A landslide victory for the Labour Party in the UK general election presents a ‘strong mandate for ambitious climate action and green investment’, climate change think tank E3G has said.
Commenting on the result of the general election, Ed Matthew, campaigns director at E3G said, “By delaying and damaging the clean energy policies that could cut energy bills, Rishi Sunak pitched the Conservatives against every UK household. It was a catastrophic political blunder.
“The Labour election landslide means Keir Starmer now has a historic public mandate to accelerate climate action, invest in the industries of the future and restore UK climate leadership. The UK is back in the race to net zero.”
Labour pledges
Ahead of the election, Labour had made a number of environmental pledges, including establishing a clean power system by 2030, setting up a Great British Energy and a National Wealth Fund to help decarbonise industry, and building an international Clean Power Alliance.
At the same time, the Conservative Party’s decision to ‘delay and weaken climate policies was a massive strategic blunder’, E3G said.
“The public has just provided an enormous climate vote of confidence behind Labour’s ambitious policies,” added Juliet Phillips, programme lead for energy transition at E3G. “Policy delays and derailments under the Conservatives have set the UK back, but our climate and fuel poverty targets can remain in reach with the right measures and investment behind them.”
Manon Dufour, executive director at E3G’s Brussels office, meanwhile, called on the European Union to take note that the UK is “back in the race to net zero”, with policy pledges that align with the goals of the European Commission.
Tackling the plastic crisis
Elsewhere, Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet & Plastic Health Council, similarly hailed Labour’s win, saying that Prime Minister Starmer and his government “now has no excuse to not implement lasting policies that tackle the plastic crisis head on.
“Clear and comprehensive policy that takes a long-term vision over short-term tokenism is the only vehicle to fight the impact of plastic on our bodies and planet. Science must inform legislation that provides certainty to business and signals that single use plastic will no longer be the norm; crucially putting in place a level of accountability for the biggest polluters intent on disrupting change.”
