Liz Truss as Prime Minister is “disaster for the UK and the climate”, warn Greens

5 September 2022

The Green Party has warned the Liz Truss premiership risks further fueling the climate crisis and worsening inequality throughout the country. 

The Greens are calling on the new prime minister to deal with the immediate fallout of the cost of living crisis and tackle the climate emergency by lowering the energy price cap to the October 2021 rate, beginning a massive nationwide insulation programme, and investing in more renewable energy [1].

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said: 

“Liz Truss being selected to become Prime Minister, by such a small and unrepresentative group of people, is a disaster for the UK and the climate.

“Truss’ reported plans to encourage the oil and gas industry to extract more fossil fuels from the North Sea [2] will do nothing to help households as they struggle with eye-watering energy bills this winter, but will fuel the climate crisis. 

“Burning more fossil fuels will simply speed up climate breakdown, giving us more extreme heat, floods, storms and food shortages in the UK and across the world. 

“This reckless plan, along with promises to cut the so-called green levy, demonstrates that Truss is making an ideological choice to curry favour with friends and Tory Party donors in the oil and gas industry. 

“What is needed is to return energy to a more affordable level, which is why the Green Party  has put forward its proposal to restore the energy price cap to the October 2021 rate of £1,277 and implement rapid investment in a nationwide home insulation programme while developing more renewable energy.  This will provide the immediate action needed to help people right now, as well as looking ahead to ensure costs and emissions are kept to a minimum in the years to come.

“We can invest in a cleaner, greener, more affordable future. Whether we do so is a political choice. We urge Liz Truss to take a path that helps create a fairer society while tackling the climate crisis.”  

ENDS

Notes

1

https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2022/08/17/greens-call-for-big-five-energy-companies-to-be-brought-into-public-ownership/

2

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/30/liz-truss-oil-drilling-tory-leadership-energy

For more information or to arrange an interview contact the press office on press@greenparty.org.uk or call 0203 691 9401

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