The Environment
Our environmental policy is anchored in the profound understanding that the climate and nature crises are among the most urgent threats to our collective prosperity and the global ecosystem. We believe that everyone is entitled to enjoy the benefits of our natural environment, and it's our responsibility to ensure that the world we pass on to future generations is as rich and vibrant as the one we currently inhabit.
At the heart of our commitment are several key initiatives:
- We pledge to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. This ambitious goal underscores our dedication to leading the charge on climate action, ensuring that the UK sets a global standard for environmental stewardship.
- Our investment in renewable energy is pivotal. We aim for 80% of the UK’s electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2030, highlighting our commitment to sustainable energy and the creation of green jobs.
- Addressing the energy efficiency of homes is critical. We propose free retrofits for low-income homes and tax incentives for others, aiming to slash energy consumption, combat fuel poverty, and reduce dependency on gas. Our strategy ensures homes are not only more energy-efficient but also cheaper to heat and kinder to the planet.
- The restoration and expansion of our forests are key to our environmental strategy. We commit to planting at least 60 million trees annually, bolstering efforts to achieve net zero, revitalise woodland habitats, and promote the use of sustainable materials in construction.
- Finally, we are adamant that corporations must bear their share of responsibility for environmental protection. This includes significant measures such as prohibiting water companies from discharging untreated sewage into our waterways, ensuring our rivers, lakes, and coastal areas are safeguarded for future generations.
Through these initiatives, we are poised to lead a green revolution that not only drives economic growth and improves our lives but also secures a sustainable future for all. Our environmental policy is a testament to our vision of a fairer, greener, and more prosperous Britain.
Gully Bansal supports the Climate and Nature Bill
Voters in Kingswinford & South Staffordshire care about our local wildlife and want to protect the beautiful places we all love—and are rightly concerned about their rising energy bills, polluted waterways, and more extreme weather events. If I’m elected as your community’s next MP, I will work with local businesses, community leaders and residents to ensure that Kingswinford & South Staffordshire has a prosperous, nature-rich future ahead of it; for our families, our friends and for future generations.
We’re already feeling the impact of climate change across the UK with the increasing frequency and severity of climate events; such as flooding and the polution of Moat Brook. Like many people across our community, I’m deeply concerned about the damage this is having on our lives.
The recent polution of Moat Brook stands as a stark reminder that we don’t have the right plans and laws in place to safeguard our communities, businesses and precious natural environment.
As the Liberal Democrat candidate for Kingswinford & South Staffordshire in the upcoming Westminster election, I’m proud to announce my support for the Climate and Nature Bill; the new legislation we need to ensure we lock, in law, a serious and joined-up plan to get to grips with the climate and nature crises we face.
The next in-take of MPs have a serious and solemn responsibility to take action in the crucial years up to 2030. The end of this decade is crucial in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and in terms of halting and reversing the destruction of nature. However, there are also many, many co-benefits of taking action. Not only is it more cost effective to act now, and act early; but taking serious steps to restore nature and deliver a clean energy transition can create the green jobs of the future, boost energy and food security across the UK, and improve people’s health and wellbeing.
The Climate and Nature Bill stands as a crucial step in delivering a joined-up plan for the climate and nature crises and would lock our international commitments into law. It stands as the only proposed piece of legislation that would tackle the deeply intertwined crises of climate and nature together—and has the backing of almost 50,000 members of the public and 1,500 organisations, politicians, and scientists from across the UK—including The Federation of Women’s Institutes, Friends of the Earth, The Co-operative Bank and CPRE: The Countryside Charity.
The Climate and Nature Bill offers us the opportunity to once again set the international standard for climate action—just as we did with the Climate Change Act 2008—and show our commitment to a just transition, nature restoration, and an overall greener, fairer society. I believe the Climate and Nature Bill is essential in addressing the challenges we face—as this is the last Parliament we have to turn the tide on climate change and the breakdown of nature. I urge all Westminster candidates to join me in supporting the Climate and Nature Bill and to demonstrate to the public that this next Parliament will have climate and
nature as a top priority. Together, and only together, can we make the next parliamentary session one of serious action.
I will work hard for Kingswinford & South Staffordshire so that together we can restore and expand nature, so that we can lower energy bills and stop pollution from entering our seas, rivers and waterways. We can improve the health of our communities, protecting them from the worst impacts of climate change. We can transition our industries and economy to create more opportunities for local people.
