Right now, big polluters are lobbying the government to hand out huge and unconditional bailouts funded by the taxpayer.

Dear John

Right now, big polluters like the oil industry and Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic are lobbying the government to hand out huge and unconditional bailouts funded by the taxpayer. In fact, the £600m public bailout of Easyjet had no environmental conditions attached.

We want the people who work in those industries to be protected from further hardship during this crisis.

We also think that bailouts must include conditions to tackle the climate crisis. Before I say a bit more about that can I ask you a quick question?

Do you think that big polluters should be made to clean up their act as a condition of any bailout packages?
YES ([link removed])
NO ([link removed])
NOT SURE ([link removed])
Never in my lifetime has the government had to make so many big decisions so quickly.

Some of those decisions will impact people and planet for generations. So even under these incredibly challenging circumstances it’s important they get them right.

One decision they’re looking at right now is whether to bail out some of the country’s most polluting industries. And given that we’re not exactly known for being best friends with them, we keep getting asked what we think.

First off, we want the government to prioritise people. We think public money should be used to support those who need it most – ordinary people in those companies whose livelihoods are at stake – not to line the pockets of multi-millionaire shareholders and owners.

The details of any bailouts are important though. Because unless we rethink the way those companies operate we’ll end up sleepwalking into the next global crisis.

Everyone has to play their part in meeting the UK’s climate obligations under the Paris climate agreement – especially the big polluters. That’s why we think any bailout packages should lock in plans to transition to cleaner energy and transport.

It’s also high time the polluters paid their fair share. We all pay our taxes (or at least I hope we do!). So should corporate polluters and tax exiles. Government must remove unfair tax advantages, loopholes and exemptions that give climate-wrecking industries an advantage over cleaner, greener ones.

Like I said earlier, we want the people who work into those industries to be protected from further hardship during this crisis. But getting the T&Cs of the bailouts is important – this is definitely a complex issue. So we’d really like to know what you think too:

Do you think that big polluters should be made to clean up their act as a condition of any bailout packages?
YES ([link removed])
NO ([link removed])
NOT SURE ([link removed])
I look forward to hearing your views.

Best wishes,

Jamie Peters
Campaigner
Being a grassroots network, people and communities are at the heart of all we do.

So while we’ll continue to campaign to stop climate and nature breakdown, during these difficult times our top priority is the health, safety and wellbeing of you, our supporters, and the wider community.

We’ll be doing all we can over the coming weeks to make sure we can support you in any way possible, from showing how you can connect and work with your community online, to sharing stories to help lift your spirits.

Look after yourself, look after each other, look after the planet.

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