Excellent election year: What do candidates in the UK, US and Australia plan to do about climate?

The results of the European Union parliamentary elections have put an end to the conflict The greenest European Parliament in history. Over the past five years, the bloc has adopted one of the most ambitious climate strategies in the world. Green deal. now Green parties lost their seatsMoving from the fourth largest group to the sixth with 53 seats.

The majority parties that supported the Green Deal maintained their majority, which is to say It’s probably not going anywhere. But a victory for extremist parties from the left and right, which often oppose the plan, could mean a struggle to push through new measures to impose new sanctions. Achieving net zero energy goals.

The measures already adopted are defensible, but other new measures aim to significantly reduce emissions between now and 2040. It can cause disagreements. It is likely to be one of the major tests of this new Parliament when it is established.

Nor is the European Union the only place facing a backlash against green policies. In a major election year, approaches to climate policy around the world range from outright retreat to uncertainty and inattention to key issues.

Criticism and confusion over the British elections

In the United Kingdom, both Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his opponent, Labor Party leader Keir Starmer, criticized it Their approach to climate policy. Sunak benefited from the first TV debate before the general election on July 4 Which raises concerns about the cost of transitioning to net zero emissions.

He attacked initiatives to promote heat pumps and electric cars, as well as those aimed at increasing them Share of renewable energies in the UK. The Prime Minister claimed that these measures would cost each family “thousands of pounds.”

Many of Starmer’s plans revolve around energy plans, with an initial £8bn (€9.5bn) payment for a “British energy major”.

At the beginning of the year, the Labor Party retreated Who promised to allocate 28,000 millionPound or pound (33.2 billion euros) to combat climate change and surveys reveal this Half of voters do not know exactly where the Labor leader stands on the issue.

Results of a ‘Survation’ poll commissioned by Greenpeace revealed that half of voters were unsure Labour’s climate plans Less than a third of people believe they know what the party in government will do. Greenpeace asks Starmer to do so Be more clear about the policies you have planned, Claiming that Labor has a chance to win over voters who want action on climate change.

despite of Climate change is a major concern for voters In opinion polls, he does not appear to be high on the agenda of the main rivals in the UK general election.

Australian climate promises

This year there is also Elections in Australia. first Minister, Anthony AlbaneseHe announced that if he wins, the opposition Liberal Party It will hinder the country’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

In a newspaper interview, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton rejected plans – enshrined in law – to cut emissions 43% below 2005 levels by the end of the decade. He told The Weekend Australia newspaper that it “does not make sense to sign goals that have no prospect of being achieved.”

the Australian Climate Change Authority Last November, it expected a reduction of between 37% and 42%. But Albanese claimed the target was achievable, claiming Dutton was “moving away from climate action” and that abandoning the 2030 target would mean “Stay away from the Paris Agreement“.

The Liberal Party refuted this claim, saying that it was “fully” committed to the Paris Agreement and that it… It has a plan to reach the zero target in 2050. The Liberal Party has disputed the claim, saying it is “fully” committed to the Paris Agreement and has a plan to reach a net-zero emissions target by 2030.

Both the Albanian Labor Party and the Liberal Party They want more renewable energyBut the ways to achieve this vary. Labor wants more renewable energy, such as solar and wind, while the Liberal Party aims to deliver energy first Nuclear Energy From Australia.

Polarized presidential elections in the United States

It is likely that US presidential elections Events later this year show a more polarized approach to climate action.

President Joe Biden invested the historic figure of 300 thousand million dollars (280 thousand million euros) in Initiatives related to clean energy and climate across the Inflation reduction law. At the same time, he was criticized for his actions that boosted oil and gas production.

the Trump’s climate policy plans are not necessarily clearBut during his last term, The United States withdrew from the Paris Agreement. Biden moved to reinstate him just hours after he was sworn in as president in 2021.

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according to Brief carbon analysisa Trump wins In the presidential election in November it could cause A 4 billion ton increase in US emissions by 2030. This is equivalent to the emissions of the European Union and Japan combined, or the emissions of the 140 countries with the lowest emissions in the world.