You may have heard the term green recovery or green economy in recent times. As we begin to imagine life beyond coronavirus, the government is setting out major plans to rebuild the country.
And what’s decided now will impact us for decades to come. But the coronavirus pandemic has shown us what we desperately don’t want to go back to. How unequal our society is, how vulnerable we are in times of crises, and how our planet is struggling. A green economy is a way to rebuild the country whilst taking all of this into consideration. A green economy prioritizes the health of people and the planet and sees these things as interconnected. It means solar and wind power, not coal, oil, or new gas.
Better public transport and electric vehicles, not petrol and diesel ones. Energy-efficient homes, not cold and draughty ones, and protecting nature and having a circular economy, not a single-use throwaway culture. It would mean massive investment in renewables, housing, and transport and rolling out training programs to skill people up for new jobs in all of these areas.
This wouldn’t just be good for the planet, it would be good for the economy too. A major investment like this
could create hundreds of thousands of jobs. And with the oil and gas industries also now in deep trouble
and renewables being the cheapest way to generate electricity, switching to solar and wind power would be a win, win situation providing both jobs and clean energy.
So, some might say that to recover from the coronavirus crisis, the government needs to tighten its belt financially and introduce cuts to spending. Well, that simply isn’t true. The government tried to do that in 2010 when they introduced austerity policies and slashed public sector spending.
Now, not only was that a disaster for our most vulnerable people and our environment and vital services like the NHS, but it was also a disaster economically. The best way for the government to rebuild the country is with a green recovery plan that creates hundreds of thousands of jobs. There are major advantages for public health
and well-being as well. Better insulated homes are warmer and cut energy bills as well as emissions.
Better public transport will mean less commuting time. Cleaner air will help save lives. Coronavirus has shown us that to look after ourselves, we need to start looking after the planet because, without a major change, we can fully expect to see many more crises like this one. And not just pandemics. The climate emergency is already having devastating consequences for all life on earth, in particular for the most vulnerable and those that have contributed the least to it.
To ignore this would be disastrous and unjust. We have to act now to limit catastrophic climate change and to protect ourselves and the planet we live on. The government is talking a big talk about a green recovery, but we have to make sure that these aren’t empty words.
The government’s been starting to talk about the green recovery, which is great, but unfortunately, they have already started
to bail out billions of pounds of loans to companies with no strings attached at all, and that is a huge missed opportunity. They do have a big chance now to set us on the right track to a green and fair recovery, so let’s hope they turn their warm words into action.
The government needs to make sure that they put people and the planet first and put us on course for a smart green economy.