Central Bedfordshire Council backs motion to support Climate and Ecology Bill
Friday, 26 January 2024
Members of Central Bedfordshire Council have agreed to back the Zero Hour campaign for a new UK law to tackle the full extent of the climate and nature crisis in line with the most up-to-date science.
At its Full Council meeting held on Wednesday 17 January, members agreed that the council should support the Climate and Ecology Bill. It joins 250 other councils in calling for the UK to proceed further and faster in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and restoring the natural world.
The Bill, written by scientists, experts and campaigners, was first introduced in Parliament by Caroline Lucas MP in September 2020 as the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill, or CEE Bill. It has now morphed into the Climate and Ecology Bill and has the backing of over 1,217 organisations including scientists and parliamentarians representing all major political parties.
Councillor Tracey Wye, Executive Member for Sustainability and Climate Resilience said:
It’s vital we recognise that climate crisis and ecological breakdown are the two biggest issues of our time. The risks of delayed action are well recognised and severe.
The Bill would provide a clear, joined-up plan— the crises in climate and nature are deeply intertwined, so we need a plan that considers both together. It will ensure UK’s emissions are reduced rapidly for the best chance of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees; it will halt and reverse biodiversity decline by 2030; and deliver a more ambitious and integrated environmental protection and decarbonisation plan. It will also involve the public by giving people a say in finding a fair way forward through a ‘climate and nature assembly’.
In July 2019 the council unanimously supported a proposal to prioritise responding to climate change. It adopted its Sustainability Plan in September 2020 which outlines the range of actions that will be progressed in order to work towards net zero by 2030. This motion is another step forward in supporting this declaration.