Henry Smith MP has pledged to continue being a champion for the environment by joining the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) Caucus.

The Crawley MP has signed up to CEN’s core pledges to promote environmental policies and protections in Crawley and in Westminster.

Henry said;

“I’ve long supported efforts to protect our natural inheritance and deliver clean growth.

“In the last year we’ve brought in a charge on plastic bags, banned microbeads, increased the maximum sentence for animal cruelty and announced an ambitious new 25 Year Environmental Plan.

“This will be the first government to leave the planet in a better state than we found it, and I’m excited to work with CEN to deliver policies that protect and enhance our environment for future generations.”

Sam Richards, Director of CEN, commented;

“This is an exciting time for environmental policy, as leaving the European Union offers opportunities – like the reform of our system of rural payments – to deliver real change.

“I’m delighted that Henry Smith MP is joining our Caucus to promote green conservative policies.”

Note to Editors:

CEN is an independent network of like-minded conservative thinkers promoting conservative answers to environmental issues. CEN’s staff, work and projects are funded by philanthropic foundations and donors, including the European Climate Foundation.

MPs in the CEN Caucus have pledged the following: action to enhance the natural environment, action on climate change, action to promote clean growth, action to build properly designed housing, action to preserve species and oceans and action to tackle air pollution.

The CEN Caucus principles are:

• Action to enhance the natural environment
  • We support the establishment of a new legal framework to halt and reverse the decline in our ecosystems, so that future generations can enjoy and be protected by the UK’s natural inheritance.
• Action to secure the future of rural areas
  • We support a new system of rural payments that is based on the principle that public money should be used to secure ecological gains for the benefit of the public, and promotes a vibrant rural economy including high-quality, sustainable agriculture.
• Action on climate change
  • We believe that climate change creates severe risks for global stability and prosperity, and that the UK must therefore continue to lead the way not only in promoting adaptation but also in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Action to promote clean growth
  • We believe that the best future for UK manufacturing industry lies in clean growth, and that government policy should therefore support R&D and investment in clean technologies.
• Action to build properly designed housing
  • We believe that the nation has a responsibility to ensure the provision of high quality, affordable homes for all our people — and that house building, if properly conducted, is fully compatible with preserving and enhancing the quality of the environment.
• Action to preserve species and oceans
  • We believe that the UK has — and must seize — the opportunity to lead the world in ending the illegal wildlife trade, halting the annihilation of species, and restoring the health of our oceans.
• Action to tackle air pollution
  • We support the promotion of electric vehicles, alongside active transport and increased planting of trees to tackle air pollution on our roads and streets.