United Kingdom: Campaign for Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill

Posted on by Mik Aidt

The campaign for a Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill in United Kingdom is getting support from a growing number of UK politicians, currently over 100 MPs and councillors.

In this video, Charlie Gardner from University of Kent explains what the British Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill is about:

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The Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill Alliance has published two open letters to which people have been adding their names.

The first letter will be sent directly to the British Prime Minister, calling on him to address the climate and ecological emergencies with much greater urgency by giving MPs time to debate the CEE Bill in the Commons, in order for Parliament to make a viable action plan ahead of the COP15 and COP26 summits this year.

The second letter is a précised version of the first — which the Alliance group will place in a national newspaper — in order to highlight the UK Government’s lack of progress, ambition and urgency in dealing with this crisis.

→ Read the two letters

 

“We are striving to build a broad alliance that crosses boundaries of party politics, faith, ethnicity, and of society in general, to build campaign momentum and persuade our Government of the urgent need for this comprehensive Bill. We see our Alliance as a mutually supportive network of individuals and organisations that can pool resources and learn from each other,” wrote Jane King, who is a member of the CEE Bill Alliance Team.

“The CEE Bill is a joined up approach to the Climate and Ecological Emergency, focussing on:

• Urgency
• Science
• Targets
• Fairness
• Accountability

The Bill emphasises the interconnected nature of the climate and the natural world. If we decarbonise the economy but don’t stop destroying the natural world we won’t solve the climate crisis or prevent the Earth’s systems from continuing to break down.”

→ You can support the UK Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill here:
www.ceebill.uk

→ Latest draft of the UK Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill

 

→ You can connect with the Alliance on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube

 

‘Just Have a Think’: “Climate and ecology are inextricably linked. Both are now in great peril. If we do not tackle those challenges with co-ordinated efforts then we stand far less chance of solving either of them. This holistic approach forms the basis of the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill, recently tabled in the UK Parliament by the MP Caroline Lucas. The paper is a blueprint for how all national governments will need to legislate in the coming years. And it contains clauses that ensure ordinary folks like you and me can be fully involved in the decision making process.”

→ ‘Just Have a Think’ on YouTube: Climate and Ecological Emergency. Can you really make a difference??

 

USA: Climate Emergency Bill introduced in Congress

How does this compare with what the Americans have proposed?
The US and UK climate emergency bills have similarities, yet the American Climate Emergency Bill, introduced in Congress on 6 February 2021, doesn’t recognise emissions and ecological destruction caused by US international supply chains – i.e. the country’s entire emissions and ecological footprint through the goods and services that it commissions from abroad.

The US Bill talks in more detail about workers rights, where the UK Bill is more general. The UK Bill relies on participatory democracy in the form of Citizens’ Assemblies to determine the detail.