Tony Juniper, the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Cambridge, has co-authored a new report which criticizes cuts in public spending and calls for up to £50 billion to be invested in green infrastructure in the short-term.

The report, which is titled The Cuts Won’t Work, was released by the Green New Deal Group, of which Juniper is a member. The Green New Deal group was formed in 2007 by a number of economic and environmental experts, and aims to promote a modernized version of the New Deal as a way to combat current problems.

Juniper referred to the report’s recommendations as a “joined-up” approach that simultaneously tackles the credit crunch, climate change, and dependence on oil. “We need to link together our social, economic, and environmental goals,” he said.

Juniper noted that while he understood public concern for rising deficit levels, it was important not to cut spending in the midst of a recession. “If you resort to the knee-jerk reaction to cut spending, you will end up putting even more people out of work,” he said.

The report comes at a time when the government is increasingly coming under pressure to curb public spending. On Sunday, the chancellor Alistair Darling announced the postponement of a £13 billion IT initiative for the National Health Service. It is widely expected that these cuts will form part of a larger reduction effort when Darling releases his pre-budget report on Wednesday.

Juniper expects the report to inform much of his thinking during his upcoming election campaign in Cambridge. According to him, the report would have special relevance for Cambridge students. “The proposals outlined here will lay the foundations for careers that students today will be able to occupy in the future,” he said.

The Cambridge Green Party, too, has emphasized the report’s relevance to Cambridge voters. In a statement released to Varsity, Michelle Engelsman, the general election campaign coordinator for the party said that by helping to promote the report’s recommendations, “Cambridge scientists, engineers and economists can become world leaders in creating sustainable economy, and Cambridge trades people will be trained in skills that will help them become leaders in their field.”