Parties’ pledges on the environment

Conservatives

The Conservatives promise to maintain international leadership on climate change, but say they will take a “pragmatic” approach to net zero. They say they will cut the cost of tackling chimate change for hourseholds and businesses. They will reform the Climate Change Committee to ensure it takes cost and energy security into account.

Labour

The Labour Party drew criticism earlier this year when it slashed its flagship £28bn green investment pledge to under £15bn a year. However, the manifesto contains big promises on clean energy, green jobs and a commitment to no new oil and gas licences. One of the party’s five missions is to make Britain “a clean energy superpower”.

Lib Dem

The environment is one of their big issues, vowing to “put tackling climate change at the heart of a new industrial strategy”. The party would set up national and local citizens’ assemblies to “give people real involvement” in decisions around climate change and restore the UK as a global leader on the issue. It wouldto impose a duty on big companies to protect the environment.

Reform

Rather than introducing any measures to tackle climate change, Reform UK has committed to abolishing the UK’s Net Zero target. The party believes ditching the policy would “save the public sector over £30bn per year for the next 25 years”. It says the environment can be protected “with more tree planting, more recycling and less single use plastics”, coupled with “new technology”.

Greens

The Green Party’s climate ambitions are the most ambitious. It promises to stop “all new fossil fuel projects”, cancel existing licences and give “rights to nature itself”.

SNP

The SNP says it is committed to “tackling the twin crises of climate change and nature loss”. The party believes that independence is key to Scotland tackling the issue as “emissions reduction and economic prosperity go hand in hand”. It is looking to grant oil and gas licences on a case-by-case basis.

Plaid

Plaid’s manifesto says the world is in a “climate and nature emergency” and is the “biggest threat to mankind”. The party reaffirms its commitment to reaching Net Zero targets in Wales by 2035 and reversing biodiversity decline by 2030.

Summary

While all parties have proposed measures to tackle the climate crisis, the Liberal Democrats and Green Party lead the pack with the detail of their policies and extent of ambition.

Conservatives

The Tories would no longer allow water companies to self-monitor sewage treatment works but do not provide a timeline. Fines for breaches would be invested in river restoration projects. The party promises “transformational investment and change in the water sector on a scale never seen before” with the introduction of 100 per cent monitoring.

Labour

A “super regulator” to crack down on sewage pollution would be created with powers to block bonuses for water company executives and to bring criminal charges “against persistent law breakers”. Independent monitoring would be implemented at every sewage outlet. Labour has committed to cleaning up Lake Windermere.

Lib Dem

Sewage discharges into rivers, lakes and coastal area would be banned. fwat would be replaced with a robust new regulator and a sewage tax would be introduced. Local environmental groups would get a seat on water company boards.

Reform

Reform UK has made no pledges to tackle sewage.

Greens

The party would re-nationalise water companies and use shareholder money to “fix the leaks and rebuild infrastructure”. MPs would push to restore rivers and take a nature-based solutions approach to the prevention of flooding and storm overflows. The party would fund a soil health monitoring programme in England to help tackle pollution run-off from farms.

SNP

The party has made no overt commitments to tackling sewage and protecting clean rivers, despite being accused of overseeing an upturn in discharges across Scotland this year.

Plaid

Plaid believes the Welsh people should have “full control” over waters and natural resources so higher environmental targets can be met. “The current scandal of water quality must be resolved and it should never be allowed to happen again,” the party’s manifesto says.

Summary

The state of the UK’s rivers has become a national scandal. Labour and the Tories have pledged to crack down on sewage discharges, but the Lib Dems have the strongest approach.

Conservatives

The party vows to boost renewable energy by trebling offshore wind capacity, and to scale up nuclear power. It emphasises the need to be self-sufficient in energy supply, with new gas power stations and oil and gas drilling to continue to be licensed.

Labour

Will double on-shore wind, triple solar power and quadruple offshore wind. It pledges investment in hydrogen and marine energy. Publicly-owned Great British Energy would be established to boost clean energy. A “clean energy grid” would be built. Fracking and new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea would be banned. Wants more nuclear power stations.

Lib Dems

The Lib Dems would invest to ensure 90 per cent of UK electricity comes from renewables by 2030. Part of this would come from a “rooftop solar revolution” to encourage households to install panels. It would create a net zero delivery authority and empower local authorities to cut emissions and promote community energy.

Reform

The party would scrap renewable energy subsidies. It said: “Renewables are not cheaper. Our bills have increased dramatically in line with the huge increase in renewables capacity over the last 15 years.” Reform would seek to boost the number of oil and gas licences granted in the North Sea and “fast-track clean nuclear energy with new small modular reactors, built in Britain”.

Greens

The Greens Party would cancel recent oil and gas licences, remove all oil and gas subsidies, and stop all new fossil fuel extraction projects in the UK. It pledges ambitious investment in renewables and transport. The party said it wants to see “the phase-out of all nuclear energy”. It would invest £30bn in insulating homes over the next five years.

SNP

The SNP says Scotland has renewable energy “in abundance” and wants greater investment from the UK Government to expand it, particularly in improving the grid’s capacity. It wants local communities to benefit more from renewable infrastructure. It wants to promote Scotland’s hydrogen export potential. It opposes nuclear power.

Plaid

Plaid wants to expand renewable energy developments across Wales and set up a Welsh-based energy company. It wants local communities to benefit from local energy projects so would push for a restructuring of the National Grid. It opposes the development of new nuclear power stations and new licences for oil and gas drilling.

Summary

Most parties are agreed on the need to hike up the amount of electricity produced by renewables – though ambition varies. While the Tories and Reform would grant new oil and gas licences, Labour, the Lib Dems, the Greens and Plaid would ban them.

Conservatives

The party pledges to ban and revoke permits for waste incinerators. It “recognises the impact on local communities and that increased recycling rates will reduce the need for incineration capacity in the longer term”. The Tories would continue to develop a “UK-wide” deposit return scheme.

Labour

Labour has said it is “committed to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy” but is vague on specifics. The shadow Environment Secretary Steve Reed previously said a Labour government would target a zero-waste economy by 2050. However, this target was not included in the manifesto.

Lib Dem

The manifesto demands the “complete elimination” of non-recyclable, single-use plastics within three years and “an ambition” to end plastic waste exports by 2030. It calls for “a more circular economy that maximises the recovery, reuse, recycling and remanufacturing of products”. They want a deposit return scheme for food and drinks containers.

Reform

Nigel Farage’s party calls for less single-use plastic and notes that recycling is one of the ways to “protect our environment”.

Greens

The Greens advocate a circular economy to reduce use and waste of resources.They would require manufacturers to offer 10-year warranties on white goods and introduce a “comprehensive right to repair” to eliminate built-in obsolescence.

SNP

The SNP says it is committed to reducing single-use plastic waste and wants to introduce a deposit return scheme in Scotland for drinks containers. It is also seeking to form an expert panel on other measures it can take to reduce demand for single-use items.

Plaid

It wants stronger enforcement of legislation to stop companies dumping waste on Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Summary

Several parties promote measures to reduce waste and there is a general desire to have a deposit return scheme.

Conservatives

To further international marine protections, the Tories would consult with the Overseas Territories to expand the Blue Belt programme, which protects more than four million square hectares. The party would put the Global Ocean Treaty into UK law and continue their moratorium on deep sea mining.

Labour

There is nothing in the Labour manifesto that addresses plastic in the oceans or protection of the marine environment.

Lib Dems

The Lib Dems would support moves to protect 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030 through the UN High Seas Treaty and a Global Plastics Treaty to cut plastic pollution worldwide. The party also wants more Marine Protected Areas. Work would be undertaken to create and restore habitats like saltmarshes, mudflats and seagrass meadows.

Reform

Reform calls for “less single-use plastics” but makes no mention of the marine environment in its “election contract”.

Greens

The party pledges to set aside 30 per cent of UK land and seas by 2030 in which nature would receive the highest priority and protection. It would ensure that all British domestic and overseas territorial waters offer the highest protection for wildlife. It would push for a ban on bottom trawling and other destructive fishing practices in Marine Protected Areas and elsewhere.

SNP

The SNP aims to reduce plastic waste but makes no mention of wider protection for the marine environment.

Plaid

Plaid says Wales’s and the world’s nature needs to be protected, including its oceans.

Summary

The Greens, Plaid, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems each offer strong support for protecting the marine environment.

Conservatives

The Tories reiterated their commitment to the UK’s 2050 net zero target but the manifesto says it wants to “cut the cost of net zero for consumers by taking a more pragmatic approach, guaranteeing no new green levies or charges while accelerating the roll-out of renewables”. There is a pledge to build the first two carbon capture and storage clusters.

Labour

The proposed National Wealth Fund would support “the most energy-intensive sectors to decarbonise”. Labour backs a carbon border adjustment mechanism, an EU tariff on carbon-intensive products. Loans would be offered to homeowners to invest in insulation, solar panels and low-carbon heating. It also pledges investments in carbon capture and storage.

Lib Dems

Commits to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. It would appoint a chief secretary for sustainability in the Treasury, establish a Net Zero Delivery Authority, and give councils powers for local net -zero strategies. It would ban short domestic flights where a rail journey could be made in less than 2.5 hours and introduce a “super tax” on private jet flights.

Reform

Reform would ditch net-zero targets. It says they are estimated to cost the UK economy £2trn, and that scrapping the pledges would save the public sector £20bn per year for the next 25 years. It would ban all low-emission zones and low-traffic neighbourhoods.

Greens

The Greens want 70 per cent of power to come from wind by 2030. Other measures include investing £40bn a year to shift to a green economy, a £12.4bn investment pledge in green skills and training, and a carbon tax. It would push for a frequent-flyer levy, and a ban on domestic flights for journeys that would take less than three hours by train.

SNP

The SNP is committed to reaching net zero by 2045, five years ahead of the UK’s target. It believes cuts in VAT for hospitality will help reach net zero, and would exempt electric car on-street charging. It believes increased renewable energy is key to reaching net zero.

Plaid

Plaid says it is commited to reaching net-zero targets in Wales by 2035 and reversing biodiversity decline by 2030. The party’s net-zero commitments are 15 years ahead of the UK Government’s.

Summary

All the parties have made commitments to reaching net-zero carbon emissions – bar Reform, which wants to scrap targets.

Conservatives

The Tories’ manifesto makes no direct mention of air pollution or clean air. The manifesto focuses heavily on drivers with policies that could worsen air pollution, including reversing the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London

Labour

Labour’s manifesto has no direct mention of air pollution or clean air. However, the party has highlighted concerns over health inequalities and has stated they would tackle the social determinants of health, which include air pollution.

Lib Dems

The manifesto says the party would “tackle toxic air pollution” with a “Clean Air Act” based on World Health Organisation guidelines and enforced by a new Air Quality Agency.

Reform

Reform UK has made no pledges on cleaning up pollution. It wants to ban Ulez clean air zones.

Greens

The Greens have committed to a Clean Air Act which would enshrine the right to breathe clean air in law.

SNP

The SNP’s manifesto makes no mention of reducing air pollution beyond addressing greenhouse gas emissions.

Plaid

Plaid calls for a change in the way people travel to limit pollution. It also wants to introduce clean air zones near major centres of population. “Air pollution is leading to an increase in asthma and lung conditions amongst children and dementia in the older population,” the party’s manifesto says.

Summary

Direct mentions of air pollution are conspicuously absent from most manifestos – bar the Green Party and Plaid

Election 2024

The general election campaign is almost at an end as polling day looms on 4 July. Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer and other party leaders have battled to win votes over six weeks, and i‘s election live blog has covered it from the first moment.

Every party’s manifesto is out, with Tories, Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Reform UK sharing why they should get your vote. Read i‘s manifesto comparison on each of the main party’s pledges on issues such as NHS, education, defence, devolution, tax, spending, HS2 and housing.

You can read the polls, check which constituencies could be deciders, ensure you’re informed about who to vote for, and make sure you’re weather-ready before you head to your polling station on Thursday.