A couple of days ago I watched a Zoom discussion on this Bill and the Campaign to get it into law as an update for the Climate Change Bill, which is now well out of date and inadequate. The presentations from Caroline Lucas, Kate Raworth, Prof Tim Jackson and Kumi Naidoo can be seen here.
I hope the video recording can be widely distributed among HVCA membership, together with the draft Bill. I think the tone and depth of the discussion gives a sense of hopeful urgency. It makes clear what needs to be done and how big a task it is, and the need for simultaneous action at local, national and international levels with each level supporting and reinforcing the others, bottom up and top down.
Please watch it and read the draft Bill which goes into very useful detail over the importance of ‘Natural Climate Solutions’, like building soils, regenerating peat lands, appropriate reforestation and re establishing wetland and their links to reversing biodiversity loss and flood management as well as Carbon sinks.
If you agree, I think that HVCA could make promoting this campaign a major part of what we are doing in all the current work groups. It will also help us to prepare for COP26 this time next year.
Key points in the Bill
- A serious plan to deal with the UK’s fair share of emissions and to halt critical rises in global temperatures.
- Our entire carbon footprint to be taken into account both in the UK and overseas.
- The active conservation and restoration of nature here and overseas.
- Legislators not to make achieving targets dependent on unproven future technologies.
- Enabling ordinary members of society to have a real say on the right way forward by means of a Citizens’ Assembly.
Summary of the Bill
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gqp4UW1bDPrYFSAfEXnhgXMB7UuEJtecSvmP2E6v95Q/edit?usp=sharing