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Progressive Politics NI

West Tyrone - Climate

Environmentally damaging processes such as fracking and toxic mineral extraction methods should be ceased
Modern developments to our utility & transport infrastructure are required to aid with the transition towards a circular economy
There should be a crackdown on environmentally harmful acts & legislation around this should be strengthened
Northern Ireland should have an independent Environmental Protection Agency to provide oversight & regulation across both the private and public sector
The switch away from fossil fuels should be incentivised
We should aim to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2035 through a gradual switch to sustainable materials, services and energy generation methods while utilising carbon capture & recycle methods
The Rights of Nature should be passed in legislation
Petroleum licensing should be banned
The 1960s petroleum legislation must be updated to reflect modern climate science
The Assembly must pass the Climate Change Bill, as proposed by Clare Bailey
There should be a firewall between policy makers and the mining and fossil fuels industries respectively
The Department for the Economy should release the Hatch Report, commissioned from Hatch Generis on the economic feasability of natural gas extraction in Northern Ireland
Comments
  • Net zero carbon emissions must be addressed as quickly as possible. Climate change is the biggest threat to humanity and our future. Incentives to move away from Fossil Fuels must learn from the RHI scandal and its failings
  • In the Socialist Party's view, in order to tackle the climate crisis, radical action is required. We do not agree that this should take the form of hand-outs to big business, as has occurred with RHI etc. We can't control what we don't own and incentivising big business to change is at best insufficient and most of the time ineffective. We say: it is necessary to bring energy and other key sectors of the economy into democratic public ownership under the control of the working class, rather than trying to incentivise big business to make change. This is also an essential step to control prices which are currently skyrocketing while large energy companies continue to make record profits. We would back all necessary economic supports for workers, farmers and small business to make a just transition to a post-carbon economy. While the Socialist Party would have welcomed the passage of Clare Bailey's climate bill as a step forward, we feel it still does not go far enough in terms of targets or concrete proposals. Serious and immediate action is required, including emergency public investment in free public transport to reduce reliance on cars and massive investment to improve energy efficiency of houses to reduce energy costs, which would also create jobs.