As part of the annual Go Green week, the Guild of Students, in collaboration with the University of Birmingham’s (UoB) branch of Extinction Rebellion (XR), held a panel discussion about the proposed Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) bill, which calls for a more stringent plan for reducing our entire carbon footprint, and restoring vital ecosystems.

The panellists, including, Head of Development Policy at Birmingham City Council, Maria Dunn, CEE bill team representative Emma Vaughan, and Selly Oak MP, Steve McCabe, discussed the importance of having a robust framework for meeting our target of limiting global temperature rises to 1.5°C.

‘Our government isn’t doing enough.’ UoB XR representative, Paul Bell, told Redbrick, ‘The Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) Bill would enshrine in law the responsibility of the government, not only to deal with these issues, but to deal with them in a way that protects minorities and deprived communities.’

‘The bill is wide ranging and would make several important changes to current law such as: including our overseas emissions in our targets, requiring the active restoration of ecosystems, and avoiding any reliance on carbon capture technologies that haven’t been invented yet. It will also require a citizen’s assembly to take place, where the people’s voices and solutions can be heard.’

In June 2019, the UK government passed laws to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but the CEE bill would call for consumption-based emissions, that takes into account emissions from the production and distribution of goods imported into the UK. It has also been stated that even if net zero emissions were reached globally by 2050, this still only gives us a 50% chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C.

‘If it passes, the bill would ensure the government takes action that works with communities and the environment, and includes our full responsibility for the crisis, which has so far been unfairly placed on the countries which are struggling the most.’

This comes after the UK government, as well as the Guild, declared a climate emergency last year, but the CEE bill would go a step further, requiring strict timeframes for meeting our targets, as well as making the restoration and expansion of ecosystems a legal requirement, just in time for the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow later this year.

‘A powerful action is writing an email or letter to your MP asking them to support the bill, fantastically the MP for Selly Oak, Steve McCabe is in support already so it would be better to direct them to your home MP,’ urges Bell, with McCabe being one of 98 MPs currently in support of the bill.

‘For more information about the Bill and how to get involved I’d recommend checking out the CEE Bill Alliance website, www.ceebill.uk. Also, the group I’m a part of, Extinction Rebellion UoB, will soon be running some more events on the CEE Bill so keep checking our Facebook and Instagram for those (@xruniofbham).’

‘Finally tell your friends about the bill; it sounds like a small action but every bit of awareness counts. We’re at a turning point in history and our generation is going to live right through it. It’s our future, and we need legislation like the CEE Bill to ensure that the government works with us, not against us, in fighting the crisis.

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