Green Party pledges 100,000 green homes a year

The Green Party has set out plans to build 100,000 energy-efficient homes every year until 2030 at its general election campaign launch in Bristol today.

The new homes are a key plank of a £100 billion per annum plan by the Greens to achieve a carbon neutral Britain by the end of the next decade.

The Greens plan to finance the capital expenditure required to deliver the programme with £91.2 billion worth of borrowing per year.

A further £9 billion a year of operational spending will be met from tax changes, including increasing corporation tax to 24 per cent.

The Greens argue that with the cost of government borrowing at its lowest for decades, servicing the extra borrowing can be met by the surplus left over from tax changes and savings that will be detailed in the party’s upcoming manifesto.

At the launch, deputy leader Amelia Womack said her party’s plan will revolutionise transport infrastructure, rapidly roll out renewable energy in Britain and create hundreds of thousands of low-carbon jobs.

She said: “This could be our last chance to elect a parliament to keep us below dangerous warming.

“The climate doesn’t care about promises. The environment doesn’t care about pledges.

“What we need is action. And the Green Party has the single most ambitious and comprehensive plan to go carbon neutral by 2030 while delivering social justice across Britain.”

Sian Berry, co-leader of the Green Party, urged voters to make 12 December the “climate election” and ensure it goes down in history as the turning point in the fight for climate justice.

She said: “Let’s be honest about the situation we’re in. We know these are dark times. It’s easy to fear the future.

“The threat of Brexit hangs over our heads, the climate emergency rages from the Amazon to the Arctic, and our fragile democracy is under attack. But despite all this, Greens don’t fear the future. We welcome the future. Because we know that we stand at the threshold of what could be the most exciting and prosperous period of British history.”

The launch will take place in Bristol West, which is one of the Greens’ top target seats.

Bristol council was also the first local authority to declare a climate emergency in the UK after it approved a motion put forward by a Green councillor