GreenBurgh Election Guide
- Heather Ferguson
- Nov 30, 2019
- 3 min read
In the upcoming election environmental issues are more important than ever. GreenBurgh looks at what the parties standing in Edinburgh have to say about environmental issues in their manifestos.
The SNP have placed tackling the climate crisis as one of their main objectives and said they will demand that Westminster match the targets set in Holyrood.
They have also pledged to campaign the UK government to bring forward plans to move to electric vehicles to match the Scottish target of 2032.
The manifesto also sets out that they will put press for the "accelerated deployment of fully operational carbon capture utilisation and storage facilities".
The SNP also support tax reforms which support greener choices and will campaign for the UK to remain aligned with EU environmental regulations.
The party claim that they are only ones with a "detailed plan" to combat the climate crisis. In their manifesto they outline an "emergency programme" to insulate all homes by 2030.
They have pledged to ban fracking and invest in renewable energy so that at least 80% of all electricity is green by 2030.
The Lib Dems also aim to protect nature and the countryside, and tackle loss of biodiversity and by planting 60 million trees across the UK a year.
They have also pledged investment in public transport and electrifying Britain’s railways and making sure all new cars are electric by 2030.
The party pledge to upgrade the majority of Scotland's homes to the highest energy efficiency standards.
Scottish Labour have also said they will create a new 'UK National Energy Agency' to own and maintain the national grid infrastructure, and create a Scotland-specific operator with statutory responsibility for decarbonising electricity and heat and reducing fuel poverty.
They have also pledged to place the supply parts of the main six energy firms in to public ownership.
The parties manifesto also discusses the creation of a green transformation fund.
The newly emerged party which have one of four candidates standing Edinburgh have said they would invest in infrastructure in and sustainable technology for example through tax incentives.
They also pledge that they would support the implementation of the Clean Air Act to tackle pollution and allow delivery companies to reduce road tax liability by ensuring they have the most eco friendly vehicles.
The party also stated they would embrace modern technology like electric cars.
The Scottish Conservatives have promised to deliver the target of zero net emissions by 2050 and to utilise the upcoming UN Climate Summit in Glasgow to ask other countries to match that ambition.
They have also pledged to build the first fully operational carbon capture storage cluster by 2025 and support gas hydrogen production and nuclear energy.
They have also said they will establish a 500m blue planet fund and maintain the energy cap and introduce measures to lower bills.
The Scottish Greens are demanding a New Green Deal to tackle the climate crisis and they have pledged to speed-up the transition to a zero carbon economy and to bring the grid into public ownership.
They also want to reduce emissions by 80% by 2030 and keep fossil fuels in the ground by phasing out oil and gas extraction and permanently ban fracking.
The party have pledged to invest billions fishing and coastal communities and plant millions of trees and make it illegal for waste to be exported across the world to be burnt, buried or dumped at sea
Edinburgh Candidates are as follows;
Edinburgh North and Leith
Deidre Brock, SNP; Bruce Wilson, Liberal Democrats; Gordon Munro, Labour; Heather Astbury, Renew; Iain McGill, Conservatives; Steve Burgess, Scottish Greens
Edinburgh South West
Joanna Cherry, SNP; Ben Parker, Scottish Greens; Tom Inglis, Liberal Democrats; Frances Carmel Hoole, Labour; Callum Laidlaw, Conservatives
Edinburgh West
Christine Jardine, Liberal Democrats; Sarah Masson, SNP; Graham Hutchison, Conservatives; Elaine Gunn, Scottish Greens; Michael Boyd, The Brexit Party; Craig Bolton, Labour
Edinburgh South
Ian Murray, Labour; Alan Christopher Beal, Liberal Democrats; Catriona MacDonald, SNP; Kate Nevens, Scottish Greens; Nick Cook, Conservatives
Edinburgh East
Tommy Sheppard, SNP; Sheila Gilmore, Labour; Claire Miller, Scottish Greens; Jill Reilly, Liberal Democrats; Eleanor Price, Conservatives
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