Labour’s new climate change minister has demanded a ban on fracking.
Danielle Rowley, who has been appointed as shadow climate justice and green jobs minister, also wants to see more onshore wind turbines and free bus travel for under-25s.
The Midlothian MP plans to meet climate change activists, including the climate school strikers, to formulate Labour policy.
READ MORE: Labour's Rowley accuses Whitehall of 'callous and indefensible' policy over Universal Credit helpline
Students take part in the Scottish Youth Climate Strike, in Holyrood, Edinburgh, to demand urgent action to tackle climate change. (PA/Jane Barlow)
She said: “As a campaigner I’m really excited that I’ll be working more closely with the climate movement, including the inspiring youth climate strikers, to urgently move the issue forward.
“Since Parliament declared a climate emergency and adopted the 2050 net zero target, the Government has not introduced a single practical measure that will help the UK to lower its emissions.
“As a priority, I will be using my position to push them to immediately ban fracking, stop blocking onshore wind and extend free bus travel to under-25s.
“We need to kickstart a Green Industrial Revolution in the UK informed by diverse voices both within and outside of the climate movement.”
READ MORE: Daughter of Scottish Labour boss to run pro-Corbyn candidate campaign
Ms Rowley will spend her first day in her new role discussing solar energy at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute in Midlothian, and with the climate school strikers at Holyrood.
As a first priority, she will demand action to lower carbon emissions so the Government can hit its new 2050 net zero target.
According to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the UK is still off track to meet its near-term targets in the 2020s and 2030s, despite Parliament declaring a climate emergency in May.
Despite the CCC saying the use of gas in the UK must sharply decline, Ms Rowley said the Government continues to back new fracking sites, which “will lock the UK into fossil fuels long after 2030”.
READ MORE: Erin from Glasgow does a Greta Thunberg on Tory hopefuls
Ms Rowley will also focus on decarbonisation and the creation of high-skilled, unionised and UK-based jobs in the green energy sector.
The Labour MP claimed the Tories have “effectively banned a renewable energy source from replacing existing reliance on fossil fuels” by introducing barriers to onshore wind and blocking subsidies.
She added free bus travel would also reduce carbon emissions and generate lifelong use of public transport for young people.
Jeremy Corbyn said on Twitter: "I'm pleased to announce @DaniRowley as Labour's first Shadow Minister for Climate Justice and Green Jobs.
"Danielle will work closely with activists, including the youth strikers, to force the government to tackle the climate emergency."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel