Richard Boyd Barrett: Urges End to Fossil Licences
Richard Boyd Barrett warned the government's climate policies are inadequate and called for urgent, radical action, including an immediate stop to issuing fossil fuel licences and a state-led retrofit programme for housing. He rejected carbon trading and carbon taxes as ineffective and urged targeted measures such as aviation fuel charges, taxing large agri-food profits and boosting public transport subsidies.
Main criticisms
He questioned the government's bona fides on climate policy, arguing that putting a price on pollution through carbon trading and carbon taxes has failed and will not, on its own, deliver the emissions reductions needed in the 11 years available.
Fossil fuel licences and LNG infrastructure
He demanded an immediate halt to issuing fossil fuel licences and warned against locking the country into liquid natural gas infrastructure that would prolong fossil fuel dependence for decades.
Housing retrofit programme
He said the state must lead a retrofit programme of roughly 120,000 homes per year for 20 years, asserting that households cannot afford the necessary investment and that the scale of work requires public funding.
Transport and subsidies
He called for transport to be made cheaper through higher subsidies and better public transport, arguing that improved services are essential to get people out of cars.
Agriculture, afforestation and renewables
He proposed raising revenue through measures such as aviation fuel charges and taxing the profits of large agri-food companies while protecting small beef farmers, using funds to ensure a just transition. He also pushed for dramatically increased afforestation with a changed forestry model and for greater investment in renewable energy and university R&D.
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I can assure you I am a very sincere minister about addressing climate change and our policy is very detailed. We just produced quite an extensive document on it and our budget submission which we produce every year also shows precisely how we will pay for it on a whole range of areas. We have not got through them now but they would include for example aviation. fuel charges where you would raise a lot of money on the people who actually make profit from polluting. That's the difference. Or on the big agri-food barons who are actually making profit out of one of the big polluting areas. Not the small beef farmer who is struggling to survive. Don't punish him or her but punish the guys who are declaring their profits in Luxembourg and making a fortune out of this sector. And use that money indeed to ensure just transition for the small farmer. But I have to question the government's bona fides on this. One they don't address the problem that the putting a price on pollution has failed because we have been doing it for several decades with carbon trading and carbon taxes. Hasn't worked. Hasn't worked. And I defy anybody to show them any evidence that will allow us to meet the targets in the 11 years we have. We need much more radical actions. And that means focusing on the main areas. Energy. Stop issuing fossil fuel licences now. Do not lock us into liquid natural gas infrastructure that will lock us into fossil fuel use for decades. Housing. Other big sector. Okay. We need to retrofit about 120,000 homes a year every year for 20 years. And that means the state is going to have to do it. Nobody else can afford it. It has to be done by the state. Transport has to be made cheaper and the subsidies have to increase. You will not get people out of cars unless you provide a better public transport. And I have been more than anybody else in this house since the time I've been here I have raised the issue of afforestation. Right since the year one I got in here. The need to up the pathetic levels of forest cover in this country. Where our targets are pathetic but our delivery on those targets is about 50% of our targets. And it has been consistently since I got into this at all. And even the forestry we do do is worse for the environment than no forestry in many cases. Right so we need to dramatically change the forestry model and increase it. And we need to invest in renewable energy and the research and development around producing renewable energy resources. That means funding our universities and we are not doing that either.
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