bold solution. But the good news is that we have a plan: the Green New Deal. In this booklet we outline the first steps we need to take. The Green New Deal is an economy-wide plan that puts the climate crisis and people’s living standards at the top of the government’s agenda. Not only will it curb the worst impacts of climate collapse, but it will also reprogram our economy to work for everyone.
Investment is key: the government cannot afford to upgrade cheaply. There is no path to a net zero economy without public investment – so why not create jobs and boost industries in struggling communities? This should be combined with local industry strategies to identify potential new, safe, high-paying, low-carbon jobs in the industry of the future. Private money also needs to go towards things that reduce carbon emissions and improve our lives, not pay for the dirty, polluting sectors of our economy. Then there is power. If the government wants to improve the national level, it needs to give regional and local governments more power to adjust their response to local demand. and people – ensuring people can live and thrive in a low carbon economy. And finally the world – the UK must lead the way in driving a Green New Deal on a global scale, including accountability for our historic and current emissions and resource extraction.
It’s time for the government to realise that without the Green New Deal, they can’t raise the bar for the UK.
Image: iStock
