Also by John Sauven

Originally published on Comment is Free, John sets out how we could use the levers of the economy to shape a greener future.

Talk is cheap, and valued accordingly. At some point ministers will need to translate their climate rhetoric into the language of real change – money. Since 1997 the proportion of government revenues derived from green taxes has actually fallen. The cost of motoring (despite the tabloid headlines) has fallen by 13 per cent in real terms since 1997, while bus and coach fares have increased by 17 per cent above inflation.

For most of us, political speeches are a dull drone in the background while the message that always comes through loud and clear is spelt out in pounds and pence. If we're serious about confronting climate change – and everyone actively involved in the debate claims to be – then some taxes are going to have to rise.

With parliament coming back, a general election looming and the Copenhagen climate summit just weeks away, this is the time for rhetoric to stop and action to start. That’s why we’ve written this manifesto. The policies show that we can protect the environment while also protecting our economy. We want all politicans to steal our policies.

By using the big economic levers we can have sustainable recovery, create green jobs and cut emissions. But for this to happen politicans need to set aside short term party politics and work together to tackle the really important issues. And frankly, if any political party doesn’t adopt these policies, we should be asking them why not?

Our executive director John Sauven is writing today about green investment and starting the office off on a spring blog relay. Over the next couple months we'll be asking different Greenpeace staff and volunteers to write for our blog each day so that you can find out a bit more about the many different people, ideas and roles behind our campaigns.

Since the 'big crunch', world leaders have been forced to think the unthinkable.

Even Peter Mandelson, who once said he was "intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich", now questions New Labour's unbridled, unregulated capitalism.

He recently explained: "Partly through our need to reassure that we were no longer the 1980s Labour party, partly because there was a new economic orthodoxy prevailing in the economy, we emphasised or played up our belief in markets, profits, even privatisation as a model."

This blog by Greenpeace UK exective director John Sauven first appeared on the Guardian's Comment Is Free.

As the science of climate change gets increasingly urgent, the will of Europe's political leaders to act on the climate crisis seems to be weakening by the day.

The EU climate package was meant to herald a new and unprecedented level of ambition in tackling climate change. Compared to what the science dictates, we're still way, way off the mark. The deal suffered from destructive forces within the EU representing their own country's self interests at the expense of an EU-wide deal.