By Estelle Worthington - CVS Sector Development Officer

The need to protect the environment and increase biodiversity has been a long-standing concern for many people and a rallying call for local and international environmental groups. The deepening climate crisis and the need for rapid action to keep the rise in global temperatures under 1.5C and achieve a just transition are increasingly at the forefront of public consciousness and political debate. 

In 2018 scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change1 issued a stark report stating emissions from greenhouse gases would have to halve by 2030 to have any hope of meeting Paris Agreement climate targets, and outlining the impacts of 1.5C of warming on natural and human systems. 

Student climate protests soon followed, together with the emergence of climate action groups up and down the country and new protest groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil. The resounding call has been for rapid action to reduce emissions in a way that is fair. This means ensuring nobody is left behind as we make the economic and social transition to a low carbon future. It also means recognising that climate impacts will not be felt evenly across the world, with nations with fewer resources and less economic resilience largely left dealing with the fall-out of droughts, floods and crop failure, and acknowledging our historic responsibility for global emissions.  

The UK hosted COP26 in Glasgow in 20212, but hopes that the Government would seize the opportunity to show real climate leadership, and that member countries would commit to short term action alongside long-term goals, were dashed. Instead, here in the UK over recent years we have seen a low level of ambition to reduce emissions and support nature recovery, from the issuing of new oil and gas licenses, through to the failure to take robust action to stop the pollution of our rivers, and a spate of legislative changes that amount to an attack on protest rights. Despite the acknowledgement that the transition to a low carbon future offers significant economic opportunities, one of the recurring sticking points is how will be financed.  

So, what are the UK political parties committing to do to get us on track?  

Here’s how the UK Political Party manifestos measure up 

Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth have teamed up to rank the political parties’ manifestos on 40 key policy recommendations ranging from climate, energy and nature to homes, justice and democracy – for ensuring a fair and fast transition to a cleaner, healthier and safer world.  

We highly recommend reading how the main parties compare via this link: General election 2024 manifestos: final scores | Friends of the Earth 

In summary, though, here’s how the manifesto commitments stacked up on four key policy areas.  

Cheshire East context 

Locally, environmental and community groups have been working tirelessly to get Cheshire East on track with reducing emissions and supporting nature recovery. Through practical initiatives to increase active travel and improve public transport, initiatives to improve the energy performance of our homes, projects to reduce waste and increase recycling, and initiatives to protect nature from development and increase biodiversity - there so many ways in which community action is supporting the transition to a greener, safer world.  

Environmental groups have also worked alongside Cheshire East Council and Town and Parish Councils on climate action plans, advocating for ambitious targets. To find out more about Cheshire East’s plan to become carbon neutral by 2024, see here: Carbon neutral by 2045 (cheshireeast.gov.uk)  

References 

Global Warming of 1.5 ºC — (ipcc.ch) 

Cop26: world on track for disastrous heating of more than 2.4C, says key report | Cop26 | The Guardian 

General election 2024 manifestos: final scores | Friends of the Earth 

Carbon neutral by 2045 (cheshireeast.gov.uk)