To save you looking it up for yourself we have tried to summarise the major parties’ manifesto commitments for Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change:
Conservatives
Manifesto: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/manifesto2015/ConservativeManifesto2015.pdf
Energy:
- Investment in energy research in Blackpool (fracking), Cumbria (nuclear?), Thornton (fracking). Midland Energy Research Accelerator: research in shale gas, carbon capture and storage, energy storage. Energy businesses in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft (offshore renewables)
- Invest in Hinkley Point nuclear power station, Hull offshore wind turbine manufacturing, (oil?), Swansea Tidal Lagoon
- Continued support for safe development of shale gas with community benefits
- Provide start-up funding for promising new renewables
- Support development of North Sea oil and gas
- End new subsidies for onshore wind and change law so local people have final say in planning
- Continued support for UK Climate Change Act, but will not support additional distorting and expensive power sector targets
- Cut taxes on North Sea gas, shale gas
- £1Bn investment in carbon capture and storage
- Exempt Starter Homes from higher energy efficiency standards
Food:
- Grow, buy and sell more British food under a 25 year plan
- 5 year tax smoothing for farmers to reduce volatility
- Support science-led approach on GM crops and pesticides
- Reform of fish quota system, main fish species sustainably fished by 2020
Transport:
- More and faster trains, more roads and cycle routes
- Freeze commuter rail fares
- Electrification of railways including East Anglia and the South West, plus HS2 and HS3
- Abolition of fuel duty escalator (existing policy)
- £500 million investment over next 5 years to support 2050 target of all cars zero emissions
- £200 million to make cycling safer
Misc:
- “push for strong global climate deal later this year – one that keeps the goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees firmly in reach”
Green Party
In general there are too many policies to mention for the Green Party, but here are some of the highlights:
Energy
- Break dominance of big 6 energy companies, focus on community, cooperative and locally owned suppliers
- Cut energy demand by one third by 2020, one half by 2030 and two thirds by 2050
- Free national retrofit insulation programme; £5,000 of free insulation/other investments in designated areas. £15K Green Investment Bank subsidised loans for Passivhaus retrofit; £45billion investment and 100K jobs
- Give tenants right to ask landlord for SAP/EPC C rated home by 2025
- All new homes to meet Passivhaus standard
- £4.5billion investment into less energy intensive industrial processes
- (personal?) carbon quote scheme post 2020
- No to fracking
- Remove fossil fuel tax breaks
- £35biilion renewable investment over next parliament
- 42GW of offshore wind by 2020 and 60GW by 2030, 25 GW of solar PV by 2020
- Closure of coal power stations by 2023, nuclear within 10 years
- Support gas with carbon capture and storage
Food
- Increase localisation of food chain
- Ensure a sustainable fishing policy
- Promote research into farming methods which reduce greenhouse gas emissions and have minimum impact on farming
- Support EU moratorium on GM food or feed
Transport
- Prioritise public over private transport, electrification of transport
- Bring railways into public hands
- Free local transport for young people and students
- Decarbonise transport system
Misc
- Improve non-car access to National Parks
- Increase investment in recycling and with 70% recycling aim by 2020
Labour
Energy
- Separate big 6 supply and generation businesses
- 1 million interest free energy efficiency home improvement loans
- 200K fuel poor homes made warm each year
- Make UK world leader in low carbon over next decade
Food
- Promote British produce
Transport
- Freeze rail fares next year
- More power to cities and regions over buses
Liberal Democrats
Energy
- Pass ‘Zero Carbon Britain Act’ to set new legally binding zero carbon targets for 2050
- Increase proportion of revenue accounted for by green taxes, to incentivise behaviour change
- Increase R&D in tidal power, carbon capture and storage, energy storage and low emissions vehicles
- Create low-carbon electricity market
- Reduce energy demand by 50% by 2030
- New energy demand reduction market
- Stimulate £100bn private investment in low carbon energy infrastructure by 2020
- Set legally binding 50-100g CO2/kWh electricity power generation target for 2030
- End use of coal by 2025
- Encourage onshore wind, new nuclear power stations, biomass, smart meters
- Expand community energy
- Regulate fracking; 50% of tax revenues to fund community energy, energy efficiency
- Rented and fuel-poor homes to be SAP ‘C’ rated by 2027, all homes C rated by 2035
- Remove Zero Carbon Homes exemptions
- ‘Feed Out Tariff’ for solid wall insulation
- Boost community/street-wide home energy efficiency retrofit
Food
- National food strategy to promote production of healthy, sustainable and affordable food
- Farm support concentrated on sustainable food production
Transport
- Invest in rail and rail freight, HS2
- Legal requirement for polluted towns to create Low Carbon Emissions zones
- Incentives for local schemes to car pollution and encourage walking and cycling
- All buses and taxis ultra-low emissions by 2030
- Promote electric vehicles, 2040 target for all non-freight vehicles to be ultra-low emissions
- Support intercity cycleway along HS2 route
- Deliver £10 per head annual cycling investment
- Support local authorities wanting to regulate buses in their area
- 2030 target for electrification of all major rail routes
UK Independence Party (UKIP)
Energy
- Scrap the 2008 Climate Change Act and the EU’s Large Combustion Plant Directive
- Support ‘fracking’ for shale gas
- End subsidies for wind turbines and solar photovoltaic arrays
- Support renewable energy where it can deliver electricity at competitive prices
- Seek to rejuvenate the coal industry
- Abolish ‘green levies’ to cut the cost of fuel bills
Food
- Change the remit of the Competition Commission so dairy farmers get a fair price for milk
- Match-fund grants made by local authorities towards rural capital projects
- Give a free vote in parliament on GM foods, supports GM food research
- Label food to show the country of origin, method of production, transport and slaughter
- Introduce UK only exclusion zones for fishing
- End destructive industrial fishing practices, protect dolphins
Transport
- Scrap HS2