Hundreds of people have signed a petition launched by a Manchester based climate group calling for a stronger environmental plan from Keir Starmer.
Friends of Earth are an international group with branches in 70 countries, and their Manchester based branch is calling for action over concerns that climate change plans are losing momentum on a global scale.
In 2008, the UK became the first country to set legally binding climate targets, but in their petition FoE claim they are still “alarmingly off track”.
After winning a legal case in the High Court against the government in May 2024 over an inadequate climate plan, Manchester FoE is demanding a new plan by May this year.
Pete Abel, who works for Friends of the Earth, has stated:
“A new and improved plan is a necessary goal. Climate change isn’t something that is going to arrive in 2050, or 2100. It’s here now, and it’s impacting people in this country and around the world.
“We are seeing almost everyday, what were originally classed as one in 100 year events, such as mass wildfires or flooding.
Alongside this, FoE for the last three years have also been campaigning for warm homes, a growing concern that coincides alongside the climate crisis. Abel claims that in Greater Manchester alone, there are “more than 800,000 homes” that need to be retrofitted in order to be at the level of the PCC (Professional Consultant Certificate), a legal document that confirms whether a residential building has been built to a required standard.
He continued: “What we need from the government is both the funding but also the commitment, with the jobs to do a street by street insulation plan. It will help with the cost of living crisis, and have people able to heat their homes cheaper.
“This isn’t just about an esoteric climate emission target, but also about people’s real lives and helping people live healthier and safer.”
Wishes for Starmer to introduce a progressive climate plan has recently become more complicated with the inauguration of Donald Trump, who pulled the USA out of the Paris Climate agreement in his first day of office.
Abel admitted that Trump’s presence is increasingly “unhelpful” in tackling the climate crisis.
“I don’t think there is reason to lose hope, though. A lot of the action that we need to see will come from the cities and states, who are working towards the goal of reducing climate emissions.
“It’s easy to listen to all of the stuff he says, but actually, there’s an awful lot of people in the states who are still working hard”.
Despite growing concern for challenges the climate faces, Abel maintains that there is room for optimism for the future.
“I think we can sometimes get too obsessed over a number for temperature change, whether it’s 1.5 or 1.6 percent. But we need to fight for every 0.1 percent of a degree. Yes, it is easy to get demoralised, but everything we will try to do will help.”
More information on Manchester’s Friends of Earth’s petition can be found here – https://www.manchesterfoe.org.uk/