Fiona has signed the Joint Letter to the Prime Minister calling for a Net Zero Emissions target by 2050.
You can see the letter below:
"Dear Prime Minister,
Net Zero Emissions
We are writing to you to welcome the announcement that the Government has asked 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 conclusions of the 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,"
You can read more on the The Climate Coalition website: https://www.theclimatecoalition.org/joint-letter