Motion to Rutland County Council to Declare an Ecological Emergency and Support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill

Proposer: Cllr Miranda Jones (Green Party)

Seconder: Cllr Joanna Burrows (Liberal Democrat)

The Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill¹ is a Private Member’s Bill first presented in the UK Parliament in September 2020 by Caroline Lucas MP, along with supporting MPs from seven political parties.

If enacted, the CEE Bill would ensure that:

The ecological emergency is tackled shoulder to shoulder with the climate crisis in a joined-up approach
The Paris Agreement is enshrined into law to ensure that the UK does its fair share to limit global temperature rise to the most stringent end of the Paris Agreement -1.5˚C
The Leaders Pledge for Nature² is enshrined into law to ensure that the UK’s ecosystems are protected and restored with a focus on biodiversity, soils, and natural carbon sinks.
The UK takes full responsibility for its entire greenhouse gas footprint (i.e. consumption emissions plus passenger shipping, flights, and land-based transport) by accounting for all the emissions that take place overseas to manufacture, transport and dispose of the goods and services we import and consume.
The UK takes full responsibility for its ecological footprint so that we protect the health and resilience of ecosystems along both domestic and global supply chains.
An emergency strategy is drawn up via a temporary Climate and Nature Assembly, representative of the UK population, working directly with the Government and Parliament to find a way forward.

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and more than one in seven of our plants and animals face extinction and more than 40% are in decline³. For example, we have lost 95% of our hedgehogs. The UK needs a legally-enforceable nature target so that by 2030 nature is visibly and measurably on the path of recovery, in line with the Global Goal for Nature⁴ and the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature.

Rutland County Council notes that:

Many local authorities, including this Council, are playing an important role in the UK, taking action to achieve net zero carbon emissions, and to protect and revitalise local wildlife and natural habitats.

Parliament in May 2019 declared an Environment and Climate Emergency and this Council has already declared a Climate Crisis.

Rutland County Council therefore resolves to:

Declare an Ecological Emergency
Support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill
Inform the local media of this decision
Write an open letter to Alicia Kearns MP urging her to sign up to support the Bill
Write to the CEE Alliance, the organisers of the campaign for the Bill, expressing its support.

References:

[1] The CEE Bill

Climate and Ecology Bill (parliament.uk)

Explanatory notes:

Climate and Ecology Bill Explanatory Note – Google Docs

[2] Leaders Pledge for Nature

Home – Leaders Pledge for Nature

[3] UK Nature Decline

The realities of UK nature – in pictures | WWF

[4] Global Goal for Nature

Nature Positive