This article appears as part of the Winds of Change newsletter. We all know who definitely not to vote for if you care about the planet. Firstly, for those who don’t give a sun-shrivelled fig or are going the full climate denial route, there’s Reform.
Theirs is a manifesto that tells us climate change is happening but it’s got nothing to do with us. Compared to Reform the Conservatives almost look like Just Stop Oil just for the simple fact that they are at least backing net zero by 2050. But dig into the manifesto and you find those giveaway lines, like “pragmatic, proportionate and realistic approach”.
You find statements like: “We will boost our energy independence in an increasingly unstable world. We will legislate to ensure annual licensing rounds for oil and gas production from our own North Sea.” But more than the manifesto itself, the tone of the debate, Rishi Sunak’s talk of the costs rather than the benefits of green transition has indicated lip service to net zero.
Even the former Conservative net zero tsar, Chris Skidmore, has had enough and has indicated he plans to vote Labour. Skidmore accused the prime minister of breaking the consensus of the past on climate action to “seek division and polarisation”. Read more: Winds of Change | Taylor, Keir, Rishi.
.. Scottish Greens have your private jet days numbered But what to vote if you really do care about the planet? And not just climate change, but also plastic waste, biodiversity, and wider eco.