At the heart of the Green Party vision for our local communities, for the country as a whole and for the world, is a new green industrial revolution. We believe the historical contribution to science and engineering made by UK scientists and scientific institutions, including our world leading universities, and the accumulated scientific knowledge in the UK, makes this country well placed to lead this vision.
But without adequate public investment this opportunity will slip away, losing the potential to generate jobs, losing the potential for our young to develop all the level of skills that would serve these new technologies and losing the potential to generate wealth; wealth that could be used to influence research and investment priorities to deliver benefits for the common good.
We know that the development of renewable energy is in its infancy. We know that if the efficiency of solar energy was improved from its present ability to capture 20% of the sun’s power to being able to convert 50% of solar energy, the world’s energy crisis would be diminished. Add to this the potential improvements to tidal power and we can see the immeasurable contribution science could make in tackling the greatest challenge facing the world community. But without immediate investment, research and training, this potential will be delayed and the chance of halting run away climate disruption, and all the associated social, political and economic nightmares this will bring, lost.
In the constituency in which I am standing for election, South Dorset, we have two coastal towns with all the associated problems that come with an economy based on seasonal employment. At a series of workshops I have attended, the Weymouth Town Centre Masterplan, there was widespread agreement that much could be made of our marine heritage. Suggestions were made that the town would be superbly well placed to develop marine technologies working in partnership with our local college and universities in the South West. But the stumbling block was, of course, lack of funding.
If I were elected as an MP my priority would be to reinvigorate our the towns in South Dorset by pushing for this much needed investment in the STEM subjects in schools, including primary schools, and to campaign for investment to diversify the local economy by developing marine sciences. This would involve collaborating with other groups calling for more support for the science.
Investment in the STEM subjects at all levels, from schools to universities, underpins the chance of giving the next generation any hope of a secure, safe and sustainable future. Failure to tackle climate change will, no doubt, lead to mass migrations, food shortages widening global inequality and political instability.
Without proper understanding of the causes and consequences of climate disruption, the political will to act will not enable politicians to make the hard decisions that are already necessary. STEM subjects can deliver this.
And we owe it to our children to ensure research in new technologies, not just to satisfy our energy requirements but also to meet our needs for transport, food and housing requirements, are properly funded and funded for the right reasons – our common good and the good of the planet.
The dependency of our economy on the financial services sector at the expense of manufacturing, itself dependent on science and engineering, causes me to wonder what money is for these days. Vast sums are moved around each day, seemingly increasing in value just by being moved, without producing anything en route. Money that is not invested in projects that will benefit society is, to my mind, an unjustifiable misuse of this essential means of production.
Investing in a new green industrial revolution would be an excellent way to start the reversal of this worrying trend.
Jane Burnet, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate, South Dorset
