Labour and climate change: British politics lecturer edits essay collection
Dr Sean McDaniel edits a special collection of essays on Labour and net zero.
The government’s recent plans to develop a third runway at Heathrow to expand economic growth while maintaining its commitment to green policies and environmental sustainability has recently put the Labour Party and climate change in the spotlight.
Against this backdrop, Dr Sean McDaniel, Lecturer in British Politics in the School of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), has edited a new collection of essays focused on the Labour Party and climate change in Renewal: a journal of social democracy. The journal issue builds upon a workshop organised by Dr McDaniel, supported by POLIS, and hosted at the University of Leeds in March 2024, which was attended by Labour Party politicians, leading academics (including many from across Leeds), as well as trade unionists, policy campaigners, think tank representatives and many more.
Labour and climate change
Dr McDaniel introduces the collection, as well as writing an essay that explores Labour’s green industrial strategy and contends that, without appropriate attention and policy ambition, Labour’s strategy risks locking in familiar patterns of ecological damage and wealth and income inequality into the UK’s low carbon future.
Professor Lucie Middlemiss in the School of Earth and Environment here at Leeds, alongside Professor Carolyn Snell at the University of York, advocate for the design of net zero policies that account for people’s diverse life experiences and different abilities to participate in the transition.
Professor John Barrett, also from the School of Earth and Environment, outlines his research showing the importance of energy demand reduction alongside the usual focus on energy efficiency. He argues that there is a need for policymakers to consider how we can achieve broader societal changes that help to alter patterns of consumption in order to meet the UK’s net zero target.
Professor Vera Trappmann and Dr Jo Cutter, academics from Leeds University Business School, argue that while Labour’s plans for the green transition are welcome, a gap remains around active engagement with workers and their representatives. They contend that the concept of just transition has become ambiguous and point to lessons from around the world on what this could and should look like in the UK.
Finally, Andrew Wood and Kate Lock highlight research by the Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission (YHCC), an independent advisory board facilitating the delivery of climate action across Yorkshire and the Humber. They go on to make the case for decisive, mission-driven action on the climate that relies not just upon national-level governance, but also local and regional expertise and knowledge.
Research in the School of Politics and International Studies
This special issue demonstrates the breadth of research in POLIS on all aspects of climate change, from the politics of net zero to the policies of the green transition. POLIS is home to the Climate Politics Group, made up of more than thirty scholars researching such issues from across a range of disciplinary perspectives. You can contact the Group organisers at the following email address: climate.politics@leeds.ac.uk.
For information on POLIS’ research around environmental security and existential risk, please also check out the Centre for Global Security Challenges.
Dr Sean McDaniel’s current research agenda focuses on the UK Labour Party and the political economy of just transition and ‘green industrial strategy’ in the UK amidst a fragmenting global order. He has recently begun a new research project examining the development of the UK’s lithium-ion battery sector since 2010.
