The Conservative Environment Network (CEN) has launched its Net Zero Champions initiative, backed by 25 Conservative MPs who have signed up to champion a suite of seven solutions and policies to create green jobs and get the UK on track to net zero.
The seven net zero solutions are: electric vehicles, active travel, public transport, green homes, renewables, nature-based solutions and sustainable agriculture.
Each group of champions will campaign for key policies to unlock the potential of their solution and get the UK on track to its net zero target, including:
-
Mandating electric vehicle charge points in all new homes (electric vehicles);
-
Prioritising support for green hydrogen in the upcoming hydrogen strategy (renewables);
-
Funding a major trial of hydrogen buses (public transport);
-
Banning the sale of peat for use in horticulture (nature-based solutions); and
-
Reforming food labelling for climate and sustainability purposes (sustainable agriculture).
Electric vehicles champion Sir Bernard Jenkin MP commented: “In the year of the UN Glasgow Climate Summit, we have a responsibility to act with urgency to address this most serious of threats. The UK has a record to be proud of on climate change, but there is more to do to ensure we’re meeting our commitments to future generations. Alongside my fellow net zero champions, I will be encouraging the Government to set out new policies to cement our position as a global climate leader.”
Champions include former cabinet member Dame Cheryl Gillan MP, Andrew Selous MP, Bim Afolami MP, and 2019 intake MPs from across the country including Selaine Saxby MP, Chris Loder MP, and Elliot Colburn MP.
Public transport champion Alexander Stafford MP commented: “Net zero is an excellent levelling up opportunity for communities like the one I represent in the Rother Valley. It will drive investment into new industries, like hydrogen, that will support millions of green jobs across the country and create export opportunities for British businesses around the world. As net zero champions, we’ll be asking ministers to back these new industries with ambitious new policies.”
Sam Hall, Director of CEN, added: “CEN is delighted to be working with this passionate and committed group of MPs to champion the solutions we need to reach net zero. Thanks to the work of successive Conservative Governments, the UK has the best record on clean growth among large economies, but there is so much more to do in the fight against climate change, particularly in this critical year of COP26 in Glasgow. Conservative leadership on climate change has never been more crucial, which is why it is inspiring to see so many Conservative MPs commit to championing ambitious solutions to climate change inside Parliament.”
A full list of champions and policies:
-
Sustainable agriculture:
-
Champions: Anthony Mangnall MP, Chris Loder MP, Anthony Browne MP and Jerome Mayhew MP
-
Policies: 1) delivering an environmentally ambitious Environmental Land Management scheme; 2) reforming food labelling to promote better environmental outcomes; 3) supporting the growing consumer preference to ‘buy local’; and 4) establishing a voluntary Farmland Carbon Code for carbon offsetting.
-
-
Active travel:
-
Champions: Selaine Saxby MP and Simon Fell MP
-
Policies: 1) supporting the creation of school streets zones; 2) creating financial incentives for companies that build new cycling infrastructure such as lockers and showers; and 3) sustaining significant increases in investment in new cycling infrastructure.
-
-
Public transport:
-
Champions: Alexander Stafford MP, Robert Largan MP, Elliot Colburn MP, and Christian Wakeford MP
-
Policies: 1) aligning the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) with net zero and wider access to public transport; 2) funding a major trial of hydrogen buses; and 3) funding Network Rail to electrify more railway lines and bringing forward the phase-out date for diesel trains.
-
-
Electric vehicles:
-
Champions: Felicity Buchan MP, Sir Bernard Jenkin MP, and Laura Farris MP
-
Policies: 1) funding new grid connections for ultra-rapid chargepoint stations; 2) mandating charge points in new homes; and 3) funding battery recycling facilities.
-
-
Nature-based solutions:
-
Champions: Sir Oliver Heald MP, Dame Cheryl Gillan MP, David Johnston MP, Tim Loughton MP and Sally-Ann Hart MP
-
Policies: 1) Banning the sale of peat for use in horticulture; 2) protecting and improving our blue carbon assets, such as seagrass meadows, and including this carbon sequestration in the UK carbon account; and 3) undertaking a national natural capital audit to establish a baseline and map opportunities for nature-based interventions.
-
-
Renewables:
-
Champions: Virginia Crosbie MP, Bim Afolami MP and Peter Aldous MP
-
Policies: 1) developing a long-term offshore wind strategy with a new 2050 target; 2) ensuring green hydrogen is the primary focus of the hydrogen strategy; 3) reforming Ofgem with an explicit net zero remit; and 4) supporting emerging renewable technologies e.g. via an Innovative Power Purchasing Agreement
-
-
Green Homes:
-
Champions: Andrew Selous MP, Julie Marson MP, Derek Thomas MP, and Cherilyn Mackrory MP
-
Policies: 1) providing a longer-term funding commitment for energy efficiency beyond the Green Homes Grant; 2) bringing the Future Homes Standard forward to 2024; and 3) enabling local authorities to develop local net zero energy plans.
-
Find out more about the initiative: cen.uk.com/net-zero-champions
