Coventry Green Party’s Manifesto for the local elections on 5 May 2022 includes the following climate-related items. For the full manifesto, see here.

Green New Deal

To tackle the Climate Emergency and deliver social justice, as part of the Green Party of England & Wales, Coventry Green Party supports a Green New Deal. New green homes, new green transport and new green jobs will get us on track to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions to ‘net zero’ by 2030 and provide new opportunities for everyone to live happier and more secure lives.

Energy

Coventry Green Party acknowledges that the continued use of fossil fuels is time limited. Increasing energy prices are driving many local residents into fuel poverty.  It is essential that we reduce energy demands and move to renewable energy to power all sectors, whether domestic, commercial or manufacturing.

If elected Coventry Green Party councillors would call for Coventry City Council to:

• Lead the way in moving all of its own offices, vehicles and services onto renewable energy sources.
• Divest investments into fossil fuel companies while investing in green alternative energy sources;
• Petition for funding for small businesses to make the switch easily;
• Petition the UK government for grants so residents can retrofit their houses switching to renewable energy sources to power and heat their homes.

Housing

Coventry Green Party believes that Coventry residents deserve to live in warm, adequately ventilated, energy efficient homes, with easy access to local amenities such as green spaces, schools, doctor surgeries, bus routes and shops.

If elected Coventry Green Party councillors would:

• Promote better insulation and encourage energy efficient heating for all homes which need it, and prioritise the building of energy efficient council homes;
• Encourage the Council to improve communication with Coventry residents so they are aware and able to take advantage of any government initiatives to retrofit insulation to older housing stock;
• Prioritise building on brownfield sites over green field, in order to guard arable land for the future, and to restrict the loss of more green spaces;
• Demand that all new housing and commercial constructions use sustainable materials where feasible, are carbon neutral, and are designed from the outset with energy efficiency in mind, including full insulation, solar panels and heat pumps;
• Insist that any new housing development include provision for adequate green spaces with wheelchair or pushchair access, take into account school places, footpath, road and cycle infrastructure, near public transport links, and available medical facilities.

Transport

Coventry Green Party appreciates that Coventry residents need to be able to travel around the city and we will advocate for a sustainable local transport revolution. We want people to be able to have viable options to enable them to travel cheaply, safely and conveniently on trains, buses, cycles and by foot, thus reducing both pollution and also wear and tear on our roads.

If elected Coventry Green Party councillors would:

• Demand the development of an Active Travel strategy with a focus on walking, cycling and public transport; and take action to enable more local journeys to be made on foot, ensuring safe pedestrian access to all local facilities;
• Push through a policy of swift repairs to existing walkways and dropped curbs on all junctions, to make it easier and safer for pedestrians and wheelchair users to get across Coventry;
• Work to transform Coventry into a ‘Cycle City’ to rival Amsterdam or Copenhagen; call for more cycle paths, separated from motor traffic and with more consultation to ensure a joined up network that goes where people want to go; and encourage city planners to add more cycle parking especially for larger cycles;
• Push for much greater consultation on bus routes, and investigate ways to make it easier and more affordable for families to use public transport. For example, the creation of a frequent shuttle bus service between Coventry rail station and Coventry bus station;
• Work hard with local planners to keep reducing congestion and air pollution near the city centre, moving freight routes away from the centre of Coventry.

Nature and the Environment

This pandemic has proved to Coventry residents how important nature and access to green spaces is to both our physical and mental wellbeing. Coventry Green Party say it is essential to provide space for everyone to reflect, to connect with the world, to exercise and be able to meet our friends while enjoying fresh, clean air.

If elected Coventry Green Party councillors would:

• Continue to fight to protect from inappropriate development all our green spaces whether in the city centre or in the suburbs;
• Work with local residents, landowners and community groups like the Coventry Tree Wardens Network, identifying appropriate sites where trees could be planted, planning and enabling tree-planting projects, ensuring the trees we already have are cared for and benefit future generations;
• Draw up a strategy to ensure that Coventry’s parks are maintained and protected for the benefit of both people and wildlife, and make it easier for everyone to enjoy a walk in nature;
• Call for Coventry City Council rangers to work with community groups to seed more wildflower meadows and to add managed wildlife areas to parks;
• Develop a plan to provide all Coventry citizens with a better network of paths and cycleways and access points that are, wide enough to allow Coventry residents to enjoy these spaces safely including residents with disabilities;
• Challenge the City Council Rangers to work with local residents and community groups, to create additional pockets of green space throughout the city, to promote biodiversity and help all Coventry residents access the health benefits of interacting with nature.

Other Climate-Related Items

If elected Coventry Green Party councillors would:

• Ask all schools across the city to establish: walking-bus arrangements to support pupils with walking safely to school; safe cycling routes to and from school; adequate secure on-site bicycle parking; and a programme of encouraging more of their pupils to cycle to school;
• Work with Coventry schools to establish pupil-led nature groups, with the aim of managing school grounds for the benefit of both people and nature, thus improving their knowledge of and appreciation of our natural world;
• Investigate how to provide a school-based/owned allotment for every school, where pupils will learn about growing their own food, and provide opportunities for pupils to learn how to cook with seasonal fresh produce;
• Work with community groups to provide an education programme that could be delivered to schools, to encourage children to take responsibility for their own litter, with the aim of reducing the amount of rubbish discarded onto our streets.
• Work to encourage employers to recruit and train local residents in new green jobs.
• Encourage employers to offer solutions to enable employees to work from home where it is possible to do so.
• Call for improved internet provision to all Coventry residents to be subsidised by the government.
• Call for employers to enable their employees to travel to their place of work either by bicycle, on foot, or by public transport;
• Call for support of small businesses or social enterprises which are willing to repair, recycle and repurpose domestic white goods and electrical products, since Coventry Green Party will support the consumer’s right to repair;
• Work with local farmers and food producers to make more connections with local markets for their produce, reducing transport time and costs, and encourage healthy and sustainable food and farming systems.
• Work with local businesses to develop a strategy to reduce plastic waste and waste in general;
• Demand more and accessible recycling facilities, and reinstate public street bins for common recycled items;
• Challenge the council to introduce services to handle difficult to recycle items;
• Prioritise getting more street cleaners working on our city streets;
• Encourage relevant council departments to work with volunteer community groups who already do a fantastic job of keeping streets and green spaces clear of litter.