Almost five years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers sent shockwaves around the global financial system, the Green New Deal Group, whose groundbreaking ideas were taken up around the world in 2008, publish a ‘National Plan for the UK’ that would shift the nation from the politics of austerity and rapidly-growing inequality to the age of the ‘Green New Deal’.

Building on their original proposals, the Green New Deal Group’s plan outlined in their report A National Plan for the UK: From Austerity to the Green New Deal, is designed to fundamentally transform a still-broken financial system and reduce the deficit, while transforming the UK’s aging infrastructure to meet a range of environmental and social challenges.

The Green New Deal Group – which includes the Green MP, Dr Caroline Lucas, tax-expert Richard Murphy, Economist and Debt Campaigner Ann Pettifor, Oil-expert Jeremy Leggett, and Economist and Environmentalist, Andrew Simms – argue that unless this ‘Green New Deal’ is implemented, any hopes of sustainable economic recovery, or meeting pressing environmental challenges, are doomed to fail.

“The Green New Deal represents an economic detox diet to correct the consequences of the worst current financial, work place and environmental abuses.” says Green New Deal Group member Andrew Simms.

“It is crucial that government replaces destructive austerity policies that have created a low-investment, low-wage, heavily indebted, unbalanced ‘Alice in Wongaland economy’ with massive investment in a Green New Deal. Central to this must be the creation of real jobs that pay a living wage, helping to transform every corner of the UK while overcoming the present lack of sustainable and adequate effective demand in the economy. This could be financed, in part, by a form of ‘Green QE’: with government co-operating with the Bank of England via its money market operations, to create financial products at very low rates of interest to fund green infrastructure investment. This investment would, thanks to the multiplier, pay for itself.” says Green New Deal Group member, Ann Pettifor.

“A crackdown on tax dodging which we believe stands at £95 billion a year could fund the Green New Deal. A significant part of this could easily be recovered if H M Revenue & Customs had enough staff, and were backed by stronger laws. Further tens of billions could come from a programme of ‘Green’ Quantitative Easing to fund infrastructure and create jobs across the country” says tax expert and Green New Deal Group member, Richard Murphy

The Green New Deal plan calls initially for a £50 billion-a-year programme to boost real economic activity in a way which provides quality jobs on a living wage in every community in the UK, while reducing the UK’s overall ecological impact. To begin with, this involves:

• Putting in place a nationwide project to make every      building in the country energy efficient and building hundreds of      thousands of new, affordable, sustainably-sited, energy-efficient homes, creating jobs, affordable homes where they are needed most and      reducing fuel poverty.
• Realising the huge job creation potential in renewable      energy – according to the Centre for Alternative      Technology, the job creation potential of a zero carbon economy could be      as high as 1.5 million new jobs spread across the country, covering a      range of skills and sectors of the economy - more than enough to provide quality employment for every person      in the UK currently employed on a zero-hour contract.
• Cancelling HS2, making low-carbon travel a reality: government should replace discredited plans for a HS2 rail link      with a programme of improvements to the existing network particularly at      pinch points, and the creation of new urban cycle networks in every town      and city in the UK.
• Reducing waste and the transforming raw material use: investment in resource recovery and waste treatment could create up      to 84,000 new jobs according to resource management company, SITA.

“There is huge, and as yet untapped, potential in renewable energy, energy and resource-use efficiency and the transformation of our transport system that would create high-quality jobs across the country and reduce the UK’s overall ecological impact. If we are serious about staying below 2C warming, as we have legal obligations to do, then to invest in a destructive Dash for Gas when there is a Green New Deal on the table borders on criminal negligence by my parliamentary colleagues” says Caroline Lucas MP.

And, the Group say: the resources can be found for the Green New Deal. The investment needed to implement the plan is not only readily available, but a carefully targeted programme would also help to reduce the UK’s budget deficit, according to the Group’s analysis. The programme would be funded by a range of measures, ending some of the worst financial abuses:

• Tackling tax evasion and avoidance; £70 billion in tax      evasion and £25 billion in tax avoidance can and must be drastically      reduced. This can be done by: increasing obligations on      individuals and companies to prove tax paid is tax owed, measures like      automatic information exchange agreements with tax havens, and employing      enough tax inspectors.
• Controls to ensure that banks that were bailed out by      the taxpayer also invest in the Green New Deal at low, sustainable rates      of interest. The terms and conditions of finance from the      bailed out banks should include investing in sustainable productive      activity including the Green New Deal. This is a fundamental quid pro quo      for the taxpayer guarantees and low interest rates that have enabled the      banks to survive.
• A form of ‘Green Quantitative Easing’ channeled      directly into the transformation of the UK’s energy, housing and transport      infrastructure – providing quality employment,      revitalising the economy and reducing fuel poverty. This would be very      different from any previous round of QE which have benefited the finance      sector and speculators, not the productive economy.
• Buying out costly PFI schemes using Green QE, and then using the money that would otherwise have been spent on      interest payments to fund the Green New Deal.
• Encouragement for pension funds and other institutional      investors to support the Green New Deal: these      will be vital for longer term investments in areas like energy efficiency      and building new low-carbon homes, earning a constant income stream and      providing secure returns for pensioners and increase intergenerational      solidarity.

As broad-based economic activity and a sense of purpose returned, government would see revenues rise as the tax take increased, balancing the government budget without punishing the poorest. More than that, the Green New Deal would fundamentally transform the economy for good.

View the full report.