Richmond Park and North Kingston MP Zac Goldsmith helped to launch a new environmental manifesto that proposals policy ideas to address climate change and biodiversity loss. As a leading member of the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) group of MPs, Zac spoke at the manifesto launch and has signed its declaration, which acknowledges the 'gravity of the global environmental crisis and our duty to preserve and restore our planet for future generations'.
Zac said, "Climate change is the most important issue of our time. I know our constituents want us to do so much more to tackle it, and this is an important first step in that. This document outlines new policy ideas that can help us to decarbonise while protecting our precious landscapes and wildlife.
Conservatives have a long history of environmental stewardship, as outlined in the manifesto, but we know that we must do more to meet the new challenges we face today. Now we have set a world-leading net zero target, we must set the policies to meet that target and address the serious declines we are seeing in many of our precious species. We should be utilising the UK's international standing, as a world leader in decarbonisation, to support other countries towards clean growth and environmental restoration.”
CEN Director Sam Richards said, “The manifesto aims to present a set of ideas that, if adopted, offer the next Conservative Prime Minister an exciting opportunity to set the UK on a new path that could unite a divided country and secure the prosperity of future generations. We have a record to be proud of, as one of the leading countries in the world in tackling climate change. But we know there is more to do, and the manifesto aims to present a space to discuss these potential future pathways in greater detail.”
Major policy ideas considered in the manifesto include:
·Subsidy-free onshore wind and increased ambition on offshore wind - the cheapest source of power allowed to compete in CfD auctions, putting us on track to 75GW by 2050.
·Planning reform - a Royal Commission to deliver the sustainable homes we need.
·Investment in regional transport networks - to unleash productivity outside London.
·Road pricing - a data-smart replacement for fuel duty when we shift to electric vehicles.
·A world leading Environment Act - legally-binding targets and a new, locally-led nature recovery network to restore the British countryside.
·Sustainable land and fisheries management - replace CAP with a system that brings public and private money into a single market-based scheme for natural capital restoration, and CFP with new, properly enforced maximum sustainable yields.
·Fracking ban - prevent stranded assets in an unpopular, uneconomic and out-of-date industry.
·Commonwealth Alliance for Nature - using friendships to achieve unique partnerships.
Read the manifesto in full via www.cen.uk.com/manifesto
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