No Planet B – from the march for climate and jobs in London (photo: Zelly Restorick).

Now walk the walk, local MPs told

In the run-up to Paris, members of Bexhill and Hastings Global Justice Now were out on the streets persuading their fellow citizens that the climate talks needed to come up with a committed and fair agreement. Now that an agreement is in place, they want to see our MPs taking the necessary actions to enforce it, as they explain.

Before the Paris climate conference, members of Bexhill and Hastings Global Justice Now were handing out newspapers in the town centres explaining the issues. Now the UN Climate Conference has ended with nearly 200 countries agreeing that we need to keep the rise in global temperatures down to 1.5˚C above pre-industrial levels. This means that globally and locally we all need to seriously cut our emissions. Hastings MP and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Amber Rudd, says our government is committed to doing this.

However, since the general election, the government has cut subsidies to onshore wind and solar electricity generation and removed targets for all new homes to be built to the highest levels of energy efficiency. Over 1,000 new houses are due to be built on the north-east edge of Bexhill. These houses will be there for the next 50 to 100 years. At a recent Town Forum, a local government spokesman confirmed that the Council cannot insist on the highest energy efficiency standards because of these government changes. What a missed opportunity!

Local members of Global Justice Now look forward to seeing how Amber Rudd and Huw Merriman, MP for Bexhill and Battle, intend to implement the decreased carbon emissions from homes in our area, which will be needed to meet the targets agreed at Paris.

See also Bexhill action for climate justice

Also in: The HOT Planet