Campaigning on the environment

 

In the last fourteen years, as the consequences of our changing climate and nature loss have become more apparent, conservatives have delivered numerous ambitious environmental policies. The landmark Environment Act, signing net zero into law — making the UK the first major economy to do so — and creating the Blue Belt of marine protected areas in our overseas territories are amongst the most significant. But the centre-right's commitment to the environment stretches back even further: from the introduction of the 1956 Clean Air Act and the creation of the Department for Environment in 1970, to Margaret Thatcher’s seminal speech to the United Nations in 1989 about climate change and John Major’s signing of the first UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

 

Throughout our movement's history, conservatives have made the environment a priority, because many centre-right values, such as stewardship, intergenerational responsibility, pride of place, and pursuit of prosperity and opportunity, align naturally with the case for conservation.

 

This is your guide to environmental leadership as a councillor, including the conservative case for protecting the environment, how environmental action can lower the cost of living, and environmental policy ideas.

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