Government Must Bring In Climate Change Bill - John Leech

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 20th Sep 2006

John Leech, Liberal Democrat MP for Manchester Withington, met with representatives of Friends of the Earth (FOE) and other Environmental groups in Manchester recently to discuss the escalating problem of climate change.

FOE have got John Leech's full backing for their 'Big Ask' campaign to cut CO2 emissions through a Climate Change Bill. FOE presented John with hundreds of postcards from constituents who are calling for the Government to do more on Climate Change.

John Leech, who backed a Parliamentary motion calling for a Climate Change Bill last year (1), has now written to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for the Environment, David Miliband, calling on the government to include a Climate Change Bill in the next Queen's Speech, in October.

John Leech MP said:

"Climate Change is accelerating. CO2 emissions are causing global warming which is putting the future of our planet at risk. Urgent action is required to reduce CO2 emissions to slow this process."

"The government is not doing nearly enough to make this happen. Tony Blair makes all the right noises about the environment, but his government are failing to take effective action. A Climate Change Bill would create a legal framework for year-on year cuts in CO2 emissions."

"It would also send out a strong signal to other Countries that Britain is serious about tackling climate change, and would encourage them to follow suit."

End

Notes to editors:

(1) Early Day Motion 178

CLIMATE CHANGE

24.05.2005

That this House agrees with the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser that climate change is a threat to civilisation; welcomes the cross-party agreement in favour of major cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, and particularly in carbon dioxide emissions, by 2050; believes that such a long-term target will best be met through a series of more regular milestones; and therefore notes the Climate Change Bill that was presented by a cross-party group of honourable Members in the final days before the General Election, and hopes that such a Bill will be brought forward in this Parliament so that annual cuts in carbon dioxide emissions of 3 per cent. can be delivered in a framework that includes regular reporting and new scrutiny and corrective processes.