COP30 deal falls way short – morally, economically, environmentally and scientifically, say Greens


/ by Green Party

Reacting to the final COP30 deal in Belém, Brazil, which made do direct reference to the fossil fuels responsible for creating the climate crisis, Green MP Ellie Chowns, said:

“Today’s deal falls way short of what this moment demands – morally, economically, environmentally and scientifically.

“Burning the fossil fuels to which we already have access will result in breaching the 1.5 degrees of warming limit in the Paris Agreement so it’s deeply shocking that world leaders have squandered this critical opportunity to end the fossil fuel era.

“Banning vested interests from the COP process is long overdue and there cannot be another round of climate talks where they’re allowed to exert so much power and influence. And when tasked with delivering on a climate finance deal that’s fit for purpose for those countries that have done least to cause the climate crisis, the richest governments have shown scandalous neglect for their responsibilities, with no new money on the table for adaptation for example.

“The UK’s claims to climate leadership lay in tatters – from Labour’s refusal to finance global forest protection to reports that they’ve been actively blocking ambitious progress on a just transition. The public remains strongly behind bold and hopeful climate action – they need to be heard. And young people, global majorities, indigenous peoples and others at the front line of this crisis need to be front and centre in order to get a liveable future back on track.”

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Former Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle joins the Green Party of England and Wales

Lloyd Russell-Moyle, former MP for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven from 2017-2024, has today joined the Green Party of England and Wales. Russell-Moyle served as the Labour MP for the constituency – which neighbours longstanding Green seat Brighton Pavillion – from 2017-2024.

He was not permitted to stand as Labour’s candidate for the seat in the 2024 General Election following a ‘vexatious and politically motivated’ complaint which many saw as a deliberate move by Labour’s leadership to remove the leftwing MP. Chris Ward, a longstanding Starmer ally, was imposed as the Labour Party’s candidate against the wishes of many local members.

Russell-Moyle joins the Green Party at a time where the party’s membership and popularity are surging. Since the election of Zack Polanski as leader just ten weeks ago, the party has seen its membership increase by nearly 100,000 and has skyrocketed in popularity, now consistently the second party in national voting intention polls.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle was a prominent figure on the left of the Labour party. He is a longstanding advocate for the people of Palestine, a vocal advocate for the rights of trans and non-binary people, and a committed environmental activist.

Lloyd has also resigned from the national executive of the Socialist Education Association and is a former member of the Socialist Campaign Group.

The Green Party of England and Wales will be selecting candidates for the 2029 General Election in summer 2026. All selections are decided by a ballot of local party members.

Quotes

Lloyd Russell-Moyle said ‘For almost ten years I worked alongside Caroline [Lucas] as the MP next door. My old party has left behind millions of people who want hope and want to see change in their lives, their communities and the world around them. In the Greens I see a party that is offering that. In the Greens I see a party I have worked with for years and I am making the jump to join them today, I urge others to do so too.’

Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales said ‘I am delighted to welcome Lloyd to the party today. Lloyd will bring a huge amount to the Green Party. His story is one that is all too familiar; abandoned in the interest of power and profit over people and principles. Lloyd and tens of thousands like him have not left the Labour party; the Labour party has left them. Today the Green Party has over 150,000 members and is polling second to Reform. The Greens are the home of progressive politics, and we’re making hope normal again’

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Green Party leader Zack Polanski says: our message to Rachel Reeves is simple: cut bills, tax billionaires

  • Greens call for the introduction of immediate and long term cost of living measures to cut bills by hundreds of pounds, and a package of fair wealth taxation measures to raise over £30 billion a year.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said: 

“It is a political choice to keep children in poverty whilst billionaires and multimillionaires get richer, that’s just a fact, and any politician who says otherwise doesn’t have the public’s interests at heart. 

“Our country is and has been for a long time now at breaking point. Life has become literally unaffordable for millions of people. People are angry, and I get it, our communities deserve so much better. It is time for bold policies and bold choices that make a real difference to ordinary people 

“But instead of facing this reality head-on, this Labour government, like the Conservatives before it, has stood by whilst the 1% get ever richer at the expense of ordinary people.”

The Green Party leadership team, together with Green MPs, Peers, and 20 Green Council Leaders and Deputy Leaders – have joined forces to urge the Chancellor to tax wealth fairly, end the cost-of-living crisis and deliver real change.

In a letter sent to the Chancellor today [Wednesday 19th November] the Green Party is calling on the government to commit to immediate and long term measures to address the cost-of-living crisis and bring children out of poverty. 

 Senior Green figures are urging Reeves to tax wealth by:

  • Implementing a 1% tax on wealth over £10 million and 2% over £1 billion, raising £14.8 billion per year. 
  • Aligning rates of Capital Gains Tax – currently the lowest in the G7 – with income tax so income from work is not taxed more than income from wealth, raising an additional at least £12 billion per year.
  • Introducing National Insurance on investment income, in line with employment income, to raise at least £6.1 billion per year.

Senior Green figures are urging Reeves to tackle the cost-of-living by:

  • Moving policy costs off bills, cutting typical household energy bills by £156 per year.
  • Stopping gas prices inflating the price of electricity, cutting bills by at least £65 per year.
  • Scaling up nationwide retrofit.
  • Ending profiteering off essentials: bringing energy retail companies and water into public ownership.
  • Giving Local Authorities the power to control rents, similar to Scotland.
  • Scrapping the two child benefit cap in full.
  • Extending free school meals to all primary and secondary school children.

Greens say the package of measures would raise over £30 billion a year to spend on tackling the cost-of-living crisis and bringing down household energy bills, which have risen by 42% since 2021.

Last year, billionaires saw their collective wealth increase by £35 million a day and Britain’s 50 richest families now hold more wealth than half the population combined.

The Greens argue that taxes on the super-rich should be used to move policy costs away from electricity bills, saving a typical household around £156 a year from their electricity bill. The government should pay for these policy measures through wealth taxation instead. In addition to this, they call for decoupling the price of electricity from expensive gas, which they say could cut bills by at least £65 per year for the average household.

In light of rumoured cuts to the government’s flagship Warm Homes Plan, they are also calling on the government to ‘scale up’ investment in home insulation, to reduce bills in the long-term.

As well as scrapping the two-child benefit cap in full, the Greens are also pushing the Chancellor to extend free school meals to every child to help families with soaring food prices, which have risen by over a third since 2020. 

Green Party Treasury Spokesperson Adrian Ramsay MP said: 

“The Chancellor has spent the past 16 months claiming that there isn’t enough money to lift children out of poverty, ensure warm homes for pensioners, or provide vital support for people with disabilities.

“But the truth is Starmer and Reeves are choosing to make life harder for ordinary people while refusing to even consider taxing wealth fairly to unlock billions of pounds for the public purse. 

“We’re making clear that there are common-sense steps this government could and should take to raise revenue and deliver the change people are crying out for.”

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Green reaction to Reform UK’s ‘reprehensible’ proposals for severe cut to foreign aid


by Green Party

Reacting to Reform UK’s plans to slash overseas aid by more than 90% and introduce a “hard cap” of £1bn a year, Green MP, Dr Ellie Chowns, said:

“It cannot be overstated how many lives will be put at risk by this cruel and senseless policy. It would cut vital support to the most vulnerable people on the planet – those who rely on foreign aid not only to survive but also helping provide hope that they can thrive, through funding health, education, housing, energy and environmental projects.

“This policy is also counter-productive, especially for a party that’s raison d’être is to stop migration to the UK. Cutting foreign aid – leaving many more destitute and living in extreme poverty – will drive displacement, forcing people to leave their homes in search of a better life or mere survival.

“Foreign aid can also help prevent conflicts, fight the spread of disease, and mitigate the impacts of climate breakdown. Addressing these are all in our own national interest.

“Foreign aid is the helping hand which, as one of the richest countries in the world, we have a moral obligation to provide.   

“Labour’s cut of foreign aid from 0.7% to 0.3% of national income was disgraceful; Reform’s proposal to reduce it to a pitiful 0.03% is reprehensible.

“Greens are clear: we would increase foreign aid to a full 1% of national income and enable the people of the Global South to take the lead on how aid is spent.”

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Young Greens become largest youth and student wing of any British political party 

The Young Greens of England and Wales is now officially the largest youth and student wing of any British political party. 

Following on from the Green Surge, with Green Party membership now at over 150,000, the Young Greens have over 40,000 members – making them larger than Young Labour.

The Green Party is also polling at over 40% with young people aged 18-24, and is now the most popular party with under-50s.

Zack Polanski, leader of The Green Party, said:

“We meant it when we said we’re here to replace Labour – and I could not be happier that our incredible Young Greens are yet again leading the way.

“Young people have been let down by successive Conservative and Labour governments, so it’s no surprise that they are desperate for an alternative. 

“I said the Green Party wants to make hope normal again, and up and down the country our Young Greens are engaging in bold politics – whether they are members, activists or elected representatives – and doing that each and every day.

“It’s become a media commonplace to say that young people are going to Reform, so let’s set the record straight. The Young Greens are the biggest youth and student wing of any political party in the UK. They are the biggest Green youth movement in Europe, and recent polling shows the Green Party is now the most popular party among young people.

“Britain’s young people are going Green.”

The Young Greens includes all party members who are under the age of 30, or full time students; over 20 universities have Young Green societies, with more campuses organising every day. They also have independent leadership, internal decision-making structures, and policies that are distinct from the main party.

Ciara Alleyne, Co-Chair of the Young Greens, said: 

“Our generation knows that Labour won’t stand up for them or their future. They are looking for an alternative and despite what the media says, it is not Reform they are flocking to.

“Young people know what matters to them, and they are willing to fight for it by becoming part of a movement that spreads hope, not hatred and fear.

“We are ecstatic to have the largest youth and student wing in the UK, but it is only the start. We are organising across the country to take on politicians across the spectrum who are scapegoating the vulnerable and deferring to the wishes of the 1%.

“It’s our future more than anyone else’s, and we’re making sure it’s a bright one.”

Many of the headline policies of the Green Party originated with the Young Greens – they were first to call for the abolishment of landlords, a wealth tax, and have consistently led the party’s support of the trans community.

Young people also make up over 20% of the Green Party, and hold key positions across party leadership.

Callum Clafferty, Co-Chair of the Young Greens, said: 

“When you are a member of the Young Greens of England and Wales you aren’t just a token for politicians to say they listen to young people. You are encouraged at every point to take up leadership positions, stand in elections, and drive the policy of the party.

“The Green Party recognises the enormous advantage the knowledge, experience and values that young people bring – and our ability to drive innovation in the way we do politics.

“For any young person looking to take control of their future and fight for a fairer country, you have a home in the Green Party.”

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