The shocking details of a bill giving the government unprecedented power to pursue net zero and other eco-goals have been revealed. [emphasis, links added]
The ‘Climate and Nature Bill’, which will have its second reading on Friday, will legally bind the UK government and the Secretary of State for Energy to achieving net zero and a slew of other green targets, which some have described as ‘national self-harm’.
The legislation, which is being led by Lib Dem MP Roz Savage, will give Labour legal cover to pursue climate targets rigorously.
Critics say it has the potential to erode personal freedoms under the guise of addressing climate crises and could devastate rural economies, enforce invasive carbon tracking, and strip property rights from rural folk.
The legislation states ‘the Secretary of State must achieve the following objectives’, which include reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero, taking responsibility for ‘offshored’ emissions via exports and imports, and preventing the world from warming by 1.5 degrees.
It also states the Secretary of State must ‘ensure the end of the exploration, extraction, export, and import of fossil fuels by the United Kingdom as rapidly as possible,’ inviting concerns the UK may harm its energy security in pursuit of green credentials.
Other objectives include ‘fulfilling the Paris Climate agreement,’ ‘halting and reversing the degradation and loss of nature in the United Kingdom and overseas’ and ensuring ‘nature is visibly and measurably on the path of recovery.’
Critics have argued the government could use the bill as legal cover to seize farmers’ land for rewilding projects, harming the UK’s food security and destroying rural economies.
It could also provide legal cover for land requisitions for vast solar panel farms, scores of wind turbines, and other green energy-producing infrastructure across Britain’s countryside.
Skeptics also highlight the potential skyrocketing of energy prices as the UK government is legally required to move from fossil fuels to expensive green energy.
Hikes to energy prices, which have already happened under Labour, would tip many businesses and families struggling with the cost of living over the edge.
GB News’ Bev Turner critiqued the bill:
“It may open the door to nefarious forces grabbing land, houses, money, and frankly all your freedoms under the emergency of—you guessed it—saving the planet.
“In a nutshell, the CAN bill could force rewilding of farmers’ fields. It could see costs driving farmers off their land. It could collapse food production and therefore entire rural economies.
“The rapidly forced end of fossil fuels will push energy prices through the roof, leaving families in the cold and shutting down businesses.
“Affordable holidays and everyday travel will become luxuries. Restrictions and taxes could make personal mobility impossible.
“Property rights would be taken away, with homeowners and farmers potentially losing control of their land and homes under vague conservation and sustainability goals.
“The UK will be torn apart by these policies, while countries like China and India will dominate, leaving us weak and dependent.”
It comes after Donald Trump promised to scale up the US’s fossil fuels industry, telling the world America was going to ‘drill, baby, drill’, a move that has buoyed the energy industry in the US.
The bill has split opinion, however, and has received widespread support from MPs, faith leaders, businesses, seventeen union leaders, and eco cheerleaders Dale Vince and Chris Packham.
Outlining the case for the bill, Roz Savage said:
“This legislation is designed to address the environmental challenges we face while recognizing and supporting the crucial role of our farming communities.
“What sets this bill apart is its holistic approach. It goes beyond our current commitments, pushing for a reversal of biodiversity loss by 2030, not just halting it. This is as crucial for our farmlands and woodlands as it is for our marine environments.”
OBJECTIVES IN FULL
As laid out by Zero Hour, the campaign for the Climate and Nature Bill, the bill’s objectives include:
- Limit the UK’s total CO2 emissions to no more than its proportionate share of the IPCC’s remaining global carbon budget, for a 67% chance of limiting heating to 1.5°C.
- Reduce CO2 emissions caused in the manufacture of the goods we import, in line with UK territorial emissions.
- Reduce the UK’s emissions of methane and other greenhouse gases, at rates consistent with the last chance of limiting global heating to 1.5°C.
- Ensure the end of the exploration, extraction, export, and import of fossil fuels by the UK as rapidly as possible.
- Ensure that steps taken to mitigate emissions minimize damage to ecosystems, food and water availability, and human health, as far as possible.
- Restore and expand natural ecosystems, and enhance the management of cultivated ecosystems, to protect and enhance biodiversity.
- Include the Mitigation and Conservation Hierarchy so that any development or activity that threatens nature uses this framework to prioritize the protection of nature.
- Address the UK’s entire ecological footprint at home and overseas by accounting for and monitoring the impacts on human health and the destruction of nature; through the production and consumption of goods and services and all relate…
The proposed legislation will also require itself to have a ‘positive impact’ on ‘local communities with a high deprivation’, ‘young people’, and ‘people with protected characteristics’ like religion, race, transgender status, and age.
Read rest at GB News
