Labour Conference Set To Water Down Radical ‘Green New Deal’ Climate Plan

Radical plans to commit Labour to cutting UK greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2030 are expected to be watered down at the party’s annual conference, HuffPost UK can reveal.

Jeremy Corbyn will make tackling global warming a centrepiece of the gathering in Brighton, with a whole day devoted for the first time to the issue of the climate emergency.

But Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell are also determined to draft a credible policy that balances jobs in poor communities with the need to take more urgent action than the Tories and other parties have promised, insiders said.

The party leadership is expected to adopt key elements of a ‘Green New Deal’, while dropping what are seen as the more unworkable targets in motions drafted by some party activists.

Backed by grassroots group Momentum, 128 constituency Labour parties (CLPs) have submitted motions on climate change – more even than Brexit – with many demanding a move to slash emissions to zero, as opposed to ‘net zero’.

They also want the new target set for 2030 rather than the government’s current 2050 deadline.

However, the leadership is expected to follow the lead of the TUC, which has warned that for workers in heavy industries the fight against climate change should be “something that is done with them, not something done to them”.

There are also fears that some backers of the new targets have failed to spot the election pitfalls of effectively telling families they face bans on holiday flights or car driving.

McDonnell, who is keen for Labour to have the most radical green policies of any mainstream party, has been advised that a 2030 target is not realistic. The idea of a ‘zero’ rather than ‘net zero’ target is also unlikely to be approved.

During the complex process at conference known as ‘compositing’ this weekend, a compromise position is expected to be agreed that commits to accelerating faster than the Tories’ 2050 net zero target but the exact timetable will be left for further policy work.

The party leadership’s focus will be on the new breed of unionised ‘green jobs’ and the role nationalisation can play in greening the economy.

Trade unions like Unite, which will have a key role in the drafting, have been among the loudest voices supporting climate change protests and even worker stoppages.

But they also insist that Labour’s policy has to be workable. “It’s about being realistic,” one union source said. “Our concern will be not to shackle the party to something that can’t be delivered. On this massive issue, we need to be credible.”