Green MLA highly critical of Wilson’s attack on proposed Climate Change Bill

Green Party MLA Steven Agnew has hit back at Finance Minister Sammy Wilson’s attack on the Environment Minister when he branded the Climate Change Bill a ‘madcap policy’.

“We are all well aware that Mr Wilson is an unashamed climate change denier which he clearly demonstrated during his stint as Environment Minister.

“He carries on regardless with his views despite the fact that every national scientific body across the globe now agrees that human activity does influence the climate.

“It is even more dismaying as his statement comes on the same day that Northern Ireland’s first Climate Change Risk Assessment report has flagged up just some of the huge problems we will face in the future due to climate change such as coastal erosion, destruction of our delicate eco-system, increased flooding and water shortages.

“Climate change is an issue that we need to take seriously and simply burying one’s head in the sand by denying that there is nothing we can do to lessen its effects is simply not an option.

“Mr Wilson claims that legislation to protect our environment will damage our economy, put people out of work and increase fuel poverty.

“This shows his complete lack of understanding in terms of planning for the future and preparing our society and economy for a world that is rapidly changing.

“He claims that jobs will be lost but this effectively ignores the investment and export potential for the Green technology sector which will be the future base of global industry as resources grow increasingly scarce.

“We have a fantastic opportunity to lead the field in this area with our high level of skills in research and design and long tradition of industry.

“The global market for environmental goods and services is worth over £3,000 billion and the UK's share is £107 billion.

“Proper investment and commitment from the Finance Minister in the Green New Deal would see homes retrofitted for insulation thus reducing fuel poverty and it would create thousands of new jobs.

“We currently lose £2billion per year out of our economy on imported fossil fuels which previous DUP policies have locked us into.

“The spiralling cost of fossil fuels on the global wholesale market is the main contributing factor why so many people are in fuel poverty.

“The health of our environment is also directly linked to the health of our population so reducing pollution will actually ease the financial strain on the health service through preventative knock on effects.

“As far as a Climate Change Bill is concerned it is not that we can’t afford to put it in place – we can’t afford not to.

“At the very least we must cut our carbon emissions and the amount of waste dumped in landfill or face heavy penalties from the EU.

“It is crucial for our economy that the Finance Minister supports Mr Attwood’s Climate Change Bill for the health of our economy, our people and our environment.”

Green Party will Protect Public Services

Green Party Lagan Valley candidate Conor Quinn;
Green Party NI Leader Steven Agnew;
Green Party Lisburn City Council candidate Luke Robinson.

The Green Party has emphasised that the protection of local, public services is a key element of its Assembly Manifesto. Speaking at the party’s manifesto launch Lagan Valley Green Party Candidate, Conor Quinn, stated that health and education would be protected under the Green Party’s plans. “The Assembly has limited revenue raising powers so this election campaign is about the tough choices that must be made in the context of the current budgetary cuts,” explained Mr Quinn. “The Green Party will protect the health budget and ensure that there is no rise in university fees. We have taken a critical look at the allocation for new roads projects and believe £600m can be released over the next four years, while still protecting the roads maintenance budget. The additional resources will also be used to fund a Northern Ireland insulation scheme under our green jobs programme.”

Mr Quinn also outlined what he believes makes the Green Party different from other political parties: “Green politics is clean politics. We are the only party that does not take donations from companies and we publish all our personal donors on our website. Stormont is not working, but a Green MLA in the Assembly will work for reform, honest politics and transparency. Only the Green Party has a vision for a fairer and sustainable Northern Ireland,” he concluded.

Green Party NI Launches Manifesto: Economy for People and Planet

The Green Party in Northern Ireland today launched its manifesto ahead of next month’s Assembly and Council elections.

The party is fielding 22 candidates in total, including six Assembly candidates, in North Down, South Down, East Belfast, South Belfast, Lagan Valley and East Antrim.

The key message in the campaign is ‘Economy for People and Planet’ which encompasses the party’s desire to champion policies which are benchmarked against those three key areas.

Green Party Leader and North Down Assembly candidate Steven Agnew said: “Resources are stretched and we have to prioritise spending on areas that meet a number of policy objectives.

“There is no sense in squandering money on projects that may be good economically but environmentally damaging or pushing environmental policies that are not good for people. The Green Party benchmarks all its policies on whether they are good for the economy, good for people and good for the environment.

“In the last Assembly with one MLA the Green Party was able to get cross-party support for the ambitious Green New Deal programme.  If fully implemented the Green New Deal will provide thousands of jobs while helping to tackle fuel poverty and combat climate change.

“It is essential that there is a Green Party presence in the next Assembly to ensure the vision of the Green New Deal is realised.

“The Green Party did not support the cuts budget as it will see our public sector decimated and result in massive job losses across the public sector.

“We will continue to defend vital public services and oppose plans to increase fees for students that would see our young people burdened with crippling debt – an unacceptable price for university education which benefits our whole society.

“In this manifesto we outline how we can minimise the impact of the cuts and target investment to drive job creation in Northern Ireland.”

In the manifesto, the Green Party in Northern Ireland is focusing on the grass-roots issues that are currently dominating the political agenda, outlining strategies for the economy, health, education, transport, food and agriculture and political reform as well as environmental concerns.

“The Green Party enters these elections in better shape than ever having matured and developed with experience in the Assembly.  Our European election result showed our vote had trebled in the space of five years.  In these elections we are looking to translate that growth of support into seats in the Assembly and in local councils,” continued Mr Agnew.

“We have young candidates that can bring a breath of fresh air to Northern Ireland politics and the experience and expertise of Green Parties across the globe to draw upon.

“While others dwell in the past, it is the Green Party that has the vision for a brighter future for everyone in Northern Ireland.”