Since my re-election as MP earlier this month, I have been busy supporting environmental organisations, Global Action Plan and Zero Hour, in delivering their petitions to Downing Street.
I back calls from both organisations calling on the new Labour Government to take swift action and commit to ambitious targets that protect our environment.
Clean Air Petition
Global Action Plan are an environmental charity focused on the impacts of air pollution on our health. I am delighted to show my support to a fantastic charity that is dedicated to addressing the most significant long-term threat we are facing.
Air pollution is the biggest environmental risk to health, causing 43,000 deaths in the UK each year and many long-term illnesses and diseases. It disproportionately impacts the health of people in Manchester Rusholme and across the UK. Evidence shows that the harms are not felt equally, impacting those living on lower incomes and minority ethnic communities (the global majority) the hardest.
I am deeply concerned about this issue – I have raised it in Parliament several times and I have worked with local schools, councillors, and activists in advocating for climate action in the community.
This petition urged the Government to:
- Make walking, wheeling and cycling safer
- Ensure everyone can access reliable, affordable and efficient transport.
I am pleased that tackling air pollution is a priority for the Government. Cleaner air will result in improvements across all Government departments, from economics, to public health, to environmental protection.
I am proactively working in the House of Commons to support the Government to bring in initiatives to clean up our air and I will continue to support the introduction of a Clean Air Act.
Climate and Nature Bill Petition
Zero Hour is the campaign group behind the Climate and Nature Bill. It is made up of a small team of mostly volunteers, driven by a shared commitment to urge the Government to deliver a comprehensive and joined-up approach to the climate-nature emergency.
The Climate and Nature Bill represents a comprehensive plan for new UK legislation to address the full scale of the climate-nature crisis, grounded in the best scientific evidence. The Bill urges the UK to:
- Create a joined-up plan—the crises in climate and nature are deeply intertwined, requiring a plan that considers both together.
- Cut emissions in line with 1.5°C—ensuring UK emissions are reduced rapidly, for the last chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C.
- Not only halt, but also reverse the decline in nature—setting nature measurably on the path to recovery by 2030.
- Take responsibility for our overseas footprint—both emissions and ecological.
- Prioritise nature in decision-making and ends fossil fuel production and imports as rapidly as possible.
- Ensure no-one is left behind—through fairness provisions.
- Involve the public—giving people a say in finding a fair way forward through a Climate & Nature Assembly, an essential tool for bringing the public along with the unprecedented pace of change required.
The petition urges the Prime Minister to give time for the Bill to progress in Parliament.
I am proud to support a Government that recognises the severity of the environmental challenges we face and has already committed to expediting a just transition to a clean energy future, expanding nature-rich habitats, planting millions of trees, and putting an end to river pollution.
The Bill offers an opportunity for the new Government to continue leading the monumental change we need to avoid the worsening impacts of climate change and ensure a joined-up approach to tackling the climate and nature crisis.
I know the Labour Government is truly committed to reclaiming the UK’s global climate and nature leadership and I am looking forward to seeing the bold action our it takes to tackle the several environmental challenges we face. I will continue to support the Government, as well as Zero Hour and Global Action Plan, in the ways that I can.