The CEE Bill is a framework of overarching policy imperatives that acknowledge the interconnections between the climate, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, as well as our responsibility to reduce our entire emissions and ecological footprints in a fair and equitable manner—in the UK and internationally.

It recognises that if we succeed in reaching net zero in a reasonable timescale without addressing issues  around environment, biodiversity loss and land use, we will not solve the climate emergency or prevent the Earth’s systems from breaking down.

Climate Emergency

• The Bill obliges the UK Government to reduce emissions in line with the most stringent end of the

  Paris Agreement ensuring that the UK does its real fair share to limit global heating to 1.5C.

• The Bill recognises the UK’s entire greenhouse gas footprint in calculating emissions. It accounts for

  emissions on everything the UK produces for domestic consumption—as well as those embedded in

  our imports. It accounts for emissions on all passenger transport, including aviation and

  international shipping, and also adheres to annual national carbon budgets.

• The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is reached primarily by reducing emissions caused by

  human activity and ensures an end to the extraction, export and import of fossil fuels as rapidly as

  possible.

• Critically, the Bill also makes sure that any steps taken to mitigate emissions do not damage

  ecosystems, food and water availability or human health.

Ecological emergency

• The Bill obliges the UK Government to protect and restore UK ecosystems to reverse the decline in

  biodiversity—and to protect and restore ecosystems that are critical in mitigating and adapting to

  climate change: Britain’s natural carbon sinks such as peatlands, woodlands, soil, wetlands and

  oceans.

• If the Bill is enacted, the UK would have a strict nature target to ensure that it reverses the decline

  in the state of nature no later than 2030. This also requires the commitments set out in the Leaders’

  Pledge for Nature to be set in legislation.

• The Bill recognises the extent of the UK’s entire ecological footprint and accounts for ecological

  damage caused by UK-generated cycles of consumption and production—including extraction of

  raw materials, deforestation, land degradation, pollution and waste.

Fairness

• For the first time, the Bill requires the UK to recognise its responsibility to reduce its entire

  emissions and ecological footprints in the UK and internationally—and in a fair and equitable

  manner.

• Stringent timeframes on when a strategy to set policies in motion must be produced with

  legally-binding, annual interim targets in order to achieve the Bill’s objectives.

• The strategy produced to meet the Bill’s objectives must include steps to avoid negatively impacting

  vulnerable communities and must include financial support and retraining for people working in

  sectors and industries which are affected by the proposed measures.

Deliberative democracy

• The Bill stipulates that a temporary Climate Assembly will be convened, using sortition to select a

  representative group from members of the public.

• Citizens, environmental experts, Ministers and Parliamentarians will work together to create an

  emergency strategy to achieve the Bill’s objectives. The recent Climate Assembly achieved this

  successfully, although its results were advisory only.

• The Assembly will pass its recommendations through the Climate Change Committee and the Joint

  Nature Conservation Committee before the final strategy is approved by Parliament.

• The Assembly aims to empower MPs to work across party lines to agree bold decisions, avoiding the

  polarising constraints of party politics—and allow citizens to have a real say in the just transition to a

  zero carbon society and thriving natural world.