Lib Dems call on Starmer to back landmark climate bill

A group of Liberal Democrats have called on Keir Starmer to back Lib Dem MP Roz Savage’s Climate and Nature Bill when it comes up in Parliament on 24 January. In a letter signed by 58 MPs and Peers they say:

We, Liberal Democrats, commend your and the Government’s determination to elevate the UK’s global climate and nature leadership. However, without legislation that unites our climate and nature plans, they will continue to be developed in isolation. This means your clean energy and nature restoration ambitions may fail—and, equally worryingly—may make both crises worse.

There is, however, a golden opportunity for you and the Government to showcase cross-party consensus on the need for an integrated approach to the climate-nature crisis. The CAN Bill would deliver a joined-up framework, ensuring that Britain meets its international commitments for climate and nature, as part of expediting your plans to build a nature positive, net zero economy.

Roz’s Bill should have a five hour debating slot on 24th January.

The Climate and Nature Bill is guaranteed a five-hour Parliamentary debate during its second reading on 24 January 2025.  It already has the backing of some 250 Parliamentarians, including Sir Ed Davey, Carla Denyer, and Zac Goldsmith. It enjoys the support of 10,000s of members of the public, more than 1,100 businesses and organisations, as well as 1,000 climate and health experts

High-profile endorsers include Co-Operative Bank, The Body Shop, Oxfam, Save British Farming, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Ecotricity, The Wildlife Trusts and Triodos Bank.

Unless this Bill gets Government time, it is unlikely to become law. This would be a very easy win for Starmer and Labour so let’s hope they see sense.

The letter in full is published below:

Keir Starmer MP

Prime Minister of the UK

13 January 2025

Dear Prime Minister,

We write to you as the Liberal Democrats’ Parliamentary Group, welcoming the leadership of Dr Roz Savage MP, and asking the UK Government to support the passage of her cross-party Climate and Nature Bill, including at the CAN Bill’s second reading on 24 January.

As you recently said in Azabijan during COP29, global warming above 1.5ºC will expose hundreds of thousands more people in the UK to flood risk, greater economic instability and national insecurity. We agree. The importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to strengthen climate security cannot be understated. But current targets are not adequate for anything near to achieving your 1.5°C obligations; and concerningly, would see the UK overshoot its 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) emissions plan by 33%. 

Moreover, it will not be possible to do without also reversing the damage inflicted on our shared natural world. These two issues are deeply and inextricably linked. As the Environment Secretary said recently, nature is dying. The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth, and though our current legislation, the Environment Act 2021, signals the correct direction of travel, it fails to go far enough. Reversing the decline of the health, diversity and resilience of species, populations, habitats and ecosystems is key; alongside that Act’s target on species abundance.  Putting nature on the path of recovery by 2030, is crucial, and is also the mission of the Global Biodiversity Framework 2022, of which the UK is a signatory.

The impacts of the climate-nature crisis are growing. As the 2024 Labour manifesto made clear, this is the greatest, long-term, global challenge we face. As part of rising to this moment, and in order to tackle the root causes of the intertwined crises we face, we need a stronger, science-led—and integrated—statutory framework, as proposed by the CAN Bill.

We, Liberal Democrats, commend your and the Government’s determination to elevate the UK’s global climate and nature leadership. However, without legislation that unites our climate and nature plans, they will continue to be developed in isolation. This means your clean energy and nature restoration ambitions may fail—and, equally worryingly—may make both crises worse.

There is, however, a golden opportunity for you and the Government to showcase cross-party consensus on the need for an integrated approach to the climate-nature crisis. The CAN Bill would deliver a joined-up framework, ensuring that Britain meets its international commitments for climate and nature, as part of expediting your plans to build a nature positive, net zero economy.

The Bill has been before Parliament since 2020, and was championed by Caroline Lucas, Lord Redesdale, Olivia Blake MP, Alex Sobel MP and now, Roz Savage MP. It is supported by 255 Parliamentarians from all main parties; alongside over 375 local councils, 1,100 charities, NGOs and businesses, 1,200 scientists, and 60,000 members of the public.

We ask you to support the Climate and Nature Bill, and to allow all MPs a free vote for the Bill at its second reading vote on 24 January.

Yours sincerely,

Daisy Cooper MP                                                            Baroness Walmsley     

Al Pinkerton MP

Alison Bennett MP

Andrew George MP

Anna Sabine MP

Bobby Dean MP

Brian Mathew MP

Cameron Thomas MP 

Caroline Voaden MP

Claire Young MP

Clive Jones MP

Edward Morello MP 

Helen Maguire MP

Ian Sollom MP

James MacCleary MP 

Jamie Stone MP

Jess Brown-Fuller MP 

Josh Babarinde MP 

Lee Dillon MP

Liz Jarvis MP

Manuela Perteghella MP 

Marie Goldman MP

Martin Wrigley MP

Max Wilkinson MP

Mike Martin MP

Monica Harding MP 

Munira Wilson MP

Olly Glover MP

Richard Foord MP

Sarah Dyke MP

Steffan Aquarone MP 

Steve Darling MP

Susan Murray MP

Tessa Munt MP

Tim Farron MP

Tom Morrison MP

Victoria Collins MP

Vikki Slade MP

Wendy Chamberlain MP 

Wera Hobhouse MP

Baroness Burt of Solihull

Lord Clement-Jones

Lord German

Baroness Humphreys

Baroness Kramer

Lord McNally

Lord Oates

Baroness Parminter

Baroness Pidgeon

Baroness Pinnock

Earl Russell

Baroness Scott of Needham Market

Lord Sharkey

Lord Shipley

Lord Stoneham of Droxford

Lord Storey

Lord Teverson

Lord Wallace of Saltaire

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings

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3 Comments

  • Peter Davies 15th Jan '25 - 6:51pm

    It’s well worth pushing as the most ambitious proposal with a chance of passing. I can’t help noticing though that the definition of ‘our’ emissions is based on CO2 which is actually emitted here (or in transit by sea or air). Our real consumption includes the energy that goes into all the goods and services we consume (minus those we export).

    The distinction is particularly important now because the only way that small economies like ours (or even quite large ones like the EU) can affect global emissions When any one big economy (currently USA) is not on board is some form of Carbon Added Tax. It’s paid by consumers of high carbon goods but it’s paid to their own government so every government can move forward at its own pace without making themselves uncompetitive.

  • Tristan Ward 16th Jan '25 - 12:25pm

    Those neandertals in “Reform” and the Conservative party who think Climate change and biodiversity loss should be ignored should take a look at the United Kingdom Food Security Report 2024 published last month. I do not think I have seen any reference to it in the media.

    Among other things it states:

    “Climate change, nature loss and water insecurity pose significant risks to the ability of global food production to meet demand over the longer term”

    “Extreme weather events continue to have a significant effect on domestic production, particularly arable crops, fruit and vegetables. ”

    “Long term decline in the UK’s natural capital is a pressing risk to UK food production.”

    “Agri-food sector labour and skills shortages continue and are compounded by significantly more restrictive access to EU labour and skills since freedom of movement with the EU ended in 2021”

    “There has been a notable rise in inflation …..for the category of food ………. since the beginning of 2021.”

    Lots more here for Lib Dem MPs to get their teeth into:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024

  • David Evans 16th Jan '25 - 1:39pm

    Peter is absolutely right.

    The definition of “our” emissions is absolutely fundamental to whether the proposals turn out to be a useful step in the direction of Net Zero or whether they are simply yet more Government Greenwash.

    So far, our country’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions have been based on one simple strategy – Go for the easy option.

    Initially we continued a process that had begun before long carbon emissions had become a major political issue – moving our major energy systems from coal power to gas and as we had North Sea Gas this was relatively cheap at the start and not particularly difficult.

    Second, we went for a massive growth in wind and solar power generation, with huge subsidies being offered to commercial bodies to build wind turbines, and more recently solar farms. However now there are huge delays due to there having been next to no investment in the grid infrastructure needed to transmit it to where it was needed.

    Thirdly, we have offshored ever increasing amounts our UK industrial production from reasonably efficient plants based in the UK to plants in China with their massive use of coal as a source of energy and then the extra carbon emissions to transport finished goods half way around the world.

    All in all so far our so called “progress” has been little more than taking lazy options coupled with a game of pass the CO2 parcel and we need something much, much better.

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