King's Speech - Friends of the Earth reaction

The King has today outlined the government’s legislative plans for the next year at the State Opening of Parliament. Reacting, Friends of the Earth’s climate coordinator, Jamie Peters, said:

“There’s a lot to feel genuinely hopeful about from today’s King’s Speech. The government is making it easier for people to choose greener travel options by committing to overhaul our trains and bus services, has signalled change when it comes to our outdated energy system, and says it will harness the clean jobs and global leadership opportunities of the transition to a zero carbon economy. All of this will help to get us back on track for meeting the UK’s climate goals, including the target to cut emissions by over two-thirds by 2030.

“However, there are still areas we need to see the new government going much further and faster on – namely nature. It's great that it plans to take tougher action against polluting water companies, but the government must enshrine the right to a healthy environment in law so that communities blighted by pollution can enjoy cleaner, healthier local areas. And it must also introduce new legislation that ensures companies that sell products in the UK are rid of environmental and human rights abuses in their supply chains, particularly overseas.

“Overall, it’s encouraging progress compared to the backsliding of recent years, but if we’re to protect communities on the frontlines of climate and environmental harm and safeguard the planet for future generations, we need to see the scale of ambition that matches the huge challenge ahead.”

ENDS