Rebuilding the environmental consensus: Speech from Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party

Thank you very much. It's a a pleasure to be here. It's actually been two months nearly to the day uh that I've been elected leader of the Green Party and it's been a busy two months. Um I really want to start actually by reflecting on one of the dynamics I've really noticed in those two months particularly with the media because I think it speaks to everything I want to talk to you about for the next 10-15 minutes. And that's a question I get a lot whether it's about the environment or whether it's about immigration or various other policies where a journalist says to me look at X data the focus groups of the polling your position isn't that popular so surely you're going to change your position now the first thing I'd say is we know that climate action is popular and I'll get to that in a moment but let's suppose it wasn't.

Suppose we were totally losing the argument and there was still an huge amount of work to do. It's not my job as a political leader or your job as NOS's or charities to just go to where the public are and go, "Oh, okay. That's what we're doing." Then it's our job to win hearts and minds. It's our job to win the argument. It's our job to present data and the story to change those hearts and mind.

And those two combinations are really important. If you tell the story without the data, well, you're just lying to people. It's just an anecdote at best or it's a myth. And we certainly don't need any more myths in politics. But far too often, I think in the past, talking very broadly, we've uh produced the data, but we've not told the story.

And we know that if people have emotional reactions to things and politicians or comms advisers or whoever it is comes along and says, "No, no, you're wrong and here's the data why," you can actually just entrench the position that the person was in in the first place. And so it's really struck me as I've been going around the country and largely again speaking for members of the public, but particularly with journalists, it's really affirmed to me what all of our role is. It's not to tell people they're wrong, but it's not to go where they are either and then just blindly follow. The job is to set out your stall to make sure we're reclaiming that story and reclaiming the story of climate action because there's a lot of anger out there at the moment. And you know what?

People are right to be angry. Their bills are going up, the cost of living is being squeezed. We had decades of Tory austerity and now I would argue we've had a year or two of labor austerity that has been no better when we look at the economy. But underneath that anger once we've connected with it actually lies love. Love for kids, love for green spaces, love for our country.

Now, if we move straight to hope and love, it just seems out of touch. It seems like the cliche that people often have of the wider green movement that we don't quite get the needs of everyday people. And so it's really important we don't miss the anger. We've got to connect with that anger. But then we've got to turn it to tangible solutions.

And we know what those solutions are. We have governments, successive governments. They're giving huge subsidies to the fossil fuel companies. They're giving huge subsidies and tax breaks to some of the wealthiest people in the country and in the world. And far too often we don't have the concept of a polluter pays.

So what to do my friends? You all know it's not rocket science. It's not some natural order that inequality is so deep in our country. It's the result of political choices and political decisions. And the good news is we can make different political decisions.

And when communities come together and they realize their own agency, their own power, yes, of course, as a leader of a political party, we've just been hearing from Pipper and other MPs today. That part of it is really important. I'm not dismissing the role of politics. It would be wild to do that. But at the same time, I'm certainly not dismissing the role of communities.

the role that happens when people stop being hopeful or inspired by a politician and realize that the hope they're feeling is their own power, their own agency in their community to make a change. And as I've been going around the country every time and it's been very lovely to hear lots of people saying they're feeling hopeful for the first time or they're feeling inspired, I've made it my job to get back as quickly as possible to what are you going to do about it? How are you going to organize? Now, some people don't have the power or privilege to organize, and I get that they're in a different category. But for pretty much most of us, what can we do?

What small thing can we change? Can we do? Who can we lobby? Who can we organize with? And when people feel that hope, I really believe that hope is unstoppable.

So, that's the first dynamic I've noticed. I want to come to a second dynamic I've noticed in the two months. By the way, I was being kind when I stood up. Two months is just a little longer than Liz Truss and lettuce. I I'm feeling I'm feeling like I'm achieving stuff already.

The second thing I've noticed though, and it's been quite prevalent, is um about a year ago, I went uh for a debate on a major news organization, who I won't diss now because I'm learning to diss journalists less because they might ask me questions shortly. But uh the three MPs on the panel who I was on with all got sensible taxation questions. The question I got is, "Isn't it a bit middle class to be vegan?" Now, first of all, in terms of my own credential, I'm vegan, so I was clocked right. I also don't fly. I don't drive.

I don't uh eat meat. I've just said that. I do all the things that a climate activist should. But none of these are really the point. I do these things because I have the power and privilege to make these choices.

I also know though, you cannot be an environmentalist without recognizing the inequality that's deep in our society. And the inequality is not the fault of working-class communities. It's not the fault of workers who are working alongside their trade union representation for better pay, better working conditions. It's not the fault of a small business owner whose energy bills are skyrocketing and are just trying to get through. The fault of inequality is businesses and polluters and governments, successive governments of all colors who have allowed them to get away with it.

And it's so important that we shift this dial away from individual responsibility. And of course, again, as I say, where we can take individual responsibility, let's take it. I'm all for that. But let's also make sure we never take away from our sites the big fossil fuel companies. And I don't need to tell this room, I'm sure you know that in the 60s and 70s, Shell, BP, they knew exactly what they were doing.

They had the science. They saw the science and they knew the effects it was having. And when we talk about anger, I think about Hurricane Melissa just last week in Jamaica, which someone said should be renamed Hurricane Shell. We should start naming these hurricanes after the people that caused them. And so often it gets classed as a natural disaster.

But we know that it was the sea, the heat above the sea from decades of fossil fuel emissions that doubled, tripled the effects of that hurricane. There's nothing natural about that. That is the consequences of fossil fuels. And so when you know that the fossil fuel industries knew that and what did they do? Did they stop their their practices?

No. They came up with this idea of carbon footprint. They decided that if they divided us all and confused us all into pointing fingers at each other and saying it's your responsibility to reduce your emissions. We would take our eye off the ball and the eye on the ball has to be the polluters, the fossil fuel companies. So, let's talk about what's happening about it because I think the number one thing I want to say today is this is urgent.

We don't have time to mess around. And the reason why I told my vegan middle class story is because I now get accused of the opposite. People say, "Do you ever talk about the environment?" Well, first of all, I'd say if anyone watches lots of my interviews, I've just met a lovely person in the audience who watches my podcast Bold Politics streamed on all good platforms. Um, I I don't think an episode goes by where the climate of the environment is not featured, but it's featured, I hope you don't mind me quoting you here, in an accessible, relatable way. I'm not coming with the data or presenting a spreadsheet.

I'm having everyday conversations about inequality, about workers rights, with the environment, with nature, with climate intertwined in them. Because, as I said, if we don't tell a story, if we're not relatable, we miss people. But we've got to tell these stories quickly, guys. We do not have time to waste. Just last week, the UN Secretary General basically said, "We are going to overshoot our climate targets from the Paris agreement.

There was barely a headline about it, hardly being talked about outside of our circles. We know this is the crucial decade for climate action." And as I said that line, my internal dialogue said, "That's not true. The last decade was the crucial decade. The decade before that was even more crucial. We are past the point where it is crucial, but there's no point in me relitigating history or pointing fingers at who's to blame.

The point is to go, how do we rebuild climate consensus now? Because we need to act fast. We need to reduce our emissions. We need to invest in climate adaptation. We need to make sure that we're protecting nature.

Yes, the arguments often get made for the mental health of people, for wildlife, for species, and all those arguments are important. But if nature collapses, everything else I say on this podium today, anything else that anyone said today does not matter. If nature collapses, it is over. And that is why it is so important that we campaign and we fight for the rights of nature, the rights of rivers, to make sure, yes, again, for human mental health, for species and wildlife, but actually for our planet's capacity to survive, we absolutely have to protect nature. And these are the stakes we're dealing with.

And I think sometimes politicians step away from those stakes either if I say it for the best reasons because they're worried that they'll paralyze people with fear and for the worst reasons because of vested interests. It's our job, not just as politicians, but anyone in this room who knows the truth. Anytime you're at a microphone with a friend, a colleague, or a stranger, it's our responsibility to tell the truth. Not in a way that uh paralyzes people into fear, but so people can understand. You can look them in the eyes and they can know how urgent this is.

We cannot mess this up. We need to move fast. Now, of course, this would be hard enough. It would be hard enough if we could just present evidence and in a democracy, the right people would get elected. They would make the right decisions and everything would be sorted.

But we know there are powerful vested interests in this country. There have been powerful vested interests for a long time, not just for fossil fuel companies, but it almost is insidious in almost every aspect of our society. And so when I talk about building political consensus, it becomes a difficult conversation to have. Look, I'm elected to the London Assembly. I've chaired the environment committee for the last few years.

The beautiful thing about the London Assembly is it works on proportional representation. So my regular daily existence as a politician is to sit with other politicians from other parties that I largely disagree with often and work to build consensus. I know how powerful consensus is. I also know how powerful proportional representation is. Story for another day.

But we need to build consensus. It's very, very difficult though when we've got the Reform Party, when we've got Nigel Farage, who I'm not going to pull any punches, is an absolute charlatan, a man who says he's a man of the people, but he's a man of the wealthy people. Since 2019 to 2024, 95% of their donations came from oil and gas companies, from climate denying companies. And when recently I was on TV with Gane Tala, who's the head of communications or former head of communications, I pointed this out and Sky just didn't quite Sorry, I shouldn't name a broadcaster. Someone didn't quite know what to deal with the fact that I was bringing up this data.

And I said to the presenter, you should fact check this now because how dare this man come on TV and deny the climate climate science and you don't roll a ticker at the bottom of the screen that says who's paying him to say this. I love that old George Carlin quote that politicians should wear those kind of sweatshirts like racing car drivers that says who's sponsoring them. Where the hope is this where the hope is in this though is we know the public want climate action and not just the public but a smaller subsection of people who are thinking of voting reform also want climate action and the number one thing they dislike is when reform are exposed and when we point out the links between the climate denying companies and reform. Then we've also got Chem Badenok, someone who says that cheap energy is a measure of success. I agree.

Let's have free energy. Fill your boots, Kem. It's really, really important that we point out that North North Sea oil and gas is not good for jobs. In fact, jobs have been hinging there for a long time. And actually, even if it was good for jobs, we know that's just kicking the can down the road.

We have extracted so much of the oil and gas from the North Sea that Rosebank is completely unconscionable. This would be the cumulative emissions of 28 of the poorest income countries all combined together. And it is outrageous that that conversation is even on the table which leads me to the final thing which is our Labor government. And of course it's the complex conversation because I could list lots of things that I'm sure Labor MPs will always list. I am pleased that they have lifted the de facto ban on offshore wind.

I'm pleased that we're seeing more solar panels on new builds. I'm pleased that we're extending the national grid and we're increasing our capacity. But all of these things are meaningless. And I mean that word meaningless. If you are going to expand airports, if you are going to open up Rosebank, if you are going to allow fossil fuel money to keep infiltrating our government and our politics, all of that money, billions of pounds given for tax break loops on fossil fuels.

And then they have the audacity when I talk about Rosebank to say we need these jobs and we need a just transition. Of course, we need a just transition. So, how about we stop subsidizing fossil fuel companies and use that money to train people to create those new jobs of the future? The fruit is so lowhanging. And this is what does make me angry about the present situation.

Because if I looked at the government and saw them making decisions and thought they're not making the right decisions because of technology, and we can talk about the nonsense about carbon capture and technology and sustainable aviation fuel another day. That's another talk. But we know the gap is not technology. We don't need to create new magic technologies. We know exactly what we need to do.

I would have a bit more sympathy if I thought the problem was cowardice. I wouldn't have a lot of sympathy, but I go, actually, there's an argument to get out there, tell the story, and win people over. Exactly how I started this talk. But actually, I don't think the problem is cowardice. I think the problem is chaining yourself to an economic system that is so fundamentally broken.

an economic system that exploits and extracts both our fossil fuels and some of the poorest communities both in this country and around the world. So when we talk about political consensus, it's also important to be a critical friend to tell the truth and what we need is bold leadership. Now if this had been a year ago, I would have accepted the argument that maybe, just maybe, with Ed Milliband and this government, we're going to go somewhere with bold leadership. I probably would have argued with you, but I would have had a a bit of sympathy for it. I might have even understood the argument that sometimes you don't want to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

I think we're way past that point. You don't get marks or points just for being good. You don't get a gold star for doing the basics or even just under the necessary. We are at this urgent moment in our history where the only thing that is acceptable is what is required. And what is required is to reduce our emissions, to invest in climate adaptation, to protect nature in one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, and to make sure that we're reinvigorating communities with the truth and putting them in charge.

So the final thing I want to say because it all got a bit grim and despairing then as I talked about the Labor government, it wasn't a coincidence, is what is the biggest tool we have? It's our shared humanity. Because I could make arguments, and I'm happy to make arguments for why tackling the cost of living crisis is the same solutions to tackling the climate crisis, why it's so vital when we get to this budget that we make sure that we're cutting bills, lowering bills, and we're taxing billionaires. All of that is important. But there's an implication in all of that.

That this is all transactional, that the only thing people care about is money in their pockets. And I get it. If you're struggling and you're trying to get by to survive, that probably is the only thing you care about. But for so many people, they care about the future of this planet. They care about clean air.

They care about green spaces. They care about the fact that when people go to work, they have a shared sense of purpose where it feels meaningful and they know they are contributing something to society. When the pandemic hit, what was the first thing lots of people did? After they knew they were safe, they set up mutual aid groups. They got onto that front foot.

And that was because of all of my criticisms of Boris Johnson, and that's a two-hour lecture. One thing he did do in that moment was make sure that people knew there was a crisis. Well, everyone other than the Tory party were partying. But the country knew there was a crisis. And there was this moment where it was almost like a war footing.

We saw this with Atly. We saw it with the NHS as a response to World War I. We need that right now. We're in a crisis. I can't even label all the crises.

A climate crisis, an inequality crisis, an air pollution crisis, a nationalistic crisis about who we are as a country. All of these problems are all interlin. And they all come back down to community and our shared humanity. And I really believe that's how we'll change our towns, our cities, our country. It's how we can do our bit for the world.

Thank you very much.