1st Sep 2008

Euro Elections Campaign

More Green MEPs will make the world of difference

The clock is ticking on the world's climate. Hardly a day goes by without another authoratative, high level report on the need to take action to avoid climate chaos. But at the European Elections coming up there is an opportunity to make our region - and the world -- a greener place to live, by electing more Green MEPs.

There is already an influential group of Green MEPs in the European Parliament, including two from Britain. In our bid to gain an MEP in Eastern Region the Greens will put "developing a green economy" at the centre of our campaign platform.

Many people are doing their bit to make greener choices, but UK emissions remain stubbornly high and have not fallen since 1997, despite the Government's claims. Government has to make it easier for people to do the right thing. That is what Green parliamentary representatives can achieve.

During this election campaign we intend to tackle head on the fact that "business as usual" growth economics is incompatible with making cuts in emissions. Old-style economics is also not delivering a better society: people are less happy than they were in 1970, when the economy was less than half its current size.

The Government continues to pretend that we can tackle dangerous climate change whilst building another runway at Stansted, expanding roads, building incinerators and concreting over large areas of countryside for development. The Government is wrong.

Instead they should:

1. replace centralised development targets with local measures of the numbers and locations of homes needed in each area - particularly affordable homes;

2. remove the mechanisms that are leading more and more councils to plan to build waste incinerators. Investment should be directed entirely to raising levels of recycling and composting.

3. divert the tens of billions that new nuclear power stations would cost towards a major programme of energy efficiency and investment in renewables, to make Eastern Region a leader in green energy and in green jobs.

4. scrap the road building programme, with money spent instead on road safety and a big expansion of public transport to reduce road traffic levels and improve air quality.

These are the radical measures needed to help tackle climate change and create a better quality of life for people. Electing more Green MEPs will be a major positive step towards making sure these changes become reality. And with proportional representation at the European Elections, every Green vote counts.