What does Labour's landslide mean for the environment?

Friday marked a historic victory for Labour in the general election. The party won a total of 411 seats, more than double the number they secured in 2019, and a majority sizeable enough to provide them with a strong mandate to implement their manifesto policies. Throughout their campaign, Labour have clearly signalled their commitment to strengthening the UK’s climate policies and “accelerating to net zero”. The appointment of Starmer’s new cabinet saw former party leader and climate advocate Ed Miliband confirmed as Energy Secretary. Amongst many, there is optimism — albeit cautious optimism — about the future of climate action in the UK.

But do Labour’s policies go far enough?

According to Mike Childs, Head of Policy at Friends of the Earth, Labour’s environmental plans are “much stronger” than the Conservatives’. In their Green Prosperity Plan, Labour committed to delivering a zero-carbon electricity system by 2030 — doubling onshore wind, tripling solar power and quadrupling wind. The party also pledged not to issue any new oil, gas or coal licenses, and to “ban fracking for good”. The Conservatives, meanwhile, faced consistent and pervasive backlash for their failure to take steps to end fossil fuel extraction — last year alone saw the government issue nearly 50 new oil and gas licenses — and their unwavering support for North Sea drilling.

While last year saw the Conservative government backtrack on net zero polices under Sunak, Labour have committed to introducing new regulations requiring FTSE 100 companies and financial institutions to develop transition plans aligning with the 1.5°C target set by the Paris Agreement. The party has also recommitted to phasing out petrol and diesel by 2030 — a date that was also delayed by the former Prime Minister. Environmental groups have further praised Labour for their pledge to establish nine new National River Walks and three new National Forests, whilst planting “millions of trees”.

However, the party received criticism earlier this year when it scaled back its initial pledge of £28 billion of annual green economy investment to just £5 billion. In a ranking of political party manifestos based on their plans for climate and nature carried out by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, Labour was outperformed by both the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats — despite scoring four times higher than the Conservative Party.

According to the study, Labour’s environmental shortcomings include its sewage pollution plan, which, despite aiming to upgrade and reinforce water sector regulations, fails to commit to improving sewage treatment infrastructure or banning water company shareholder dividends. These omissions are particularly glaring in light of the findings of a recent study carried out by the Rivers Trust that no single stretch of river in England or Northern Ireland is in “good ecological health”. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth also highlighted the party’s failure to allude to a binding global plastic reduction target, support of which was pledged in the manifestos of both the Green Party and Liberal Democrats.

Also omitted from the party’s manifesto were issues related to industrial fishing, one of the greatest threats to marine ecosystems, and to the meat and dairy industries, the output of which must be cut by a third in the next ten years if UK climate targets are to be met. Labour also pledged to “secure the UK aviation industry’s long-term future, through promoting sustainable aviation fuels and encouraging airspace modernisation” — in spite of global consensus that current technologies are insufficient to achieve a sustainable aviation industry. Equally concerning are the party’s clear commitment to new nuclear power stations and failure to revoke existing oil and gas licenses in the North Sea.

In many ways, the inconsistency of Labour's policies when it comes to climate change can be seen as symbolic of a country that, in spite of recent, alarming findings that global temperatures have now averaged over 1.5°C above preindustrial levels for a period of a year, remains divided in its stance on tackling climate change. While the strong electoral performances of the Green Party and Liberal Democrats allude to a growing public prioritisation of environmental concerns, the fact remains that the Reform UK, a party with an explicitly anti-net zero stance and many of its candidates actively denying the reality of climate change, received 14% of the popular vote. Perhaps then, we have something to be grateful for. Labour's commitment to green politics and a green industrial strategy is undoubtably stronger than the Conservatives', particularly under Sunak, and if the party follows through on its pledges to enforce corporate commitment to the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C target whilst bringing an end to oil and gas licensing, then the country could see significant progress in its transition to net zero. How effectively Labour implement the policies outlined in their manifesto, and whether they draw on the more ambitious targets set by the Green Party and Liberal Democrats in order to deliver on their promise of reinstating the UK as a global climate leader, remains to be seen.

Featured image: Rory Arnold on Flickr