20 Dec Local Green MEP slams “grossly inadequate” environmental pledges in Queen’s Speech
Green Party Member of the European Parliament, Catherine Rowett has slammed today’s Queen’s Speech, saying that the government’s environmental pledges are “grossly inadequate”.
The speech, which set out the government’s legislative programme for the coming parliament, included a commitment to “continue to take steps to meet the world-leading target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050″ and “lead the war in tackling global climate change”.
However, Green MEP for the East of England, Catherine Rowett criticised the government saying:
“This speech was the opportunity for a new government to prove that it had got the measure of the climate crisis and a clear sense of priorities. Instead, as with so much of Johnson’s empty blather, our Prime Minister and his party reveal that they still have little or no understanding of the situation we are facing. The half-baked “targets”, and the lack of any road map to reach them, outlined today are grossly inadequate.”
She continued:
“If we are to avert catastrophic climate change then the UK needs to become carbon neutral by 2030. Aiming for 2050 is quite simply 20 years too late, even supposing we ever see any of the measures that would be needed to achieve that.”
“Here in the East of England we have the potential to generate so much of our energy needs from renewables for instance, but we are constantly hamstrung by a government without ambition. Furthermore the loss of EU funding for the region, and the UK being excluded from the just transition funds offered in the European Green New Deal, means that what could have been a hugely beneficial period of investment in new industries will instead be a real struggle with inadequate resources.”
