Good evening Conference!

It is a pleasure to speak to you today, both as your Environment Spokesperson and as your Deputy Leader. Today, I wish to discuss the Liberal Democrats’ role in leading the way towards a sustainable United Kingdom.

Before I do so, I wish to congratulate /u/CountBrandenburg on being elected as our new Leader. He is an amazing asset for our party, and I’m glad that I will be serving as Deputy Leader under his tenure. I’d also like to thank both /u/rickcall123 and /u/CountBrandenburg for being great opponents in an incredible leadership race - although I didn’t win as I had hoped, now is the time to unite around our new Supreme Leader, uniting around the Liberal Democrat cause.

Conference, our recent merger with the Green Party has allowed us to take bold steps towards environmentalism, and I am glad that we can all work together to tackle the effects of Climate Change. As stated in our last manifesto, we are committed to carbon-neutrality in the UK by 2027, and we will not shy away from this pledge. Our planet is suffocating - we must do all we can to help it.

Of course, any transition to a carbon-neutral society would require monumental change - in this case, we must turn an entire country towards renewable energy in 7 years. To facilitate this, we will aim to continue the use of nuclear energy, eventually phasing it out when the UK’s energy mix allows us to.

Moving on, the Liberal Democrats have even more radical plans to create a sustainable society. Looking at the example of Ontario, Canada, we will seek to implement an Environmental Bill of Rights - this will allow the public to be notified on environmentally-significant projects, as well as allowing the public to sue over environmentally-harmful projects.

Conference, our ambitious plans for sustainability stretch into the realm of transportation also. This party will be supporting light rail networks in both Leeds and Belfast. We understand that residents of these cities struggle with poor and inefficient transportation systems, instead having to rely heavily on cars. These light rail networks will seek to reduce car usage, and in effect, the carbon emissions that are created by vehicles.

Finally, Conference, I must remind you of our previous successes in government. We have protected Peat Bogs in England. We have regulated the use of insecticides. We have even banned the sale of new fossil-fuel powered buses and taxis, which comes into effect at the end of this year. However, we must continue to do more - and we will. We will be radical - we will ban the sale of new fossil-fuel powered cars by 2025 at the earliest. Transportation is the most polluting sector in the UK - banning fossil-fuel powered vehicles will help create a greener country.

Conference, I’m proud to be part of a party that seeks to lead the way on the environment. I’m proud that we want to do more to protect our planet. Above all, however, I’m proud to be a Liberal Democrat. In our party song, The Land, the chorus ends with "God gave the land to the people!" - we, as Liberal Democrats, will do all we can to protect our precious land - the land.

Thank you, and congratulations to /u/CountBrandenburg on being elected as Leader!

By /u/Randomman44.

Welcome to the last day of the Liberal Democrat Conference 2020! Here is the remaining schedule for today:

• 6:05 - /u/SapphireWork, Spokesperson for Home Affairs and Justice, will deliver a speech.
• 6:10 - Our newly-elected Supreme Leader, /u/CountBrandenburg, will close the Conference with a Keynote Speech.
• 6:20 - Conference will finish with a members-only Reception.