Five climate wins we're calling for under this new government
The general election is over. We have a new government. Now we have five years to drive forward real climate action, and there isn’t a second to spare.
With people like you coming together to push our politicians to show real courage and conviction, we could make this parliament the climate parliament.
Here’s five things we could make happen with a new government:
Lift the ban on onshore wind.
Using onshore wind turbines to generate clean energy is cheap, popular, and a vital part of tackling climate change. But back in 2015, a group of MPs campaigned against it - and persuaded the government to introduce an effective ban on new onshore wind projects. This was a huge blow (see what we did there) for the climate movement - we were letting our blustery weather go to waste! So ever since then, we’ve been campaigning to bring back onshore wind. By simply lifting the blocks on onshore wind, this new government could cut carbon, bring down bills and strengthen the UK’s energy security.
2. Put Fixing Factories on high streets across the country.
Our pilot Fixing Factory in Camden, London, opened in Autumn 2022 as a way to trial a new solution to e-waste and throwaway culture. We train up local young people in repair, and provide a service where people can get their appliances fixed or drop off unwanted broken appliances so that they can be repaired and put back to good use. The Fixing Factory works - it’s cutting e-waste, helping with the cost-of-living, kickstarting a local repair economy, and revitalising the high street. We want to help people across the country set up Fixing Factories for their local communities, and a new government is our chance to make that happen.
3. Get essential workers in electric vehicles.
Many home care workers across the UK need their cars to carry out their vital work, with some clocking up over 1,000 miles a month driving from client to client. Yet, with their typical salary well below the national average, electric cars are well out of reach. Earlier this year we published a report making the case for a government-backed social leasing scheme that'll give care workers access to electric cars at a low cost. This new government should be the ones to introduce it.
4. Take real action on frequent flying.
In the UK a small group of relatively wealthy frequent flyers take most of the flights and are responsible for most of the harm to the climate from flying. Yet, right now, it doesn’t matter if you’re flying to visit your family for the first time in years, or taking your tenth holiday abroad of the year - you’ll pay the same tax for that flight. We think that’s unfair, so we’re calling for a frequent flyer levy (where the more someone flies in any given year, the more they pay). This could curb the excess emissions of this tiny minority while funding clean travel for the rest of us.
5. Reallocate road space.
Transport is the biggest source of UK emissions, and cars are the biggest contributor to transport emissions. It’s not just a problem on the carbon front either: our urban areas are shrouded with toxic air; the millions of hours we spend stuck in traffic jams taking its toll on our physical and mental health. At Possible, we are helping people to reimagine their streets, free from the harms of car dominance, and with new freedom to get around by walking, wheeling, cycling or public transport. We need to see this new government tackling car dependency, and creating streets that prioritise people and planet.
With a brand new government in place, we have a real opportunity to make all of this happen and more.
For every single day of this new Parliament, we’ll go on bringing communities together, campaigning for real change, and inspiring more people to join our movement for positive, practical climate solutions.