Verco's Manifesto Policy Map

With the majority of the main political parties publishing their 2017 manifestos in recent days, Verco have reviewed the potential implications for the UK’s energy, carbon and waste policy under each party, as well as the level of compliance of each commitment with the recommendations of the UK’s Committee on Climate Change (CCC).

While all five parties support strong action on climate change through the UK taking a leading role in the Paris Agreement, the manifestos demonstrate differing priorities and approaches in addressing the ‘energy trilemma’ and environmental goals.

The Conservative Party’s manifesto reflects the party’s ambition to reduce energy costs for UK households and businesses, and promote diverse energy sources including North Sea oil and gas. The Labour party prioritises sustainable and affordable energy, placing a cap on household bills and supporting the creation of publicly owned, locally accountable energy companies.

The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party take a bolder approach to climate change legislation – the former propose to pass a Zero Carbon Britain Act to reduce emissions to zero by 2050, and the latter plan to eradicate fossil fuel subsidies, and remove coal from the energy mix by 2023 at the latest.

Plaid Cyrmu have ambitions to make Wales self-sufficient in electricity from renewables by 2035 and world-leaders in tidal energy technology. The party’s manifesto also vows to support citizens of Wales suffering with fuel poverty.

Interestingly, Labour’s current proposals represent greater alignment with the CCC’s recommendations than in 2015. The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, as might be expected, show the closest alignment with the CCC’s strategy. The Conservative Party’s proposals to embrace the extraction of shale gas, while prioritising energy affordability, puts them most at odds with the CCC of the five parties

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