13 Jun 24
Analysis by Dr Jason Palmer (Cambridge Energy, CAR and UCL)
The Greens’ manifesto recognises from the start that successive governments have failed to prepare with anything like the urgency and ambition that climate scientists say is needed. It says that fairness can and must run through every part of the changes we face.
The Greens hold that solutions to the climate crisis are the same as those needed to end the cost of living and inequality crises. They say they have identified climate actions that result in better public services, warmer homes, stronger communities and a restored natural world. Their flagship £50bn initiative is a street-by-street or area-based retrofit programme, led by local authorities, to insulate homes, decarbonise heating and adapt homes to cope with hotter summers. They also propose to invest another £50bn in electricity generation, transmission and storage. Finally, they intend to nationalise the Big 5 retail energy companies, at a cost (together with all water companies) of £30bn.
The Green Party is unusual in publishing an appendix showing revenue and capital spending, and taxation, for each year from 2026 to 2030. They are honest and explicit in stating that additional funding will be needed, paid for by additional public borrowing and varying between £45bn and 85bn a year. The ‘Green economic transformation’ will be the largest element in their planned capital spending.
How much would each party's manifesto commitments reduce UK CO2e emissions?
Party Manifestos - Climate Comparison
| Key pledges in the next parliament | Impact on UK emissions | Impact on per capita emissions |
|---|---|---|
| Ensure all new housing developments are accompanied by enhanced services so residents do not have to rely on cars | Low |
Medium (for households affected) |
| Change Building Regulations so all new homes meet Passivhaus standards rely on cars | Low |
High (for households affected) |
| Require house builders to include solar panels and low-carbon heating in all new homes | Low | Low |
| Upgrade Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (for rented properties) from EPC ‘E’ to ‘C’ | Low |
Medium (for households affected) |
| Invest £29bn over five years to insulate homes to EPC ‘B’ or above: £12bn for social housing and £17bn for privately-owned homes | Medium |
High (for households affected) |
| Invest £4bn over five years to insulate public buildings (primarily schools and hospitals) | Low | Low |
| Make £1bn available as grants to retrofit privately-owned non-domestic | Low | Medium (for buildings affected) |
| Invest £9bn over five years for heating systems (e.g. heat pumps) | Low |
High (for households affected) |
| Invest £7bn over five years to stop homes from overheating | Unquantifiable: depends how | Unquantifiable: depends how |
| All planning applications to include whole-life carbon and energy calculations | Low | Low |
| All materials from demolition to be considered for re-use, and higher costs for disposing of construction waste | Low | Low |
| Push for 70% of UK electricity to come from wind power by 2030 | Medium | Low |
| No new oil and gas licences, and an end to all oil and gas subsidies | Medium | Low |
| Introduce a carbon tax on all fossil fuels, proportional to GHG emissions and rising over time | Unquantifiable: depends how much | Unquantifiable: depends how much |
| Push for £4bn a year investment in skills and training, including retrofit and transitioning | Unquantifiable | Unquantifiable |
| Introduce new support for solar and other renewables, including marine, hydro and geothermal energy | Unquantifiable | Unquantifiable |
| End the de-facto ban on onshore wind | Medium | Low |
| Open up more coastal waters for offshore wind and marine energy by transferring the Crown Estate to public ownership | Low | Low |
| Support and rapidly increase use of green hydrogen in industry and as energy storage | Low | Low |
| Cease development of new nuclear power stations | RISE in emissions | RISE in emissions |
| Invest £50bn in electricity generation, transmission and storage | Medium | Medium |
| Invest £30bn in a modern, electrified railway | Low | Low |
| Invest £7bn in public transport infrastructure and £6bn in active travel | Medium | Medium |
| Invest £4bn reducing the climate impact of road transport | Low | Low |
| Invest £11bn reducing emissions from industry | Unquantifiable: depends how | Unquantifiable: depends how |
| Reduce emissions of fluorinated gases from all manufactured goods, and increase scope of ban on single-use plastics | Unquantifiable: depends how much | Unquantifiable: depends how much |
| Require UK banks to present clear pathways to divesting from fossil fuel assets by 2030 at the latest | Low | Low |
| Mandate the Bank of England to make sustainability and tackling climate change become central objectives, and plan around the 1.5C Paris warming limit | Low | Low |
| UK pension funds and other financial institutions will need to divest from fossil fuels by 2030 | Low | Low |
| Give local authorities £2bn a year to provide grants for businesses to decarbonise | Medium | Medium |
| Require manufacturers to produce only the most energy-efficient white goods | Unquantifiable (likely to be medium), and rise over time | Unquantifiable (low, but rising) |
NB: Only some of the Greens’ manifesto commitments are for the first parliament. These policies are flagged (‘in the first five years’). All comparisons here are against the counterfactual of current Government policies.
Back to: News & Analysis