As delegates from around the world meet in Geneva to discuss a UN Global Plastics Treaty, co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay, said:

“The UK must push for the most ambitious plastics treaty possible and stand firm against attempts by oil producing states and fossil fuel and chemical corporations seeking to trash any deal on curbing the scourge of plastic pollution. Scientists and campaigners must be able to speak out without fear of intimidation from powerful lobbyists and the UK delegation must do everything in its power to ensure the highest standards of openness and transparency.

“The treaty must include a ban on known hazardous chemicals and a phase-out of harmful plastic products. There must also be agreed global design standards to help maximise reuse and recycling. 

“Plastic pollution contaminates every corner of our planet from the highest mountains to the deepest oceans. It is also severely impacting the health of humans and other species, being responsible for at least one trillion pounds a year in health-related damages. An ambitious treaty which leads to decisive action is absolutely essential for the future of life on earth.”

Reacting to news that the Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has given the green light for councils to sell off allotments to raise funds, Green peer and keen allotment holder, Jenny Jones, said:

“It seems there are no green spaces that are safe under this Labour government.

“Allotments are valuable spaces to promote physical and mental health, help with local food security, encourage a gift culture amongst allotment holders and their neighbours, and offer a sanctuary for nature. Labour should know that they are especially important for people who don’t have the privilege of their own garden, i.e. many of those who vote – or used to vote – Labour.

“This policy is another sign that Labour knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. Cash-strapped councils need to be offered proper funding by central government, not pushed into selling off these vital community assets.”

Responding to a report by the Common Wealth thinktank which says that the sale of millions of council homes to tenants at steep discounts since 1980 has fuelled vast shortages in social housing and turbocharged inequality, Green MP Ellie Chowns said:

“This report lays bare the devastation Right to Buy has wrought on communities up and down the country. Successive governments stood by while Right to Buy hollowed out our council housing stock, creating chronic shortages and deepening inequality.

“We cannot allow this crisis to continue: it’s time to end Right to Buy, urgently reinvest in secure, affordable social housing that is fit for the future, and guarantee stability and opportunity for families across the UK.”

Responding to the release of detailed proposals for Heathrow Airport expansion, Green Party MP, Ellie Chowns, reiterated the Green Party’s opposition to airport expansion, saying,

“Heathrow Airport expansion is a flightmare on Downing Street for people and planet. On one hand, this government is saying they’re taking the climate crisis seriously, and on the other, they’re backing a project that will release a reported 4.4m tonnes of CO2 a year. These expansion plans would see the number of flights at Heathrow Airport go up to 720,000 from their current capped number of 480,000 a year.

These expansion plans are, at their heart, aimed to deliver profit for shareholders to enable a small group of people to fly more and more. In the UK we have a few frequent flyers that make up less than 3% of the UK population but take 30% of all journeys. On top of this, they seem oblivious to the impact that these plans will have on the communities currently living around Heathrow. Government must be grounded in reality and look hard at the climate science. No credible net-zero plan can include rampant airport expansion, and it’s time Labour looked to the many, many alternative ways to create high-paid green jobs.”

Reacting to today’s emergency cabinet meeting on Gaza and Keir Stamer’s statement, Green Party MP, Ellie Chowns, who is the party’s foreign affairs spokesperson, said:

“What Starmer has said today suggests Palestinian statehood is a bargaining chip, only to be awarded if the Israeli government fails to end the genocide in Gaza and agrees to a range of other conditions such as allowing the UN to restart the supply of aid and ending annexations in the West Bank.

“While these conditions are welcome and essential steps towards a ceasefire and a peaceful solution, they must not be an alternative to recognising Palestinian statehood. This is a cynical political gesture ahead of the outcomes of the UN Conference and suggests that if Israel were to comply with the demands, Palestinian statehood would be kicked down the road again, disenfranchising the Palestinian people.

“The Green Party calls on Keir Starmer to immediately and unconditionally recognise a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution, just as Labour promised to do in their election manifesto.”