Influential business leaders from green sector back Lib Dems in Thursday’s General Election in a letter to ‘The Steeple Times’
Sir
The environment has been shut out of this election.
Economic growth has provided the world with abundant food, medicine, energy and raw materials. However, unmanaged it is destroying the ecosystem, wiping out fauna, flora, forests and seas. An ecological meltdown will cause economic ruin, political turmoil and threaten the very existence of human civilisation.
Air pollution causes 40,000 premature deaths in the UK each year. With greenhouse gases and habitat depletion, together, they are having a catastrophic effect on our environment, contributing to global climate change, wildlife, crop and forest damage, rising sea levels, floods and haze. Whole countries could drown under water or starve under drought, driving migration and climate wars.
The path to a sustainable future requires the creative power of our best scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs, backed by the courage of politicians to think long term.
Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris accords is an act of environmental vandalism on a global scale. And by refusing to condemn him, Theresa May is aiding and abetting him.
Only the Lib Dems combine the ambition to bring forward climate change targets and support for the Paris agreement, with an entrepreneurial approach to investing in cutting edge clean technologies, and commitment to international institutions to enable Britain to be a world leader in protecting the global environment.
Britain has been part of the cause. By supporting the Lib Dems on 8th June, Britain can also be part of the solution.
Yours faithfully
Simon Blakey, managing director, SAB Global Energy
Duncan Brack, independent environmental policy analyst
James Cameron, chairman, Green Running
Mark Campanale, founder, Carbon Tracker Initiative
Christopher Clement-Davies, editor, International Energy Law Review
Simon Clement-Davies, managing director, Augusta & Co.
Jason Cooper, founder, Jason Cooper Architects
Ray Georgeson MBE, director, RGR-Ray Georgeson Resources
Dr Mark Hinnells, solutions director, Susenco
Dr Susan Juned, senior consultant, Greenwatt Technology
Adam Knight, co-founder, Social & Sustainable Capital
Richard Lill, financing and construction manager, Energiekontor UK
James McNaught-Davis, green venture capitalist, Wetherby Capital
Vickram Mirchandani, managing director, Coronation Power
Hylton Murray Philipson, founder, Wingate Ventures
Mark Petterson, co-founder, Warwick Energy
Patrick Sheehan, founder, ETF Partners
Heather Stevens CBE, chair, The Waterloo Foundation
Jane Vaus, project director, Sustainability Hub
Andrew Warren, chairman, Federation of Open Homes Network
Andrew Wiseman, former chair, UK Environmental Law Association
All of the above have signed in a personal capacity.
