General Election 2019 manifesto matrix: What have the parties said on net-zero and the environment?

Two weeks out from the General Election and on the day of the live televised climate debate between party leaders, edie has launched a policy manifesto matrix, outlining all the key commitments - and some notable omissions - that the Conservatives, Labour, Green Party and Liberal Democrats have issued.


General Election 2019 manifesto matrix: What have the parties said on net-zero and the environment?

Click on the link to download the policy manifesto matrix

edie’s party manifesto matrix outlines all the key green policies that parties have committed to putting in place in order to transition to net-zero emissions, and halt ecological degradation.

From air quality to low-carbon technologies, the matrix outlines every mention of green policy across the four major manifestos.

—DOWNLOAD THE MANIFESTO MATRIX HERE—

Some parties outperform others in certain areas. The Labour Party’s ‘Plan for Nature’, for example, has been described as the “most ambitious tree-planting pledge we’ve seen from a political party” by Guy Shrubsole, tree campaigner at Friends of the Earth.

edie has also published in-depth summaries of the manifesto launches.

The Conservatives unveiled their party manifesto, which commits to ban plastic exports outside of developed countries, a multi-billion pound energy efficiency scheme for homes and a promise to “go carbon neutral by 2050 and Corbyn neutral by Christmas”. Read more here.

The Labour party’s election manifesto outlines how a Green New Deal, Green Industrial Revolution and a Climate Emergency Bill will put the UK on the cusp of a net-zero economy and drive economic growth through a green transition. READ THE FULL DETAILS HERE.

Both the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats released their manifestos earlier this week, you can read the summaries here.

The backdrop to the election is set to focus on Brexit, trust and climate change. On the latter two subjects, A survey of more than 2,000 adults living in the UK has found that less than one in 25 believe politicians can be trusted to give accurate facts around climate change.

The results of the survey come after separate studies found that climate action is set to influence how the majority of UK voters make their decision on 12 December, and that most of the UK public would support the introduction of a more ambitious net-zero target.

—DOWNLOAD THE MATRIX HERE—

Best of the rest

SNP

Alongside calls for a legally binding second independence referendum, the SNP has called for the UK to set tougher targets to accelerate action on climate change.

The party has also called for a reduction in VAT on energy efficiency home improvements. In fact, by 2024, all new homes should be built to incorporate renewable energy or low-carbon heat.

On biodiversity, the SNP would plant 60 million trees each year by 2025, with half located in Scotland.

Read the full SNP manifesto here.

Brexit Party

Unsurprisingly, the Brexit Party manifesto holds very few details on the climate or the environment. It does pledge to ban the export of plastics waste, but the party would scrap the land and energy-hungry HS2 rail link development.

One interesting thing to note, is that the manifesto has vaguely committed to accelerating the pace of housebuilding, especially on brownfield sites. This could mean that green standards for new homes are ignored to give housebuilders more freedom.

Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru is promising a £15bn Welsh Green Jobs Revolution, including £5bn borrowed from the Treasury to create “tens of thousands” of new green jobs.

The party has committed to building 20,000 social homes built to “green standards” and spend an extra £5bn on improving the energy efficiency of homes and reducing fuel poverty.

Plaid Cymru would also electrify the South Wales Valleys rail infrastructure and the north Wales coast line. All new nuclear sites would be opposed under the strategy.

Read the full Plaid Cymru manifesto here.

edie staff

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