Out and about with Louise: attending the Green Alliance and Business Community Event

On 29 November I attended the Green Alliance and Business Community Event at Portcullis House in London to discuss the Labour Party’s climate and energy policies.

I was pleased to accept the invitation extended to CIEH by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) for our work as part of the Environmental Policy Forum. My objective was to present the critical role of environmental health professionals in achieving sustainable development and public health goals and to discuss strategic support for and investment in Environmental Health.

Key messages from the Shadow Cabinet

The event featured presentations from Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Kerry McCarthy and Shadow Minister for Energy Security, Dr Alan Whitehead. Kerry McCarthy has a longstanding interest in food-related issues including safety, standards and waste. She is introducing the Food Waste (Reduction) Bill to combat the issue of food poverty. Alan Whitehead has advocated for a more robust approach to the waste hierarchy. He has questioned the adequacy of the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) and CIEH has echoed his call for the OEP to be a properly independent body.

Kerry now has a vital role in shaping the Labour Party’s climate change policies. In her presentation, she discussed looking forward with a clear sense of direction to create a green prosperity plan with green jobs at the heart of this. In particular, she spoke of supporting communities which have been built around fossil fuels to switch to renewables. She also commented on supporting trades to make the switch as we look to change the way we power our lives. When we discussed the need to look longer term at some of these issues, she commented on how challenging it can be to achieve cross-party working.

Meanwhile, Alan spoke ambitiously of the UK becoming a green energy superpower. He spoke to the many challenges we have in delivering a low carbon economy where we need to install three times more solar and five times more wind, retrofit 19 million homes, and create green energy storage to replace the coal heaps of old. Both MPs highlighted the importance of smart planning and joined-up thinking.

Images: Portcullis House, Westminster, London - parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament.

The critical role of environmental health

Reflecting on the urgent need to create a low-carbon economy, the creation of green jobs and opportunities for young people was also emphasised. Environmental health as a profession is at a critical juncture. We are experiencing a shortage of students coming into our university courses compounded by an ageing workforce. CIEH is currently developing a working group to tackle the workforce as a strategic priority. Following the event, I wrote to both MPs thanking them for their time and highlighting the important work our members undertake to give a voice to the most vulnerable in our communities and to create safer, cleaner, healthier environments for everyone.

The discussions demonstrate how important it is for us all to come together across the pillars of Environmental Health. Whether we work in local government, for duty holders in the private sector, or in academia supporting the next generation of EHPs and undertaking research. We have the ability to come together to help solve some of these complex issues and be facilitators for change. Climate change impacts every aspect of Environmental Health and we are facing a climate emergency which means the work of EHPs is vital no matter how you contribute to our profession.

This week I have also been invited to speak at a conference with global decision-makers to call for a more integrated approach to decision-making across nature, people, society and finance. In the last two weeks, I have spoken to Directors from USA and Australia who are working on the same issues as us. This is what we do every day. CIEH is its members, and together we will create the change we want to see.