My letter to Kemi Badenoch MP Sarah Greenfield Clark 234 Main Road Broomfield Chelmsford Essex CM1 7AW Email: [email protected] Wednesday 4 July 2018 Dear Kemi Badenoch, I am writing to you as a constituent of Saffron Walden to invite you to sign up to a cross party MP letter calling for increased UK ambition on climate change. I’m part of the Climate Reality Project Leadership Corp, and I ’m particularly concerned about the impacts of climate change on our health and wellbeing, as well as our food security here in the UK. I m sure you are familiar with the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment that outlines the detrimental effects of climate change. The good news is that there are many positive examples of action to tackle climate change in our local area already, local food initiatives such as Sarah Green Organics, Saffron Walden Quakers Sustainability Conference and our very own Uttlesford District Council Climate Local Strategy and Action Plan (although this covers years 2015-2018). As we approach the tenth anniversary of the Climate Change Act, introduced in November 2008, we’d like to see the UK reclaim its pl ace at the forefront of global climate ambition by setting a target of net zero emissions before 2050. Hundreds of constituents will be speaking to their MPs about this over the coming months. The joint letter, led by MPs and supported by The Climate Coalition is calling for net zero emissions and has already been signed by MPs from across the political spectrum. As a supporter of the Coalition, we hope you too can add your name. The letter is enclosed, along with the list of MPs that have already signed up. Please confirm if you would like to sign up to the letter by letting us know and emailing [email protected] With other countries already taking a lead on stronger targets and a growing number of people in the UK speaking up in support of increased ambition, 2018 is the perfect year for you to join other MPs in showing your support. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Sarah Greenfield Clark On behalf of Climate Reality Project Cross Party Joint MP Letter Dear Prime Minister, Net Zero Emissions We are writing to you to welcome the announcement that the Government will ask the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) for advice on a net zero emissions target, with the aim of bringing our greenhouse gas emissions reduction target in line with the Paris Agreement. Given the existing advice from the CCC, the likely conclusion of the upcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, and that other countries have set net zero targets with dates between 2030 and 2050, including France, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and New Zealand, we believe this must be a target of net zero for greenhouse gases before 2050. British ingenuity, from Isambard Kingdom Brunel to Dorothy Hodgkin, has kept the UK at the forefront of science and engineering for more than two hundred years. Setting ourselves the goal of net zero emissions will put us at the forefront of the race for investment in clean industries, creating jobs all around the UK and inspiring the next generation. A net zero emissions target, fully implemented, will cut energy bills by improving the efficiency of our homes and businesses, it will get rid of the exhaust pipe emissions that pollute the air we breathe, and it will help to bring about the restoration of our natural habitats so they become stores of carbon, from forests to peatlands. We can have a greener Britain with cleaner air – and by making a clean break from harmful emissions, we’ll be sending a signal to our friends and allies around the world that Britain is shouldering our responsibility and leading the fight against climate change. Thanks to the actions of Governments of many different parties, and the cross-party consensus that exists in the UK on the need to tackle climate change, since 1992 we have led the world in emissions reductions. We can continue in this proud tradition of leadership by becoming one of the first countries in the world to set a net zero target in law. A recent poll by Opinium shows that 64% of UK adults agree the UK should aim to cut its emissions to zero over the next few decades. The Paris Agreement commits parties to “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre- industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”. In order to achieve this, we will support you in setting a before-2050 net zero greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, and hope that you will enshrine this in law within the lifetime of this Parliament. Yours sincerely, Simon Clarke, together with 124 MPs: Peter Aldous, Conservative Party Ben Bradshaw, Labour Party Heidi Allen, Conservative Party Tom Brake, Liberal Democrats David Amess, Conservative Party Karen Buck, Labour Party Richard Benyon, Conservative Party Vince Cable, Liberal Democrats Roberta Blackman-Woods, Labour Party Ruth Cadbury, Labour Party Paul Blomfield, Labour Party Ronnie Campbell, Labour Party Peter Bottomley, Conservative Party Alex Chalk, Conservative Party Bambos Charalambous, Labour Party Sarah Jones, Labour Party Mary Creagh, Labour Party Peter Kyle, Labour Party Jon Cruddas, Labour Party Ben Lake, Plaid Cymru Alex Cunningham, Labour Party Norman Lamb, Liberal Democrats Janet Daby, Labour Party Chris Law, Scottish National Party Ed Davey, Liberal Democrats Oliver Letwin, Conservative Party Gloria De Piero, Labour Party Clive Lewis, Labour Party Steve Double, Conservative Party Tony Lloyd, Labour Party Stephen Doughty, Labour Party Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour Party David Drew, Labour Party Jonathan Lord, Conservative Party Jack Dromey, Labour Party Tim Loughton, Conservative Party Jonathan Edwards, Plaid Cymru Caroline Lucas, Green Party Paul Farrelly, Labour Party Anne Main, Conservative Party Tim Farron, Liberal Democrats John Mann, Labour Party Frank Field, Labour Party Sandy Martin, Labour Party Vicky Ford, Conservative Party Rachael Maskell, Labour Party Yvonne Fovargue, Labour Party Chris Matheson, Labour Party Mark Garnier, Conservative Party Steve McCabe, Labour Party Cheryl Gillan, Conservative Party Kerry McCarthy, Labour Party Mary Glindon, Labour Party Siobhain McDonagh, Labour Party Ruth George, Labour Party Alison McGovern, Labour Party Roger Godsiff, Labour Party Catherine McKinnell, Labour Party Zac Goldsmith, Conservative Party Anna McMorrin, Labour Party Helen Goodman, Labour Party Johnny Mercer, Conservative Party Bill Grant, Conservative Party Ed Miliband, Labour Party Damian Green, Conservative Party Andrew Mitchell, Conservative Party Kate Green, Labour Party Madeleine Moon, Labour Party Louise Haigh, Labour Party Damien Moore, Conservative Party Stephen Hammond, Conservative Party Layla Moran, Liberal Democrats Harriet Harman, Labour Party Nicky Morgan, Conservative Party Helen Hayes, Labour Party Ian Murray, Labour Party James Heappey, Conservative Party Bob Neill, Conservative Party Drew Hendry, Scottish National Party Brendan O’Hara, Scottish National Party Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrats Jared O'Mara, Labour Party Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative Party Matthew Pennycook, Labour Party Kelvin Hopkins, Independent Toby Perkins, Labour Party George Howarth, Labour Party Luke Pollard, Labour and Co-op Party Rupa Huq, Labour Party Daniel Poulter, Conservative Party Bernard Jenkin, Conservative Party Yasmin Qureshi, Labour Party Darren Jones, Labour Party Ellie Reeves, Labour Party Marie Rimmer, Labour Party Jamie Stone, Liberal Democrats Lloyd Russell-Moyle, Labour Party Desmond Swayne, Conservative Party Antoinette Sandbach, Conservative Party Jo Swinson, Liberal Democrats Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru Derek Thomas, Conservative Party Virendra Sharma, Labour Party Thomas Tugendhat, Conservative Party Tommy Sheppard, Scottish National Party Ed Vaizey, Conservative Party Tulip Siddiq, Labour Party David Warburton, Conservative Party Eleanor Smith, Labour Party Giles Watling, Conservative Party Henry Smith, Conservative Party Catherine West, Labour Party Jeff Smith, Labour Party Matt Western, Labour Party Owen Smith, Labour Party Alan Whitehead, Labour Party Nicholas Soames, Conservative Party Dr Paul Williams, Labour Party Alex Sobel, Labour Party Dr Sarah Wollaston, Conservative Party Jo Stevens, Labour Party Daniel Zeichner, Labour Party Plus 51 signatures from the Members of the House of Lords Please find the latest signatures and an online version of the letter here https://www.theclimatecoalition.org/joint-letterr .