F34: Making the Fight Against Climate Change Accessible to Everyone

Submitted by: 12 members.
Mover: Charley Hasted.
Summation: Wera Hobhouse MP (Spokesperson for Energy and Climate Change).

Conference notes that:

1. Single-use plastics used in Health and Social Care contexts create millions of tonnes of plastic waste a year, much of which will go to landfill or be incinerated.
2. While there are some alternatives to single-use plastics in equipment used for medical, social care and accessibility equipment, many are unavailable, unaffordable or impractical for many people.
3. Many older and disabled people have experienced difficulties with different climate change or pollution prevention strategies such as the banning of plastic straws, pedestrianisation, cycle lanes and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, which often fail to take their needs into account.
4. Many transport alternatives to private cars remain inaccessible or unaffordable for disabled and older people, especially where they require adaptive or alternate provision.

Conference believes that while there have been many progressive steps in reducing climate change in recent years, efforts to consider the specific needs of disabled and older people have often been missed, leading to many disabled people experiencing significant difficulty in supporting the fight against climate change, or feeling excluded from society by some measures.

Conference further believes that disabled and older people deserve to have access to options which allow them to take a full and equal part in the fight against climate change and in society as a whole.

Conference therefore calls for:

1. The allocation of at least 3% of government research and development funding on environmental and anti-climate change to projects centred around bringing benefits and change to the health and social care sectors and a further 2% to projects that will support disabled people to live more environmentally friendly lives while maintaining their health and independence (e.g. developing affordable biodegradable or recyclable alternatives to commonly used items such and gloves, packaging and incontinence pads).
2. Requirements on NHS trusts, care agencies, residential facilities and local authorities to develop strategies to reduce plastic use and increase the recycling of non-biohazardous plastic waste.
3. Schemes aimed at increasing the uptake of environmentally friendly transport options to provide accessible and adaptable options (e.g hand cycles and tricycles in cycle salary sacrifice schemes).
4. Requirements on public transport and infrastructure companies to make all their provision completely and independently accessible by 2026.
5. Requirements on central and local government initiatives focusing on reducing emissions and improving public transport and public spaces to work with disabled people in the planning and implementation stages of projects to mitigate any negative impact on disability communities.

Applicability: England only; except 1., which is Federal.

Mover: 7 minutes; summation of motion and movers and summation of any amendments: 4 minutes; all other speakers: 3 minutes. For eligibility and procedure for speaking in this debate, see page 9 of the agenda.

The deadline for amendments to this motion , is 13.00 Monday 5 September, see page 12 of the agenda. Those selected for debate will be printed in Conference Extra and Monday's Conference Daily. The deadline for requests for separate votes is 09.00 on Sunday 18 September, see pages 8-9 of the agenda.