“A substantial wing of what’s left of the Conservative Party are likely to double down on climate denial to try to regroup with the fossil fools of Reform; and they will be well resourced to do so.”
By Paul Atkin, Greener Jobs Allianc
Face up to an attack from the Conservative/Reform rump
In the last days of a strangely flat election campaign, in which the climate crisis had been mostly conspicuous by its absence, Ed Miliband made a speech urging voters “to show that the Conservative Party and Rishi Sunak made a mistake by trying to break the climate consensus in this country”.
And we did. The Tories even lost Uxbridge.
In a sane world in which there were no vested fossil fuel interests with immense media clout and financial resources to breathe life back into them, that would be “job done”.
But, because there are, a substantial wing of what’s left of the Conservative Party are likely to double down on climate denial to try to regroup with the fossil fools of Reform; and they will be well resourced to do so.
Even with the CBI arguing that “net zero cannot just be an ambition: it is a strategic necessity”, with a noisy Frost to Farage bloc arguing the opposite, there will be no consensus. We have a bare knuckle fight on our hands.
Prepare to face up to the US going rogue
As politics in the UK genuflects to the winds blowing from the White House, this sickly Mistral of denial will blow up to hurricane force if Trump wins reelection in November; pledged as he is to trash domestic transition plans and global
cooperation through the Paris process.
This course will have to be stood up to, denounced and broken with and the deferential cringe built into the “Special Relationship” abandoned by any UK government with any self respect, let alone one hoping to “lead internationally” on climate, as Miliband says Labour does.
Allies will have to be found where they can be.
Match investment to ambition and legal obligations
With current government plans ruled inadequate to meet Climate Change Act obligations in Court, Labour’s plans in office will have to be ramped back up to match Miliband’s ambition to “seize the moment” because, as he rightly says, “there is not a minute to waste in the drive for 2030 clean power” and “the world is off track, Britain is off track and we intend to change that direction”.
Such a change of direction is vital, with a need to rapidly unblock onshore wind, and close down new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, but the scale and speed of “the drive for climate targets” will need to be ramped up.
The Motions passed this year by UNISON, NEU, PCS and BFAWU calling for the £28 billion investment pledge to be restored, for union and community engagement through Just Transition Commissions and coordination through a National Climate Service are a solid basis for doing this.
- Paul Atkin is the editor of the GJA, you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter/X.
- This article was originally published by the Greener Jobs Alliance (GJA) July 2024 Newsletter – you can read the newsletter in full here.
