This new Local Manifesto builds on the one we produced for the 2004 election. Since then, we have achieved a great deal: Sheffield's first Green City Councillor was elected in Central ward; we doubled our vote in the 2005 General Election; the membership of the local party has increased by 30% in two years and we have been able to form "clusters" of activists to work on different issues. All this has led to concrete achievements and to high-profile campaigns which are described in this booklet.

The City and the world have moved on too. There is more pressure than ever to increase economic growth at any cost, even though climate change is clearly a real threat. The other parties pretend to be in favour of "sustainability", but their idea of "development" puts our future at risk for the sake of profits now.

All these things have made our task more complex and challenging. We debated at length how to present our views on climate change. Should we have a separate section when it runs through every policy? Should we play it down in order to emphasise our interest and work across the range of social as well as environmental issues?

wind turbines- one way to combat climate chaos What we hope this document shows is that, in Green politics, human and environmental concerns cannot be separated; that when citizens are treated with fairness and respect they choose to live in sustainable communities; that protection of people and the planet go hand in hand.

The City Council has all too limited powers so we have tried to make our suggestions realistic, but we are aware of our interdependence with the wider world. So we range bravely from the global challenge of climate change, through economics, transport, housing, education, crime and back to international relations, and our part in building a more democratic and peaceful world, starting with the city where we live, Sheffield.