Energy bills topping £3,500 a year for the average household are forecast to push two-thirds into fuel poverty by January, while food prices have soared at the fastest rate for more than a decade, adding almost £500 and rise to the average. annual grocery bill. Key workers are on strike or considering going out, and services from health to the courts are on the brink of collapse. Meanwhile, sewage spills into our rivers and beaches, a grim metaphor for the state of the nation taking tangible form. Voices on the right of the Tory party have been quick to exploit the overlapping crises to argue for the final burial of the “green agenda” identified with David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson and the legally binding target to reduce gas emissions of greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. David Frost, who has been nominated for a senior role in Liz Truss’ cabinet, has led a blistering attack on net zero, blaming the policy for high energy prices, to applause from right-wing commentators. Get rid of the ‘green crap’, the argument goes, gas prices will fall and ministers can focus on really important things. But retreating to net zero would mean giving up the best hope of tackling the cost of living, longtime advisers warn. It is not responsible for the energy bill crisis, but net zero – requiring energy to be used more efficiently and produced from clean sources – is the way out, they argue. John Gummer, former Conservative environment secretary and chair of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), said: “What we need to do about net zero is what we need to do about the cost of living crisis. When people say we can’t afford net zero, we honestly can’t afford not to go net zero.” Ben Goldsmith, investor and a long-time Green Tory, chairman of the Conservative Environment Network of more than 100 MPs, said: “With what has happened to the cost of living across the board – gas, electricity, food, everything – we have to put the answer to this on a war footing. And that means a war footing for the effort around energy efficiency and renewables.” Of the multiple pressing crises facing the incoming prime minister, at least three have strong environmental components. Rising energy bills are calling for an overhaul of the UK’s troubled, gas-dependent energy system, from leaky homes to aging nuclear reactors. The cost of living crisis is also fueled by rising food prices, which highlight agricultural policies. and the sewage scandal stems from two decades of failures to take environmentalists’ concerns seriously. Home insulation could cut heating bills in half and heat pumps further reduce the UK’s reliance on expensive gas, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The rate of home insulation halved last year after the Green Homes Grant was abandoned. That plan, launched by Johnson under the slogan “build greener again” after the shock of Covid-19, aimed to insulate 600,000 homes, but was scrapped in March 2021 after only 15,000 were achieved. Rishi Sunak as chancellor withdrew the expected green homes grant and it was not reinstated, leaving the UK without a national home insulation scheme for average households for almost 18 months at a time of soaring energy prices. Sunak omitted to mention insulation in the first part of his campaign, but in recent weeks he has begun to promise a program for housing – but without detailing how it would work. Truss has largely sidestepped the issue, instead calling for an end to green levies, which he says would cut £153 from the average household’s energy bill, but would also cut money available to modernize the poorest homes and would put jobs at risk. The rise of renewables will also lower energy prices, but both candidates have decided against solar power and new onshore wind farms, the cheapest form of electricity generation. Their motive appears to be to appease right-wing Tory members, for whom planning laws have long been a hot button issue, but poll after poll shows the general public support building new renewables . Getting planning permission for solar parks is already difficult – at least 23 have been blocked in the past 18 months, which could cut energy bills by £100m. Of the renewable technologies, only offshore wind seems attractive to bidders – as Truss recently boasted, the world’s largest offshore wind farm is under construction off the Yorkshire coast. High energy prices will not be eased by investment in North Sea oil and gas or fracking, despite both candidates’ enthusiasm for drilling. New natural gas fields take years, sometimes decades, to come on stream, and fracking, even if it could overcome local opposition, is also unlikely to produce significant amounts of natural gas anytime soon. Food prices also increase the cost of living. New trade barriers as a result of Brexit have caused a 6% increase in UK food prices, according to the London School of Economics, but none of the candidates will admit that. Instead, any food policy change is likely to focus on trade and farm policy, and the risk is that the new prime minister could refuse reforms, launched in May and continued by Johnson, to replace farm subsidies based on land area. cultivated with payments for measures that protect soil, protect nature and nurture wildlife, a new system known as environmental land management contracts (Elms). That would be unwise, according to Goldsmith, whose brother Jacques is the climate change secretary, singled out by Johnson. (Zac is now an enthusiastic supporter of Liz Truss, but Ben has not declared for any candidate.) “Farmers must trust Elms and the government must stay on course,” he said. “We need to reward regenerative agriculture, restore nature and counter the proposition that restoring nature and rebuilding the soil will cost us food security, when quite the opposite is true.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. In addition to the pressing issues of the cost of living crisis, the new Prime Minister will face a number of key decisions on green policy. Ministers have repeatedly delayed any announcement on the proposed new coal mine in Cumbria, which is now scheduled for November. Lord Deben was due to step down from the CCC in September but will stay on until June, leaving the appointment of his successor to the new leader. and under the Environment Act, new air quality standards are due to be set this autumn, in a key test of whether the government is serious about maintaining environmental safeguards after Brexit. Green campaigners fear that campaign promises for a “fire of regulations” mean the opposite is true and that vital protections for air, water, wildlife and other aspects of natural environment. Whether the new prime minister’s deregulatory zeal extends to dismantling the UK’s green protections depends largely on the ministerial appointments they make to the cabinet and within Downing Street. Shaun Spiers, executive director of thinktank Green Alliance, said: “The composition of No 10 is very important. If Truss comes with a weakened #10 or Lord Frost, this will be very difficult. No 10 has been hugely important in driving the nature agenda so far.” Domestic crises will preoccupy the new prime minister, but foreign policy concerns are also pressing. After hosting the Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow last November, the UK is expected to pull out all diplomatic stops to try to hold on to the fragile consensus forged there amid geopolitical turmoil following the invasion of Ukraine. Alok Sharma, the cabinet minister who led the Glasgow summit, threatened in an interview with the Guardian that he would resign if the new prime minister failed to commit to a strong green agenda. Many nations will also look to the UK for a leading role in the biodiversity negotiations, called Cop15, aimed at halting the rapid decline of species and the natural environment. “The UK has been a leader in allocating international funds for nature restoration in the world’s poorest countries,” says Ben Goldsmith. However, Sunak as chancellor reduced foreign aid and Truss as secretary of state put a more commercial focus on many of the remaining funds. In Johnson’s cabinet, neither Sunak nor Truss showed much green leaning. Sunak blocked green spending, while as trade secretary, Truss watered down environmental targets in trade deals and played a minor role in Cop26. “Neither is known for their passion for nature, and neither has made a name for themselves as an environmental leader,” Goldsmith said. Nor did he make the environment a key policy element in the campaign. Whoever wins will have to look much wider, and that’s where the green campaigners are pinning their hopes. Polls consistently show that voters care about green issues, from the climate to the UK’s black and white beaches, dirty air and plastic-choked rivers. Rebecca Newsom, head of policy at Greenpeace UK, said: “These issues couldn’t be closer to home, there is a clear demand from voters who want to see these things sorted out and the next prime minister needs to get them under control.” .
title: “How Will The Uk S Next Prime Minister Tackle The Cost Of Living And Environment Crises Uk News Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-20” author: “Patricia Mayer”
Energy bills topping £3,500 a year for the average household are forecast to push two-thirds into fuel poverty by January, while food prices have soared at the fastest rate for more than a decade, adding almost £500 and rise to the average. annual grocery bill. Key workers are on strike or considering going out, and services from health to the courts are on the brink of collapse. Meanwhile, sewage spills into our rivers and beaches, a grim metaphor for the state of the nation taking tangible form. Voices on the right of the Tory party have been quick to exploit the overlapping crises to argue for the final burial of the “green agenda” identified with David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson and the legally binding target to reduce gas emissions of greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. David Frost, who has been nominated for a senior role in Liz Truss’ cabinet, has led a blistering attack on net zero, blaming the policy for high energy prices, to applause from right-wing commentators. Get rid of the ‘green crap’, the argument goes, gas prices will fall and ministers can focus on really important things. But retreating to net zero would mean giving up the best hope of tackling the cost of living, longtime advisers warn. It is not responsible for the energy bill crisis, but net zero – requiring energy to be used more efficiently and produced from clean sources – is the way out, they argue. John Gummer, former Conservative environment secretary and chair of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), said: “What we need to do about net zero is what we need to do about the cost of living crisis. When people say we can’t afford net zero, we honestly can’t afford not to go net zero.” Ben Goldsmith, investor and a long-time Green Tory, chairman of the Conservative Environment Network of more than 100 MPs, said: “With what has happened to the cost of living across the board – gas, electricity, food, everything – we have to put the answer to this on a war footing. And that means a war footing for the effort around energy efficiency and renewables.” Of the multiple pressing crises facing the incoming prime minister, at least three have strong environmental components. Rising energy bills are calling for an overhaul of the UK’s troubled, gas-dependent energy system, from leaky homes to aging nuclear reactors. The cost of living crisis is also fueled by rising food prices, which highlight agricultural policies. and the sewage scandal stems from two decades of failures to take environmentalists’ concerns seriously. Home insulation could cut heating bills in half and heat pumps further reduce the UK’s reliance on expensive gas, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The rate of home insulation halved last year after the Green Homes Grant was abandoned. That plan, launched by Johnson under the slogan “build greener again” after the shock of Covid-19, aimed to insulate 600,000 homes, but was scrapped in March 2021 after only 15,000 were achieved. Rishi Sunak as chancellor withdrew the expected green homes grant and it was not reinstated, leaving the UK without a national home insulation scheme for average households for almost 18 months at a time of soaring energy prices. Sunak omitted to mention insulation in the first part of his campaign, but in recent weeks he has begun to promise a program for housing – but without detailing how it would work. Truss has largely sidestepped the issue, instead calling for an end to green levies, which he says would cut £153 from the average household’s energy bill, but would also cut money available to modernize the poorest homes and would put jobs at risk. The rise of renewables will also lower energy prices, but both candidates have decided against solar power and new onshore wind farms, the cheapest form of electricity generation. Their motive appears to be to appease right-wing Tory members, for whom planning laws have long been a hot button issue, but poll after poll shows the general public support building new renewables . Getting planning permission for solar parks is already difficult – at least 23 have been blocked in the past 18 months, which could cut energy bills by £100m. Of the renewable technologies, only offshore wind seems attractive to bidders – as Truss recently boasted, the world’s largest offshore wind farm is under construction off the Yorkshire coast. High energy prices will not be eased by investment in North Sea oil and gas or fracking, despite both candidates’ enthusiasm for drilling. New natural gas fields take years, sometimes decades, to come on stream, and fracking, even if it could overcome local opposition, is also unlikely to produce significant amounts of natural gas anytime soon. Food prices also increase the cost of living. New trade barriers as a result of Brexit have caused a 6% increase in UK food prices, according to the London School of Economics, but none of the candidates will admit that. Instead, any food policy change is likely to focus on trade and farm policy, and the risk is that the new prime minister could refuse reforms, launched in May and continued by Johnson, to replace farm subsidies based on land area. cultivated with payments for measures that protect soil, protect nature and nurture wildlife, a new system known as environmental land management contracts (Elms). That would be unwise, according to Goldsmith, whose brother Jacques is the climate change secretary, singled out by Johnson. (Zac is now an enthusiastic supporter of Liz Truss, but Ben has not declared for any candidate.) “Farmers must trust Elms and the government must stay on course,” he said. “We need to reward regenerative agriculture, restore nature and counter the proposition that restoring nature and rebuilding the soil will cost us food security, when quite the opposite is true.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. In addition to the pressing issues of the cost of living crisis, the new Prime Minister will face a number of key decisions on green policy. Ministers have repeatedly delayed any announcement on the proposed new coal mine in Cumbria, which is now scheduled for November. Lord Deben was due to step down from the CCC in September but will stay on until June, leaving the appointment of his successor to the new leader. and under the Environment Act, new air quality standards are due to be set this autumn, in a key test of whether the government is serious about maintaining environmental safeguards after Brexit. Green campaigners fear that campaign promises for a “fire of regulations” mean the opposite is true and that vital protections for air, water, wildlife and other aspects of natural environment. Whether the new prime minister’s deregulatory zeal extends to dismantling the UK’s green protections depends largely on the ministerial appointments they make to the cabinet and within Downing Street. Shaun Spiers, executive director of thinktank Green Alliance, said: “The composition of No 10 is very important. If Truss comes with a weakened #10 or Lord Frost, this will be very difficult. No 10 has been hugely important in driving the nature agenda so far.” Domestic crises will preoccupy the new prime minister, but foreign policy concerns are also pressing. After hosting the Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow last November, the UK is expected to pull out all diplomatic stops to try to hold on to the fragile consensus forged there amid geopolitical turmoil following the invasion of Ukraine. Alok Sharma, the cabinet minister who led the Glasgow summit, threatened in an interview with the Guardian that he would resign if the new prime minister failed to commit to a strong green agenda. Many nations will also look to the UK for a leading role in the biodiversity negotiations, called Cop15, aimed at halting the rapid decline of species and the natural environment. “The UK has been a leader in allocating international funds for nature restoration in the world’s poorest countries,” says Ben Goldsmith. However, Sunak as chancellor reduced foreign aid and Truss as secretary of state put a more commercial focus on many of the remaining funds. In Johnson’s cabinet, neither Sunak nor Truss showed much green leaning. Sunak blocked green spending, while as trade secretary, Truss watered down environmental targets in trade deals and played a minor role in Cop26. “Neither is known for their passion for nature, and neither has made a name for themselves as an environmental leader,” Goldsmith said. Nor did he make the environment a key policy element in the campaign. Whoever wins will have to look much wider, and that’s where the green campaigners are pinning their hopes. Polls consistently show that voters care about green issues, from the climate to the UK’s black and white beaches, dirty air and plastic-choked rivers. Rebecca Newsom, head of policy at Greenpeace UK, said: “These issues couldn’t be closer to home, there is a clear demand from voters who want to see these things sorted out and the next prime minister needs to get them under control.” .
title: “How Will The Uk S Next Prime Minister Tackle The Cost Of Living And Environment Crises Uk News Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-11” author: “Sylvia Daniels”
Energy bills topping £3,500 a year for the average household are forecast to push two-thirds into fuel poverty by January, while food prices have soared at the fastest rate for more than a decade, adding almost £500 and rise to the average. annual grocery bill. Key workers are on strike or considering going out, and services from health to the courts are on the brink of collapse. Meanwhile, sewage spills into our rivers and beaches, a grim metaphor for the state of the nation taking tangible form. Voices on the right of the Tory party have been quick to exploit the overlapping crises to argue for the final burial of the “green agenda” identified with David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson and the legally binding target to reduce gas emissions of greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. David Frost, who has been nominated for a senior role in Liz Truss’ cabinet, has led a blistering attack on net zero, blaming the policy for high energy prices, to applause from right-wing commentators. Get rid of the ‘green crap’, the argument goes, gas prices will fall and ministers can focus on really important things. But retreating to net zero would mean giving up the best hope of tackling the cost of living, longtime advisers warn. It is not responsible for the energy bill crisis, but net zero – requiring energy to be used more efficiently and produced from clean sources – is the way out, they argue. John Gummer, former Conservative environment secretary and chair of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), said: “What we need to do about net zero is what we need to do about the cost of living crisis. When people say we can’t afford net zero, we honestly can’t afford not to go net zero.” Ben Goldsmith, investor and a long-time Green Tory, chairman of the Conservative Environment Network of more than 100 MPs, said: “With what has happened to the cost of living across the board – gas, electricity, food, everything – we have to put the answer to this on a war footing. And that means a war footing for the effort around energy efficiency and renewables.” Of the multiple pressing crises facing the incoming prime minister, at least three have strong environmental components. Rising energy bills are calling for an overhaul of the UK’s troubled, gas-dependent energy system, from leaky homes to aging nuclear reactors. The cost of living crisis is also fueled by rising food prices, which highlight agricultural policies. and the sewage scandal stems from two decades of failures to take environmentalists’ concerns seriously. Home insulation could cut heating bills in half and heat pumps further reduce the UK’s reliance on expensive gas, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The rate of home insulation halved last year after the Green Homes Grant was abandoned. That plan, launched by Johnson under the slogan “build greener again” after the shock of Covid-19, aimed to insulate 600,000 homes, but was scrapped in March 2021 after only 15,000 were achieved. Rishi Sunak as chancellor withdrew the expected green homes grant and it was not reinstated, leaving the UK without a national home insulation scheme for average households for almost 18 months at a time of soaring energy prices. Sunak omitted to mention insulation in the first part of his campaign, but in recent weeks he has begun to promise a program for housing – but without detailing how it would work. Truss has largely sidestepped the issue, instead calling for an end to green levies, which he says would cut £153 from the average household’s energy bill, but would also cut money available to modernize the poorest homes and would put jobs at risk. The rise of renewables will also lower energy prices, but both candidates have decided against solar power and new onshore wind farms, the cheapest form of electricity generation. Their motive appears to be to appease right-wing Tory members, for whom planning laws have long been a hot button issue, but poll after poll shows the general public support building new renewables . Getting planning permission for solar parks is already difficult – at least 23 have been blocked in the past 18 months, which could cut energy bills by £100m. Of the renewable technologies, only offshore wind seems attractive to bidders – as Truss recently boasted, the world’s largest offshore wind farm is under construction off the Yorkshire coast. High energy prices will not be eased by investment in North Sea oil and gas or fracking, despite both candidates’ enthusiasm for drilling. New natural gas fields take years, sometimes decades, to come on stream, and fracking, even if it could overcome local opposition, is also unlikely to produce significant amounts of natural gas anytime soon. Food prices also increase the cost of living. New trade barriers as a result of Brexit have caused a 6% increase in UK food prices, according to the London School of Economics, but none of the candidates will admit that. Instead, any food policy change is likely to focus on trade and farm policy, and the risk is that the new prime minister could refuse reforms, launched in May and continued by Johnson, to replace farm subsidies based on land area. cultivated with payments for measures that protect soil, protect nature and nurture wildlife, a new system known as environmental land management contracts (Elms). That would be unwise, according to Goldsmith, whose brother Jacques is the climate change secretary, singled out by Johnson. (Zac is now an enthusiastic supporter of Liz Truss, but Ben has not declared for any candidate.) “Farmers must trust Elms and the government must stay on course,” he said. “We need to reward regenerative agriculture, restore nature and counter the proposition that restoring nature and rebuilding the soil will cost us food security, when quite the opposite is true.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. In addition to the pressing issues of the cost of living crisis, the new Prime Minister will face a number of key decisions on green policy. Ministers have repeatedly delayed any announcement on the proposed new coal mine in Cumbria, which is now scheduled for November. Lord Deben was due to step down from the CCC in September but will stay on until June, leaving the appointment of his successor to the new leader. and under the Environment Act, new air quality standards are due to be set this autumn, in a key test of whether the government is serious about maintaining environmental safeguards after Brexit. Green campaigners fear that campaign promises for a “fire of regulations” mean the opposite is true and that vital protections for air, water, wildlife and other aspects of natural environment. Whether the new prime minister’s deregulatory zeal extends to dismantling the UK’s green protections depends largely on the ministerial appointments they make to the cabinet and within Downing Street. Shaun Spiers, executive director of thinktank Green Alliance, said: “The composition of No 10 is very important. If Truss comes with a weakened #10 or Lord Frost, this will be very difficult. No 10 has been hugely important in driving the nature agenda so far.” Domestic crises will preoccupy the new prime minister, but foreign policy concerns are also pressing. After hosting the Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow last November, the UK is expected to pull out all diplomatic stops to try to hold on to the fragile consensus forged there amid geopolitical turmoil following the invasion of Ukraine. Alok Sharma, the cabinet minister who led the Glasgow summit, threatened in an interview with the Guardian that he would resign if the new prime minister failed to commit to a strong green agenda. Many nations will also look to the UK for a leading role in the biodiversity negotiations, called Cop15, aimed at halting the rapid decline of species and the natural environment. “The UK has been a leader in allocating international funds for nature restoration in the world’s poorest countries,” says Ben Goldsmith. However, Sunak as chancellor reduced foreign aid and Truss as secretary of state put a more commercial focus on many of the remaining funds. In Johnson’s cabinet, neither Sunak nor Truss showed much green leaning. Sunak blocked green spending, while as trade secretary, Truss watered down environmental targets in trade deals and played a minor role in Cop26. “Neither is known for their passion for nature, and neither has made a name for themselves as an environmental leader,” Goldsmith said. Nor did he make the environment a key policy element in the campaign. Whoever wins will have to look much wider, and that’s where the green campaigners are pinning their hopes. Polls consistently show that voters care about green issues, from the climate to the UK’s black and white beaches, dirty air and plastic-choked rivers. Rebecca Newsom, head of policy at Greenpeace UK, said: “These issues couldn’t be closer to home, there is a clear demand from voters who want to see these things sorted out and the next prime minister needs to get them under control.” .
title: “How Will The Uk S Next Prime Minister Tackle The Cost Of Living And Environment Crises Uk News Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-23” author: “Josefina Sallas”
Energy bills topping £3,500 a year for the average household are forecast to push two-thirds into fuel poverty by January, while food prices have soared at the fastest rate for more than a decade, adding almost £500 and rise to the average. annual grocery bill. Key workers are on strike or considering going out, and services from health to the courts are on the brink of collapse. Meanwhile, sewage spills into our rivers and beaches, a grim metaphor for the state of the nation taking tangible form. Voices on the right of the Tory party have been quick to exploit the overlapping crises to argue for the final burial of the “green agenda” identified with David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson and the legally binding target to reduce gas emissions of greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. David Frost, who has been nominated for a senior role in Liz Truss’ cabinet, has led a blistering attack on net zero, blaming the policy for high energy prices, to applause from right-wing commentators. Get rid of the ‘green crap’, the argument goes, gas prices will fall and ministers can focus on really important things. But retreating to net zero would mean giving up the best hope of tackling the cost of living, longtime advisers warn. It is not responsible for the energy bill crisis, but net zero – requiring energy to be used more efficiently and produced from clean sources – is the way out, they argue. John Gummer, former Conservative environment secretary and chair of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), said: “What we need to do about net zero is what we need to do about the cost of living crisis. When people say we can’t afford net zero, we honestly can’t afford not to go net zero.” Ben Goldsmith, investor and a long-time Green Tory, chairman of the Conservative Environment Network of more than 100 MPs, said: “With what has happened to the cost of living across the board – gas, electricity, food, everything – we have to put the answer to this on a war footing. And that means a war footing for the effort around energy efficiency and renewables.” Of the multiple pressing crises facing the incoming prime minister, at least three have strong environmental components. Rising energy bills are calling for an overhaul of the UK’s troubled, gas-dependent energy system, from leaky homes to aging nuclear reactors. The cost of living crisis is also fueled by rising food prices, which highlight agricultural policies. and the sewage scandal stems from two decades of failures to take environmentalists’ concerns seriously. Home insulation could cut heating bills in half and heat pumps further reduce the UK’s reliance on expensive gas, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The rate of home insulation halved last year after the Green Homes Grant was abandoned. That plan, launched by Johnson under the slogan “build greener again” after the shock of Covid-19, aimed to insulate 600,000 homes, but was scrapped in March 2021 after only 15,000 were achieved. Rishi Sunak as chancellor withdrew the expected green homes grant and it was not reinstated, leaving the UK without a national home insulation scheme for average households for almost 18 months at a time of soaring energy prices. Sunak omitted to mention insulation in the first part of his campaign, but in recent weeks he has begun to promise a program for housing – but without detailing how it would work. Truss has largely sidestepped the issue, instead calling for an end to green levies, which he says would cut £153 from the average household’s energy bill, but would also cut money available to modernize the poorest homes and would put jobs at risk. The rise of renewables will also lower energy prices, but both candidates have decided against solar power and new onshore wind farms, the cheapest form of electricity generation. Their motive appears to be to appease right-wing Tory members, for whom planning laws have long been a hot button issue, but poll after poll shows the general public support building new renewables . Getting planning permission for solar parks is already difficult – at least 23 have been blocked in the past 18 months, which could cut energy bills by £100m. Of the renewable technologies, only offshore wind seems attractive to bidders – as Truss recently boasted, the world’s largest offshore wind farm is under construction off the Yorkshire coast. High energy prices will not be eased by investment in North Sea oil and gas or fracking, despite both candidates’ enthusiasm for drilling. New natural gas fields take years, sometimes decades, to come on stream, and fracking, even if it could overcome local opposition, is also unlikely to produce significant amounts of natural gas anytime soon. Food prices also increase the cost of living. New trade barriers as a result of Brexit have caused a 6% increase in UK food prices, according to the London School of Economics, but none of the candidates will admit that. Instead, any food policy change is likely to focus on trade and farm policy, and the risk is that the new prime minister could refuse reforms, launched in May and continued by Johnson, to replace farm subsidies based on land area. cultivated with payments for measures that protect soil, protect nature and nurture wildlife, a new system known as environmental land management contracts (Elms). That would be unwise, according to Goldsmith, whose brother Jacques is the climate change secretary, singled out by Johnson. (Zac is now an enthusiastic supporter of Liz Truss, but Ben has not declared for any candidate.) “Farmers must trust Elms and the government must stay on course,” he said. “We need to reward regenerative agriculture, restore nature and counter the proposition that restoring nature and rebuilding the soil will cost us food security, when quite the opposite is true.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. In addition to the pressing issues of the cost of living crisis, the new Prime Minister will face a number of key decisions on green policy. Ministers have repeatedly delayed any announcement on the proposed new coal mine in Cumbria, which is now scheduled for November. Lord Deben was due to step down from the CCC in September but will stay on until June, leaving the appointment of his successor to the new leader. and under the Environment Act, new air quality standards are due to be set this autumn, in a key test of whether the government is serious about maintaining environmental safeguards after Brexit. Green campaigners fear that campaign promises for a “fire of regulations” mean the opposite is true and that vital protections for air, water, wildlife and other aspects of natural environment. Whether the new prime minister’s deregulatory zeal extends to dismantling the UK’s green protections depends largely on the ministerial appointments they make to the cabinet and within Downing Street. Shaun Spiers, executive director of thinktank Green Alliance, said: “The composition of No 10 is very important. If Truss comes with a weakened #10 or Lord Frost, this will be very difficult. No 10 has been hugely important in driving the nature agenda so far.” Domestic crises will preoccupy the new prime minister, but foreign policy concerns are also pressing. After hosting the Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow last November, the UK is expected to pull out all diplomatic stops to try to hold on to the fragile consensus forged there amid geopolitical turmoil following the invasion of Ukraine. Alok Sharma, the cabinet minister who led the Glasgow summit, threatened in an interview with the Guardian that he would resign if the new prime minister failed to commit to a strong green agenda. Many nations will also look to the UK for a leading role in the biodiversity negotiations, called Cop15, aimed at halting the rapid decline of species and the natural environment. “The UK has been a leader in allocating international funds for nature restoration in the world’s poorest countries,” says Ben Goldsmith. However, Sunak as chancellor reduced foreign aid and Truss as secretary of state put a more commercial focus on many of the remaining funds. In Johnson’s cabinet, neither Sunak nor Truss showed much green leaning. Sunak blocked green spending, while as trade secretary, Truss watered down environmental targets in trade deals and played a minor role in Cop26. “Neither is known for their passion for nature, and neither has made a name for themselves as an environmental leader,” Goldsmith said. Nor did he make the environment a key policy element in the campaign. Whoever wins will have to look much wider, and that’s where the green campaigners are pinning their hopes. Polls consistently show that voters care about green issues, from the climate to the UK’s black and white beaches, dirty air and plastic-choked rivers. Rebecca Newsom, head of policy at Greenpeace UK, said: “These issues couldn’t be closer to home, there is a clear demand from voters who want to see these things sorted out and the next prime minister needs to get them under control.” .
