Back the Climate and Nature Bill, Quakers urge government
Quakers have joined faith leaders in urging the government to support the Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill, which is set to be debated on 24 January.
The bill, already supported by 196 MPs, aims to limit global warming to 1.5°C, halt biodiversity loss, and establish a public-led Climate and Nature Assembly.
The private members bill, led by Dr Roz Savage MP, asks the UK to lock two key international commitments on climate and nature, into law.
These commitments, made by previous administrations alongside 196 other nations, are:
- To avoid warming exceeding the critical 1.5°C threshold as agreed at Paris COP in 2015 (through this the UK made its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) commitment to reduce emissions by 68% on 1990 levels by 2030).
- To halt and reverse nature loss by 2030, as agreed at the Montreal biodiversity COP in 2022.
Adwoa Burnley, clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting, joined faith leaders on Monday in delivering a letter to 10 Downing Street, calling on Prime Minister Starmer to support the bill.
“It is difficult to overstate the urgency of this legislation," signatories to the letter, co-ordinated by Faith for the Climate, wrote.
“At COP29 in November, the UN Secretary General António Guterres described 2024 as a masterclass in human destruction."
“Scenes of chaos and misery we have seen in the news this year around the world due to flooding, wildfires, heatwaves, droughts and storms have been deeply distressing — especially since those who are suffering the most, globally, are those who have done the least to create the crisis," they added.
The signatories stressed that the CAN Bill “will improve the lives and livelihoods of people across the UK, as well as around the world."
Burnley said: “I'm so honoured to be able to sign this letter on behalf of Quakers in Britain.
“I hope this is more than a gesture as our precious world and all nature existing on it needs more than gestures.
“Working together in our interfaith communities is a privilege - this is not work that can be tackled alone, we need global collaboration."
Quakers were among 26 signatories including former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams; Trupti Patel, president of the Hindu Forum of Britain and Jonathan Wittenberg, senior rabbi of the New North London Masorti Synagogue.