G20 A MISSED OPPORTUNITY

Darren Johnson AM, Green Party spokesperson on trade and industry, reviewing the G20 Statement said Gordon Brown had delivered a “kick in the teeth for British industry and global sustainability.” He said Brown had “managed to pull off a global stimulus that includes less than seven per cent climate-friendly investment.”

He went on, “Britain’s over-reliance on financial services has been a spectacular failure. It’s time we re-built the real economy. There are a raft of emerging technologies waiting for government investment to kick-start the Green industrial revolution that will give us the economy of the future - a balanced economy that includes heavy industry and self-reliance on energy. We have a golden opportunity to beat the recession and the climate crisis in one - and we’re wasting it.”

He concluded, “Every time we see evidence of progress we also see evidence that governments are dragging their feet. They don’t seem to understand that the policies we need for tackling climate change will bring huge social and economic benefits. “We need more Greens in elected office, because we need to push parliaments and assemblies and local councils towards a better understanding and a better set of policies.”

Full Statement