Conservative manifesto - Friends of the Earth reaction

Dave Timms, Head of Political Affairs at Friends of the Earth, said:

“The Conservative manifesto shows little enthusiasm for either HS2 or Heathrow expansion, but neither are they opposed. However there is a huge £28.8bn pledge for road building. £1bn on electric car charging points is welcome, but just reviewing the end date for combustion engine vehicle sales rather than bringing the date froward to 2030 is a cop out. Sitting on fences doesn't cut carbon pollution.

“Off-shore wind is rightly celebrated as a big part of moving to a zero carbon power system. Spending on desperately needed home insulation is promised but inadequate, and it doesn’t even mention green-heating, on-shore wind and solar power. It's good to see a firm recommitment to the fracking moratorium, but there's nothing to stop the UK promoting and funding fossil fuels abroad. And there is no commitment to go faster than net zero emissions by 2050. Overall, despite some good policies its nothing like sufficient to stop the climate crisis.”

Friends of the Earth is calling on all political parties to commit to these policies in their 2019 General Election manifestos. 
 

ENDS

For more information contact the Friends of the Earth press office on 020 7566 1649 / 07718 394786 (out of hours – please do not text this number) [email protected].