In response to Alok Sharma’s statement to Parliament, setting out his four aims for the COP26 climate talks later this year, Nadia Whittome MP, Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Clive Lewis MP and I wanted to set out our four priorities ahead of the negotiations.

1. The process must be democratic. The climate crisis will affect everyone, and everyone deserves a voice in deciding how we respond. It has been left to the billionaires alone to deal with for far too long—environmental breakdown is a class issue which requires working class solutions.
2. Our approach must be transformative. Every moment we wait, and every additional 0.1°C rise, will cause millions more to suffer. In order to face up to the crisis at the scale needed, we need a rapid global decarbonisation plan.
3. Any outcomes must centre justice. Climate justice is indivisible from social and economic justice, and any plans to tackle the climate crisis must ensure that working class people, people of colour, and those in the global south—who are least responsible for causing the crisis—are not forced to bear the costs.
4. It must also be accountable. This Government’s track record on the climate is one of half hearted targets and broken promises. Any plan must ensure that plans are stuck to, and both the big polluters—and those who fail to take the action needed—face consequences.

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