UK General Election 2024
West Dorset
Needs You 
Are your West Dorset candidates backing the Climate & Nature Bill?
Let's show that we—the voters—want real action on climate and nature, sign the open letter →
Dear Candidates,
We are writing to you ahead of the General Election to ask you to back the Climate & Nature Bill if you are elected to Parliament.
The Climate & Nature Bill is backed by 45,679 members of the public and 1,516 incredible organisations, politicians, and scientists from across the UK.
As local residents, we're alarmed by the damage that's being inflicted on our community, livelihoods, health, and homes as a result of the climate-nature crisis.
Recently, Storm Ciaran caused widespread damage across Dorset, with residents experiencing devastating impacts from flooding and very strong winds, which impacted travel, damaged buildings, and led to multiple school closures. As local residents and business owners, we are increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of flood and high wind events, as their frequency continues to rise throughout the UK. [Source]
Across the nation, disasters like this are contributing to the rising cost of living. The higher prices we are paying for food, energy, transport, and consumer goods are all linked to our dependence on fossil fuels, the knock on effects of runaway climate change, and the destruction of nature.
But there is a solution. The Climate & Nature Bill is the legislation we need to tackle this growing crisis. The CAN Bill will help us build a healthier, more prosperous, nature-rich UK—as well as boosting new jobs and skills for people in West Dorset. It will make us:
- Better off - by ensuring our homes are properly insulated, and our energy is cleaner, less expensive and more secure.
- Healthier - by reducing air pollution, and by encouraging healthier, more sustainable food consumption, while supporting our farmers and food producers.
- Happier - by protecting our green spaces and the wildlife that depends on them, ensuring everyone has access to nature and increased wellbeing.
- More resilient - by reducing the threats from extreme weather, such as flooding, erosion, and crop failure.
You may hear that there are already laws in place to address environmental and climate breakdown. But they're not fit for purpose. The Climate Change Act 2008 was world-leading at the time, but it doesn't align with the 2015 Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C; it doesn't ensure the UK stays within its fair share of the global carbon budget; and it doesn't factor in emissions associated with imports (which account for almost half of the UK's overall emissions).
Meanwhile the UK, our once ‘green and pleasant land’, is now one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth. The Environment Act 2021 is weak in ambition—and only aims to halt species loss by 2030, which could see us in a worse state in ten years’ time. We need to bend the curve and restore nature now, both in the UK and around the world.
When made law, the Climate & Nature Bill will ensure that the UK has a clear road map to both protect our climate and restore the natural world—our best ally against the impacts of climate change. Plus, it will involve us—the public—providing 'buy in' for the changes we need to see. This will give confidence to business, local councils and our fellow citizens, so that we're on the same page with a clear, shared way forwards.
The Climate & Nature Bill will address all these gaps, ensuring that the UK:
- Sets a joined-up strategy to tackle the climate-nature crisis
- Commits to a carbon budget to keep global heating to 1.5°C
- Restores lost nature in our countryside, towns and cities
- Takes responsibility for our full emissions and ecological footprints, and
- Delivers a just transition that protects vulnerable communities and involves us all in a fair way forward.
Better yet, the CAN Bill will also boost new, local green jobs and skills for people in West Dorset. Our local economy will grow, and we'll bring back locally-loved wildlife to our community.
Will you be the hero we need in West Dorset? All you have to do is say: "Yes, I'm backing the Climate & Nature Bill!"
Yours sincerely,
The voters of West Dorset
Local Supporters
National Supporters
1,516 incredible organisations, politicians, and scientists from all parts of the UK are backing the Climate & Nature Bill, view all supporters →
