Dacorum Climate Network calls on MP Gagan Mohindra to back the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill

Dacorum Climate Network is calling on the MP for South West Hertfordshire to back the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill (CEE).

Members of the group were out on Berkhamsted High Street on Tuesday, April 20, collecting signatories for a petition asking MP Gagan Mohindra to back the bill - along with 108 MPs across all parties bar the Conservative Party.

To attract attention, the group displayed an eye-catching installation representing the sea, originally created by XR Chesham and littered with the plastic that gathers in the ocean.

The caption was “All life on earth came from the sea. The future of all life on earth will come from the CEE.”

The bill, which awaits a second reading, aims to enshrine in law necessary action to reduce emissions and protect nature, honouring the concept of climate justice as a nation with a large historic and current carbon footprint, and giving a voice to a Citizens’ Assembly with access to climate and ecological science.

Sue Hampton, a spokesperson for Dacorum Climate Network, said: “This bill is necessary because, as climate scientists show, nations including ours are not meeting Paris targets.

"Indeed, boasts and goals are worthless without radical action now. Not in 2050. Not in 2035, but now.

"And by action we don’t mean a new coal mine in Cumbria, expansion of eight airports, a new roadbuilding programme and the Silvertown Tunnel, cutting aid for countries at the sharp end of climate change or decimating ancient woodlands for HS2.”

MP Gagan Mohindra said: "Like these activists, tackling climate change and protecting our oceans are a priority for me and my parliamentary colleagues.

"However, my stance on this issue has not changed. I am pleased that the Government is taking this issue very seriously, so I do not believe the CEE Bill is necessary as crucial work is already underway.

"The conversations that we are having as a nation and with international allies in the lead up to COP26 are promising. This needs a global solution to a global problem.

"It is crucial that we continue to learn about the serious environmental challenges that we face."

Dacorum Climate Network also hung a banner from the multi-storey car park on the same day, and will continue the campaign in the coming months.

For more details about the petition - Support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill - visit: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/please-back-life-on-earth-by-supporting-the-cee-bill.