LEADING economists and parliamentarians have endorsed proposals published today to tackle the climate emergency while rebuilding Britain’s economy as the coronavirus crisis recedes. 

Progressive think tank Common Wealth has called for new legislation to ensure that a transformative green stimulus is part of the Covid-19 recovery programme. 

It has published plans for a green recovery Act, which would work towards ending climate damage caused by the use of coal, oil and gas while creating full employment and a “thriving planet.”

The legislation would be comprehensive in scope, covering the decarbonisation of transport and energy, with coal, oil and gas being eliminated in a fair way, plus agriculture, employment, finance, local government and trade. 

Author Ewan McGaughey, a senior lecturer at King’s College London, said: “The green recovery Act is a model to rebuild our economy and environment.

“It ensures everybody, public and private, upholds the right to a living planet, and restores our economy with full employment and clean investment.

“It is the basis for a green new deal, protecting our NHS, pensions and the national economy.”

The report comes as the Chancellor Rishi Sunak prepares to make a major announcement on the government’s economic recovery plan. 

Climate economists and parliamentarians have backed the proposed Act, with the Chancellor being urged to commit to an ambitious green stimulus. 

Ann Pettifor, author of The Case for the Green New Deal, said: “This law will help embed key ecological principles into the economy and provide society with a pathway to a liveable planet, just as earlier laws provided pathways to economic and social justice.”

Green MP Caroline Lucas added her support, saying the legislation would put Britain on a path to meet our climate commitments and reverse inequality.