Here is part of Caroline Lucas’s report by email (10 September 2023): This week Parliament came back after a summer break that’s seen the PM abandon any pretence of protecting our climate or nature.
Over the summer holidays, his Government said yes to hundreds of new licences to drill for oil and gas in the North Sea.
He has let housebuilders off the hook for the extra river pollution their developments cause.
And he’s even announced he plans to ignore the warnings of his own climate advisors, the Climate Change Committee, and push ahead with airport expansion.
As your Green voice in Parliament, I have used the last few days to expose just how badly the Government is failing you on climate and nature action.
I’ve presented an amendment to the Energy Bill that would stop all new fossil fuel extraction.
I’ve called on the Government to end the legal requirement to exploit North Sea oil and gas and replace it with stricter laws on limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, and with a just transition for oil and gas workers and their communities.
And I forced the Levelling Up and Communities Minister into Parliament to answer questions about granting housing developers a charter to pollute.
Sadly, the Labour Party isn’t doing the right thing either – they won’t even agree to withdraw the new oil and gas licences if they form the next Government.
