What does Boris Johnson’s “New Deal” say about the Environment? - By Niamh Fuller.

Today (30th June 2020) Boris Johnson announced his “New Deal,” to lift Britain out of “the biggest recession in centuries,”[1]. The “New Deal,” outlines that spending will be focused on the NHS, schools and improving town centres. It has promised £1.5bn for hospital maintenance, £1bn for school rebuilds and £900m for “shovel ready,” local growth projects in England.

Among the many pledges, the deal promises to “build back greener,”. Among the plan’s commitments which will impact the environment are:

· £100m on roads

· £10m on rail in Manchester

· £900m for “shovel ready,” unspecified local growth projects

In addition to this Johnson has promised:

· 75,000 acres of trees to be planted

· £40m for local conservation projects creating 3,000 jobs and safeguarding 2,000 jobs

Despite the deal’s promise of a “greener,” build, it has been initially criticised for not doing enough for the environment[2]. Ed Matthews from Climate Coalition said, “there is very little announced today which will do anything to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon economy,”. Moreover, it has been highlighted that the plan as outlined does not boost energy efficiency through a national programme of home insulation for £9.2bn which was promised within The Conservative manifesto in 2019[3]. Tanya Steele from WWF commented the deal was “lukewarm,” as it has not met the hopes of a green recovery. These criticisms have also highlighted the delays on the National Infrastructure Strategy (NIS)[4]. The NIS which was to be announced in March 2020 is now to be announced in Autumn 2020 and is to outline economic provisions for major environmental issues such as, energy networks, road, rail, flood defences and waste.

Therefore the “New Deal,” of Boris Johnson while outlining how the UK is set to recover economically from the recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, has not received a warm welcome from environmentalists. The deals green aspects remain unclear and uncertain and have left some of those hoping for green economic recovery concerned and disheartened[5].

[1] Fiona Harvey, “Environmental experts dismayed by details of Johnsons ‘New Deal’”, (London, 30 June 2020), <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/30/environmental-experts-dismayed-by-details-of-johnsons-new-deal> accessed 30 June 2020 [2] Matt Mace, “Boris Johnson’s New Deal for Britain yet to align with green recovery” (Edie, 30 June 2020), <https://www.edie.net/news/11/Boris-Johnson-s-New-Deal-for-Britain-yet-to-align-with-green-recovery-calls/> [3] The Conservative Party, ‘Get Brexit Done Unleash Britain’s Potential, The Conservative and Unionist Party Manifesto 2019’, (2019). [4] Fiona Harvey n(1) [5] ibid