Deliver zero carbon and enhance lives
The latest UN Climate Summit got underway this week in Madrid.
There’s been a fairly quiet build-up to this – the 25th Conference of the Parties, or COP25 – not least because it had to be moved from its original host country in Chile at the eleventh hour
But there’s also a sense that this year’s summit is a prelude to COP26, which is coming to Glasgow in 2020, and where there is expectation of a major new global climate agreement
Previous “crunch” summits in Kyoto and Paris delivered agreements to curb emissions – but scientists are now telling us that they are not enough
Vitally, there needs to be a focus on action, not just targets, because we only have ten years to start making the big, radical changes the climate crisis demands.
I believe a “Glasgow agreement” must be about getting countries behind the idea of a global Green New Deal.
The Green New Deal concept was first developed by a group of progressive economists and politicians, including Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, in the wake of the 2008 financial crash.
They wanted to reboot the economy through massive investment in low carbon industries and social change. It’s now an idea which is gaining attention globally.
The Scottish Greens are developing our own plan for Scotland and other parties are following suit.
Crucially, for us, a Green New Deal isn’t just about cutting out carbon.
It’s about changing how and for whom the economy works.
It needs to rebuild the public sector, refocus private investment on longterm needs.
And it needs to have a clear focus on people’s wellbeing and empowerment
Delivering zero carbon without making people’s lives better can be done.
But we can do so much better than that. After around 40 years of capitalism widening inequality and damaging our ecosystem, it’s time for a new economic consensus.
If such global goals seem distant, the beauty of a Green New Deal is that it makes clear sense at a local level too.
This week I visited a local recycling project that collects food waste from cafes and restaurants using speciallyadapted e-bikes.
They are powered by solar energy, and making compost locally for use in allotments and community gardens.
That’s a zero carbon, circular economy within a single neighbourhood, creating jobs and taking polluting bin lorries off residential roads.
With COP26 in Glasgow we absolutely need global climate action – but let’s use it as a catalyst for local change too.
* Up to 30,000 delegates are expected to attend the COP26 at Glasgow’s SEC in November.
It is designed to produce an international response to the climate emergency.