Green plan to defy recession
Published: 1 Dec 2008
Euro-candidate and green economist launches Green New Deal in Stroud.
'Come out of the recession healthier, wealthier and a lot more green' was the title of a panel talk last Thursday. The Stroud launch of the 'Green New Deal' on Thursday boasted speakers with a wealth of economic expertise at their fingertips and was attended by nearly 200 people. The panel discussed how green economics offers a solution to the triple crunch of financial meltdown, climate change, and oil depletion.
Lead speaker Colin Hines, co-director of Finance for the Future and a former head of Greenpeace Economics Unit, is the originator of the Green New Deal concept. He called for the increase in public expenditure to be spent funding hundreds of thousands of green collar jobs in a 'carbon army' that will be trained to make every building in the UK energy efficient and increase the use of renewables.
"Investment in this 'Green New Deal' will create jobs all over the country", said Colin, "whereas tax cuts will have fewer benefits as people are likely to increase immediate spending largely on imported goods."
Green Party candidate for the European elections and panel member, Molly Scott Cato, said: "A green economy would respect the planet that is the source of all value rather than raiding it like a treasure chest. A stable money system—rather than one based on debt—would help create a stable economy.
"It's time to put to rest once and for all the false option of choosing between economic success and environmental sustainability. We must engineer the green economy of the future to compensate for the collapse of a discredited economic model dependent on credit binges, gravity defying house prices and increasing consumption. In short it's time for the Green New Deal."
The Green New Deal report was co-authored by lead speaker Colin Hines with a panel including Caroline Lucas, Green Party Leader and MEP, Richard Murphy, Co-Director of Finance for the Future, Jeremy Leggett of SolarCentury, Guardian Economic Editor Larry Elliot, and former Friends of the Earth chief Tony Juniper.
The other speakers were Dr Simon Pickering from Ecotricity and Councillor Martin Whiteside, International Development Worker and Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Stroud. The panel speeches were followed by debate and questions from the floor.
