Jesuit Missions is urging MPs to support the Climate and Nature Bill, which will enable the UK to fully address the scale of the global environmental crisis.
The Bill, which is set for a crucial Second Reading in Parliament on Friday 24th January, will establish clear goals to help the country tackle climate change and damage to the natural world.
It includes a commitment to helping keep global temperature rises below 1.5C, reversing biodiversity loss by 2030, and getting everyone on board when it comes to ending fossil fuel use.
Jesuit Missions is firmly behind these proposed actions, having seen the devastating impact climate change and environmental degradation can have on its partners in the Global South.
Richard Solly, Campaigns and Advocacy Officer at Jesuit Missions, said: “Last year was the hottest year on record globally. The second hottest year on record was 2023.
“We have now breached the UN’s goal of keeping average global temperature rises to 1.5C. Farmers in the UK last year suffered one of the worst harvests on record because of changing rainfall patterns, threatening our food security.
“Drought and floods are causing very serious problems for communities that Jesuit Missions is supporting in South Sudan, Rwanda, Madagascar and India.
“We need to act more quickly and more seriously. The Climate and Nature Bill is a good way to do so.”
More than 150 parliamentarians representing all major UK political parties have already said they will support the Bill, while it has been backed by several scientists, climate and nature experts, and environmental activists.
“Actions give us hope, and hope goes hand in hand with courage, a duet that can change the world.“
Author and campaigner Mary Colwell explained that society must not lose hope when it comes to the environment, and that there is still time to act to protect it.
“It is hard to watch the planet burning, drowning and dying, the overwhelming feeling of powerlessness is damaging for our hearts and minds, and compounds the uneasy sense that we are part of the reason the Earth is straining under so many demands,” she said.
“All of us, however, are more powerful than we realise, there are concrete things that we can do to that will make a difference.
“We can, through our actions, raise the level of awareness of what is happening and promote how to put things right. Actions give us hope, and hope goes hand in hand with courage, a duet that can change the world.”
The bid to support the Bill, which was first introduced in September 2020 by former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas, is being run by campaign group Zero Hour.
It has stressed that the UK needs proper structured goals if it is going to play a meaningful role in addressing the impact of climate change.
Allan Gray, Political Communications Manager at Zero Hour, said: “Our legislation on climate-nature is outdated and no longer fit for purpose.
“With an increased understanding of the science and the interconnectedness of climate and nature emergency, we need legally binding targets that deliver a joined-up strategy to halt and reverse nature loss and deliver decarbonisation in line with international agreements.”
Jesuit Missions supports Zero Hour’s initiative that calls on people to contact their MP, asking them to get behind the campaign – this can be done at zerohour.uk
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