* Bartley: 'To deliver on the promise made in Paris, and give people the choice, control and security they need, UK energy and infrastructure policy must be fundamentally realigned.'
Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, has welcomed Prime Minister Theresa May’s 'long overdue' commitment to ratify the Paris Agreement but urged the Conservative leader to show proper leadership on climate action, rather than following the lead of others.
Bartley said:
“While the Prime Minister’s promise to finally ratify the Paris Agreement is welcome, the words must be supported by real action if the Government is to show the leadership that is required.
“Theresa May has done next to nothing to demonstrate that she is committed to tackling climate change - the biggest crisis that threatens the future of the country. Following dithering over Hinkley, she opted to subsidise a centralised, nuclear system to the tune of £30bn rather than support a decentralised renewable energy revolution that could have created tens of thousands more jobs and made post-referendum Britain a world leader.
“The Prime Minister appears to have no vision, no coherent plan and no new ideas to free the country from the constraints that climate change places on us all in an increasingly uncertain world. To deliver on the promise made in Paris, and give people the choice, control and security they need, UK energy and infrastructure policy must be fundamentally realigned. Cutting support for renewables and efficiency, locking in high-carbon gas for decades to come, and squandering taxpayers’ money on road building and new runways will not deliver what is required."
The agreement, secured at UN talks in the French capital last December, comes into force when at least 55 countries accounting for 55% of the world's emissions have ratified it.