Calderdale Council has backed a motion put forward by Green councillors to support the Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill. The bill, which puts a legal framework in place to step up climate and nature action, has its second reading in Parliament on 24 January 2025.
It is supported by over 180 MPs, including all four Green MPs, but disappointingly neither Calderdale MP Josh Fenton Glynn (Calder Valley) nor Kate Dearden (Halifax) are supporting the CAN Bill.
This is despite the fact that Calderdale is an area severely and increasingly impacted by flooding caused by environmental degradation and climate change.
Calderdale Council will now write to both MPs urging them to back the Bill and put its name to the cross-party CAN campaign, which already has the support of 370 councils and leading Labour figures, including Tracy Brabin and Andy Burnham, as well as MPs from a range of parties.
How you can help
- Email your MP and ask them to back the CAN Bill. The Zero Hour Campaign has a toolkit which makes this super easy and quick. It will only take two minutes.
- Support the campaign on social media. Tell your followers you have written to Josh/Kate asking them to back the Bill and share posts from the Zero Hour campaign and other key supporters.
This will put pressure on Kate and Josh. Both are new MPs in constituencies that have been devastated by flooding over the past decade. It is not good enough that they are standing on the sidelines on the issue. In fact, as a councillor Josh previously supported the Bill which was first introduced to Parliament by Caroline Lucas in 2019. Now he has been elected MP, he should be making the case for the CAN Bill to other MPs, based on the experiences of constituents in the Upper Valley.
Yes, we CAN pass the Climate and Nature bill! Please get behind the campaign and write to your MP.