12 days of….Tory #ClimateFails

A melting block of ice!

Watching the climate debate with my young son this week I felt deeply depressed our current Prime Minister didn't show up. The farcical scenes of Gove trying to enter the building at the 11th hour depressed me further. Michael Gove should know better than to try to turn a serious climate debate into a tragic climate pantomime. We must ensure this election is won on substance over spin.

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Boris Johnson was replaced with an empty chair
and a melting block of ice for opting out of the debate

The real reason that the Tories didn't send Boris is simple. They do not have the track record nor the future policies to tackle this crisis. But fear not. I have taken the time to put together a quick explainer of the Tory track record with my Christmas themed 12 days of Tory #ClimateFails because we only have 12 days left to elect the most important parliament in our lifetimes. Twelve days left to #VoteClimate. (#Vote Liberal Democrat!)

My 12 days of #ClimateFails

Those policies which can just never be compatible with Net Zero emissions by 2050 and demonstrate the contempt the Tories have shown for the planet at the same time as trying to convince us that they care:

1. #ClimateFail: The Tory Government has continued handing out new 30+ year licences to extract oil and gas in UK. But we just committed to net zero emissions within 30 years. When you are in a hole, stop digging.
2. #ClimateFail: The tax-payer is picking up the bill for the Tory government continuing to subsidise fossil fuels including paying over half of the cost of decommissioning dirty oil and gas infrastructure in North Sea. Polluters should pay, not hard working tax-payers.
3. #ClimateFail: Tory Government placed an effective ban on new onshore wind - our cheapest form of energy.
4. #ClimateFail: Tories have supported fracking right up until the election, when a cynical moratorium was put in place. We need an outright BAN on fracking and to get behind the real zero carbon energy technologies of the future.
5. #ClimateFail: In Cumbria, the Tories have allowed the development to proceed on our first deep coal mine in the UK in 30 years. Tory government should have banned coal already. It is incompatible with a safe climate and an embarrassment at the Climate Negotiating Table. We need to ban the extraction and burning of coal for thermal use immediately and phase out the use for industrial processes without carbon capture and storage by 2030.
6. #ClimateFail: The Tories did away with Zero Carbon Homes legislation which would have seen all new homes be built carbon neutral from 2016. We must urgently bring back zero carbon homes and extend to zero carbon buildings for commercial and local authority use.
7. #ClimateFail: The Tories sold off the UKs Green Investment Bank, a key weapon in the fight to build a greener, cleaner UK. Bring it back, bigger and better!
8. #ClimateFail: The Tories announced a target of Net Zero Emissions imposed on UK's direct emissions but has totally failed to act on emissions in the aviation and shipping sectors as well as the emissions coming from the products and supply chains to the UK. We need to act on all emissions - NOW!
9. #ClimateFail: Banks in London finance 15% of global emissions and Bank of England governor calls Climate Change one of the biggest threats to long term financial stability UK yet Tory government have missed opportunities with regulation instead opting for voluntary standards for banks. We need a Net Zero plan for Finance Sector ASAP.
10. #ClimateFail: The Tory government increased VAT on solar panels and batteries to 18% whilst keeping coal and gas rates at 5%. They also introduced business rates onto schools fitting solar and killed off the support for domestic installations. Not the actions of a government committed to fight #ClimateEmergency.
11. #ClimateFail: Peat bogs store 3 billion tonnes of carbon in UK and are a haven for rare birds and insects. The Tories still allow precious peat to be dug up and used for compost and pot plants in our supermarkets - destroying the climate and nature.
12. #ClimateFail: (you guessed it) Brexit! At a time when international collaboration is vital to the very survival of our civilisation, the Tories want to withdraw us from the world's most progressive climate negotiating block.

So, what's the alternative? Give our kids and the planet an early Christmas present #GoGreenVoteGold for the party with the plan to stop the UKs contributions to climate change from our direct emissions to those in supply chains of big business and banks financing emissions. >>> #Vote Liberal Democrat

Katie Critchlow