[Green Mail] Labour's failure on job-creation

Despite Labour's promise to "put the environment at the heart of the government," it has repeatedly failed to take the steps necessary to tackle climate change and create "green collar" jobs, says Caroline Lucas in today's Guardian.

In a searing analysis in The Guardian's Comment is Free pages, Green Party leader Dr Caroline Lucas MEP details Labour's broken promises on the environment, and how the failure to drive the new eco-industries forward is costing Britain huge numbers of jobs.

In particular Lucas criticises Gordon Brown's current stimulus package - billed as a "green new deal" but demonstrably poor in both environmental and job-creation terms.

"We're looking at far too few jobs, far too late," she says, "and the government's proposed emissions reductions won't happen in time to meet meaningful targets either."

Dr Lucas points out that:

* Only 0.6% of Brown's £20 billion recovery plan is being spent on green measures.
* Brown's "green' new deal earmarked more money for high-carbon than for low-carbon projects, setting aside £2.3 billion for the car industry and just £100 million worth of green stimulus.
* Despite a commitment to boost renewables, Britain's only wind turbine factory is closing down due to a lack of investment.
* The government's proposed jobs in nuclear and coal power won't be delivered for 10-15 years, whereas renewables create several times as many jobs per megawatt than either nuclear or coal, and in a much shorter time scale.
* After 12 years of labour rule Britain still has the highest rail fairs in Europe.
* Not only is Labour expanding major airports. It has also given tax breaks possibly worth as much as £100 billion during the first decade of this century to the aviation industry - money that could have been invested in improving public transport.

Caroline Lucas draws attention to the continuity between Conservative and Labour governments on issues where the social, economic and environmental agendas strongly overlap. "Labour have followed Thatcherite transport policy to the letter. They've persevered with the Tory policy of de-regulated buses and privatised railways leaving Britain with the highest rail fares in Europe," she says.

"When it comes to a Green New Deal, there's still only one real deal. If the policies in the Green Party's 2009 manifesto were implemented we'd slash CO2 emissions while creating more than a million UK jobs within 2-3 years. If Labour really was green, that's what Labour would be doing."