Labour will win the next election. They will be ok (or at least better) on climate change and the need to transition from fossil fuels.  But while people focus excessively on the £28bm pledge (will it/ won’t it?) it is a bit of a red herring.  There is a huge blind spot Labour urgently needs to address. Net zero is a tiny part of the story. It doesn’t matter how many solar panels we stick up, if we lose the Congo or Amazon or the great forests of Indonesia, it is game over. It really is as simple as that. There is no technological substitute for the extraordinarily complex ecosystems we all depend on.  The congo for example produces more than half of Africa’s rainfall. If we lose it we will see a humanitarian disaster of biblical levels and a refugee crisis we couldn’t even begin to control.  A climate plan that doesn’t have nature at its heart is not a credible plan. Labour needs to develop one asap. Otherwise for people who care about the planet have little to get excited about.

Feb 24, 2024 · 9:42 PM UTC

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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
Also @labour will need urgently to persuade other countries to put as much effort into protecting nature.
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Excellent analysis.....I hope you get some power over there!
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
Here in #Cambridgeshire we have Labour/Lib Dem controlled councils that are pushing a “green” busway (ie tarmac/concrete road + motorway bridge) & travel hubs (ie car parks) in the name of reaching CNZ. If allowed to bulldoze through the #greenbelt it will decimate 14 HPI #hedgerows, #scrub, excavating 100s of 1000s of tonnes healthy #soil, fell 100s of veteran fruit trees in century old Coton #orchard, including some of the largest ever recorded in the British Isles. A mosaic of habitats that support some of UK’s most endangered species… what hope is there for nature🗳🐝❓✏️ change.org/p/save-the-green-…
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
More likely a hung parliament, given that pretty much everyone hates both Sunak and Starmer.
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
Animal agriculture. That's my tweet. Always the elephant in the room.
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
So kind of like how the EU legislated against important goods associated with deforested rainforests? Or the UK could contribute to the defensible and high quality REDD+ projects? Lots a govt can do, but its definitely a global effort challenge.
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
Agree, and the same is true here at home. I don't think this is a fault of Labour; across the environmental policy community, land based and corporate, a compelling narrative for net zero has emerged while nature has been left behind. Part of the problem, as you suggest, is treating them as separate issues. Net Zero can be treated as industrial policy and linked to green jobs etc, it's easy to grasp. Nature is too often associated with uncompromising zero-sum approaches to land management and so is labelled as "too hard" and forgotten. There is definitely a solution though, bringing the two back together, considering how to reframe the definition of "farmer" in a way that sustains our unique countryside yet realises new opportunities, and finding ways to incentivise investment in nature recovery.
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
96% of the mass of all mammals on Earth is made up of our bodies and the animals we eat. We account for 1/3 of the total. Our farmed animals - cows, pigs and sheep - make up over 60%. The remainder - all the wild mammals, from mice to elephants and whales - account for just 4%.
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
They will fail faster. Tories have chosen all the wrong energy solutions & it’s too late for Labour to turn it around. Car manufacturers are already calling time on electric car revolution.
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
Sure Zac - quick reminder you supported spending £200 billion on #hs2 which was designed to double airline capacity at 4 major airports! What part of your hypocrisy do you want to say sorry for? Airports or money better spent on renewables?
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
The Conservatives have had 14 years to tackle this problem, or “ Green crap” as Cameron called it.
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
I have a lot of disrespect for Zac Goldsmith, a posh boy dilatante who allowed himself (and allowed is doing some heavy lifting here) to be involved in a racist campaign when he stood for the Mayoralty. But, rather awkwardly, I can't disagree with a word of this.
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This is why we need more Green MPs. Whether in coalition or opposition, they would bring an ecological mindset that would hold a Labour government to account. @carla_denyer @AdrianRamsay @EllieChowns @sianberry #VoteGreen
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
Sounds like u are saying Net Zero is pointless. Exactly. It’s a pointless slogan. Focus ought to be on clean waters, protecting wildlife and eco systems. Also localised sustainability - fuel, food etc. If we were MORE industrial we would have a better impact on environment!!!
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
Congo and the Amazon are not in th U.K. so the only thing we can effect with those is through international partnerships. Isn’t it a shame we are no longer in the EU. The EU is big enough to have a loud voice on the world stage to influence the Amazon or Congo
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
Well said, Zac. Nature is key.
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There will be less jewish people in UK after the next election, I know that much, the party hasn’t really changed enough since corbyn. In fact the far less are still prevalent
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
So people are taking the Green alternative. Ticks both boxes.
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And what's your view on racism, @ZacGoldsmith ? The stuff you've written here is all true - but what are you doing about government corruption? Misuse of power to remove peoples' human rights? The way minsters & others lie all the time? You could be doing so very much more.
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What can a Labour government policy on the Congolese rainforest possibly accomplish???
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Would be good to stop NATO causing nuclear Armageddon/WW3 too
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More worrying is the dramatic heating of the oceans and the effect that may have on plankton which produce 70% of our oxygen. #ClimateEmergency
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The horrendous distraction of the last decade. Instead of focussing on the real drivers of climate change the vegan PR machine focussed attention on a cow methane myth and an anti sheep scam. They should be ashamed of themselves and the Welsh government even more so.
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
Yes, true, yet the party you support doesn’t even recognise climate crisis as a problem!
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Labours funding is totally flawed. They think they will screw the non doms the wealthy with taxes. Whoever heard of the wealthy paying tax? 😂
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Both Labour and Tories are the same. Labour needs to bring Corbyn back.
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
I think @LulaOficial is on the case
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But, as you would agree Zac, it's difficult for us to support any party colluding with genocide. Isn't it Zac?
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There is, and will be no money in the coffers. This government has virtually bankrupted the UK.
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Replying to @ZacGoldsmith
Vote Green
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Really not sure what Labour can do about the Congo, or the Amazon forest, or Indonesia.
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