The Greens’ commitments to issue no new oil and gas licences and bring to an end all subsidies to the oil and gas industry is the kind of bold, decisive action that we must see from all political parties.
The importance of energy efficiency in meeting net-zero cannot be underestimated and it’s good to read of the party’s plans to embark upon a street-by-street programme to insulate homes and provide clean heating, helping to mitigate climate change.
Today, the Green Party has become the first to explicitly state in their manifesto that agriculture in the UK is currently the greatest driver of nature loss, in addition to being the largest single source of pollution in our rivers and coastlines.
This is a highly significant admission and one that needs to be universally accepted. Funding for nature-friendly farming is the only route to long-term food security and sustainable income for farmers. The Green Party’s plan to almost triple support for nature-friendly farmers is a bold commitment, exceeding the minimum funding required to ensure farmers can bring back nature and secure resilient farm businesses.
The manifesto outlines further commitments that are essential to nature’s recovery, including a clear pledge to phase out harmful pesticides and a shift towards regenerative farming, which follows a similar announcement from Labour last week.
The Greens are also the only party thus far to outline plans to ban the badger cull, which, despite resulting in the deaths of over 140,000 badgers, has not led to success in the fight against bovine tuberculosis. Bovine tuberculosis is a disease of cattle and is primarily spread by cattle – the focus must be on improved cattle testing and the roll-out of the cattle vaccination, as well as strict and enhanced biosecurity controls.
The Greens have set out ambitious plans for nature’s recovery – that much is clear. However, their manifesto has some important omissions. Each of the manifestos released so far this week fail to outline plans for the reintroduction of iconic keystone species, from beavers to bison and lynx. These species are critical drivers of ecosystem restoration that we cannot afford to overlook.
The Greens reference the requirement for a 'land use planning policy framework' within their manifesto, but this needs to be about more than planning policy. A strategic Land Use Framework is an essential tool to delineate how nature’s recovery is delivered alongside sustainable food production, high quality housing and the expansion of renewable energy.
Finally, while the Greens outline their long-term ambition to see the re-wetting of all peatlands, they do not make an explicit commitment to the most important short-term action – banning horticultural peat sales. A ban on the destruction of peatlands for horticulture must be introduced and will bring about immediate benefits for both nature and climate.
Today's manifesto from the Greens, joins those already published by the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, and the nature plans released by Labour. Find our reviews of each of these here.