A green recovery?

On World Environment Day, Nick Jeyarajah looks at why the road to economic recovery after COVID-19 could be green

2020 was billed by many to be a pivotal year for the climate in the UK and beyond. It would mark our entrance into the decade that would determine our future, striving to achieve huge emissions cuts by 2030 in line with UN goals.

When the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the world this year, some feared this moment could be lost as governments around the globe mobilised to fight the immediate threat of the virus and could understandably focus on little else.

However, as the economic impact of the lockdown becomes clearer, climate campaigners have recognised an opportunity amidst the disruption to reorganise our economy to lay the foundations for a sustainable future. But to what extent has the UK Government recognised this, and how far might they go in a project of building back better?

The answer to this is primarily tied to money – where it will be spent and in what quantities. Grabbing headlines this week has been talk of an economic stimulus package to be announced next month, dubbed a “green industrial revolution” by Chancellor Rishi Sunak. That a Conservative Chancellor is using the language that Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party championed in their General Election campaign a few short months ago represents the arrival of a new moment in the climate debate.

Reports suggest that the anticipated fiscal update will focus on retraining laid-off workers for green jobs, huge infrastructure spending, and support for the UK’s tech firms. Indeed, the programme was backed, in principle, by Boris Johnson during this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions, where he stated: “The green recovery will be essential to this country’s success.”

It is easy to forget that in the run up to December’s election, the Conservatives’ campaign agenda was deeply rooted in “levelling-up” the country and addressing the regional inequalities that have seen many areas outside the southeast left behind. A green recovery, says Alexander Stafford MP, one of the new Conservative MPs from the “red wall” in 2019, would help avoid the struggles of the Thatcher era and forge a new path of job creation and prosperity in the UK’s regions.

Support has also been voiced by the UK’s top businesses, who have called on the Government to press ahead with such measures. In a letter to the Prime Minister signed by 200 companies (featuring the likes of Lloyds Bank, HSBC, Sky, Tesco, Heathrow airport), business leaders encouraged the Government to use the lockdown as an opportunity to propel green policies into action.

In a sign of how far the environmental movement has come in a short space of time, a manifesto launched by Greenpeace this week for a green recovery contains a number of parallels and many similar demands of the Government to that of the business community. They both call for greater government investment in low carbon innovation, job creation in sectors that best support the environment, and to attach climate assurances to financial support given to struggling businesses.

The Government can point to transport as one area in which a green transition is already underway. As crowded public transport systems would offer ideal conditions for the spread of COVID-19, work has already begun to facilitate more cyclists on London’s streets. It is clear that the public is backing the idea; the i reported that a poll found that more than half of Londoners want pavements widened and new cycle lanes created.

What about the UK’s position on the world stage? Before its postponement, the government was keen to make an impact with COP26 as part of its narrative for a buoyant “Global Britain”. Early indications are that the UK will use its presidency of the conference to encourage its partners to enact green recoveries from the effects of lockdowns in nations around the world. Writing in the Independent, BEIS Secretary and COP26 President Alok Sharma said: “We have a huge opportunity to not just rebuild what went before but to build back better.”

It appears that this is a unique moment for climate policy, which has seen a previously unlikely consensus emerge between business, the public, and climate lobbyists. The COVID-19 crisis has, it seems, catalysed a movement that has already grown significantly in recent years. Thus far, it looks as if the Government is listening to these calls, and is making encouraging signals on taking advantage of the opportunities that this situation has presented. Translating this into bold and effective policy is now the challenge: the Chancellor’s announcement next month will be an indicator of just how serious the Government is.