On Tuesday 26 January MPs will have the opportunity to debate the Environment Bill and vote on amendments that would strengthen the legislation, providing they bother to turn up and support the extra measures that environmentalists are calling for.
My neighbour Sue on the Westminster side of Fitzrovia informs me that WeCCAN (Westminster Citizens Climate Action Network) are asking residents to contact their MP Nickie Aiken to tell her why protecting the environment is important.
“There are serious concerns about our air and plastic pollution, and importantly having a strong independent Watchdog to hold this and future governments to account,” says WeCCAN.
“We urgently need our MPs to support amendments that strengthen environmental protections.”
WeCCAN provide an easy way to email and ask her to support amendments to the Bill here.
As I live on the Camden side of Fitzrovia I cannot make use of WeCCAN’s email, but there are a number of organisations urging their members and their members’ friends to call for greater environmental protections.
I like the one from the Bat Conservation Trust and I emailed Keir Starmer MP using their email pro forma which sets out specifically what amendments are important:
- New Clause 1 and amendment 1 – environmental principles
- Amendment 5 – binding interim targets
- New Clause 5 – state of nature
- Amendment 23 – independence of the Office for Environmental Protection
- Amendment 29 – Local Nature Recovery Strategies
“The Environment Bill is a vital piece of legislation that can help to protect our natural heritage and in so doing tackle the alarming loss of wildlife and address the climate crisis,” says the Bat Trust.
You can find their page on the Environment Bill and how to write to your MP here. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds also has an email template and an easy way to contact your MP here.
If you want to know more about the Bill, there is a House of Commons briefing paper here, and the progress of the Bill through Parliament can be found here.