RHODA WILSON
On Tuesday, Bernie Spofforth released a video that exposes the catastrophic implications of the Climate and Nature (“CAN”) Bill.
This Bill could devastate the UK’s economy, destroy rural communities and jeopardise energy security – all while eroding our rights and freedoms.
Bernie – If This is True: STOP the Climate and Nature Bill! 14 January 2025
The following are some highlights from Spofforth’s video.
Sponsors of the Climate and Nature Bill
The Climate and Nature Bill is being largely ignored by the media, despite being the most important bill in a decade, and its potential impact on freedom and government overreach.
“The bill aligns closely with other International initiatives like the EU’s Nature Restoration Law and the UN’s Agenda 2030,” Spofforth said.
As it nears its second reading in the House of Commons, the Bill has the support of 182 Members of Parliament (“MPs”).
Note from The Exposé: Over time, the Bill has changed names and had various sponsors. Former Green MP Caroline Lucas initially introduced the Bill to the UK House of Commons in September 2020 and has continued to support the bill and co-sponsored it multiple times. When Lucas introduced it, the Bill was titled the ‘Climate and Ecology Bill’. Labour MP Olivia Blake reintroduced the Bill in May 2023.
Labour MP Alex Sobel reintroduced campaign group Zero Hour’s Bill under the new title ‘Climate and Nature Bill’ in May 2024, and was a co-sponsor of the Bill. Liberal Democrat MP Roz Savage, the current sponsor of the Climate and Nature Bill, reintroduced it on 16 October 2024. In her report, Spofforth has focused on the previous sponsor of the Bill, Alex Sobel.
Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse has been involved with the bill since April 2023. And Liberal Democrat MP Ed Davey, Labour MP Clive Lewis and Alliance MP Stephen Farry, for example, have sponsored the Bill multiple times. You can see a full list of MPs supporting the CAN Bill HERE and view an interactive map of MPs supporting the Bill HERE.
The Bill, reintroduced in May 2024 and sponsored by Labour MP Alex Sobel, claims to save the planet but instead destroys individual freedom and opens the door to massive government overreach, Spofforth said.
Alex Sobel has a strong ideological commitment to environmental issues but lacks business or economic experience in the private sector, making his vision a socialist dream of control and conquest.
The UK already has robust climate laws, including the Climate Change Act of 2008 and the Environment Act of 2021, which are already crippling some farmers and will likely bankrupt the country by 2050, Spofforth warned.
A Vague and Dangerous Framework
The Climate and Nature Bill lacks clarity and detail, with no dates, economic balance or economic analysis, making it a vague overarching framework that can be easily misused and interpreted in countless ways.
Its use of broad language allows this or future governments to do almost anything they want and justify it in the name of saving the planet, which is a great concern.
Fossil Fuel Ban and Its Consequences
Clause 2[d) of the bill proposes banning fossil fuels, including exploration, extraction, export and import, which could lead to bans or heavy taxes on petrol, diesel and heating fuel, making them unaffordable for millions.
2 Duty of the Secretary of State: climate and nature strategy
(3) The strategy must include measures that, subject to sections 3 and 4, will 15 achieve the objectives specified in section 1 by—
(d) ensuring the end of the exploration, extraction, export and import of fossil fuels by the United Kingdom as rapidly as possible.
Climate and Nature Bill (As Introduced), Zero Hour
“You will be forced into heat pumps because you won’t be able to get the fuel for your boiler. And it will create wider and wider gaps between those who have and
those who just have not,” Spofforth warned.
Additionally, the Bill will lead to a ban on importing fuel, making it difficult for people to maintain their petrol or diesel cars, and forcing them to switch to electric vehicles, especially in rural areas where transport is already sparse.
Unrealistic Emission Targets and Personal Carbon Allowances
The bill aims to reduce emissions from UK activities and imports to meet the 1.5 degree Celsius global warming target, which was part of the Paris agreement that became law through Royal Ascent, not through a parliamentary vote.
The Bill’s premise to control economic and social activities within the UK is a “global carbon budget.” Among other controlling measures that the Bill empowers a selected, appointed few to use, the Bill aims to limit the United Kingdom’s “total emissions of carbon dioxide to no more than its proportionate share of the remaining global carbon budget.” In the Bill, the “remaining global carbon budget” means “400 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.” (Where has that figure come from? Is it made up, pulled out of thin air? Has anyone sponsoring and supporting the CAN Bill even bothered to check where that figure comes from? Or, are they simply making decisions based on campaign mantras and ideologies?)
To achieve this target, personal carbon allowances may be introduced, which would track people’s energy use, travel and food choices through digital IDs and smart meters, and penalise those who exceed their quota.
The wealthy, including those in the public sector, may be able to afford to live without these restrictions, while ordinary people would face penalties and restrictions.
Ecosystem Restoration and Land Grabs
The bill also aims to restore ecosystems and prioritise conservation, which could lead to compulsory land purchasing for rewilding projects, solar farms and other initiatives, potentially forcing farmers and rural residents to lose their homes and livelihoods.
This could lead to rural areas becoming emptier and more food insecure, forcing families into overcrowded urban centres, which aligns with the international vision of C40 Cities and Agenda 2030.
Offsetting Impact and Widening Inequality
The bill’s offsetting impact provision could allow the wealthy to buy their way out of restrictions through carbon offsets, while the rest of the population would have to ration energy and potentially sell their excess carbon quota to richer people.
This could also lead to taxes on everyday consumer items, widening the gap between the wealthy and ordinary people.
2 Duty of the Secretary of State: climate and nature strategy
(3) The strategy must include measures that, subject to sections 3 and 4, will achieve the objectives specified in section 1 by—
(h) taking every possible step to avoid, where avoidance is not possible, limit, and where limiting is not possible, restore, or otherwise offset, the adverse impacts in the United Kingdom and overseas on ecosystems and human health.
Climate and Nature Bill (As Introduced), Zero Hour
Carbon offsetting “means that the wealthy buy their way out of restrictions through carbon offsets so while the rest of us are rationing energy we would perhaps sell our excess carbon quota to a richer person so that we could buy food, and they could of course still go on holiday,” Spofforth explained.
Adding, “Everyday items could become a luxury now. This is not a theoretical situation. This is something that actually is happening in practice and some of these duties and taxes will become law in 2026. The EU already have them in place.”
Unelected Assembly and Lack of Accountability
The bill proposes the establishment of an unelected assembly, a Climate and Nature Assembly, to advise on strategies to meet its goals, which could lead to policies like carbon quotas and travel bans being pushed through without public scrutiny or accountability.
This unelected committee would have significant influence over the country’s future, justifying their recommendations as expert advice, and would further disempower communities and citizens.
The section is titled “public involvement” but that’s not what they mean. If you are hoodwinked into thinking they are referring to involving us the public – we who will suffer the consequences of their nefarious plans – just think about how much scrutiny of and input into the CAN Bill the public has, up to this point, been encouraged or even permitted. None. A handful of ideologues are devising these plans and railroading them through Parliament hoping we won’t notice what they’re doing before it is too late.
The Real Purpose: Control and Restriction
The Bill’s real purpose is not to tackle climate and biodiversity challenges, but to provide a framework for massive control, allowing the government to justify sweeping restrictions on personal freedoms and economic choices.
The Bill does not empower communities but rather disempowers them, and its vague promises of ecosystem restoration and emission cuts mask the realities of displacement, surveillance and increased restrictions.
If passed, the bill could strip away freedoms under the guise of saving the planet, prioritising ideology over practicality and democracy. It is up to citizens to stay involved and protect their freedoms, which are fragile and could be lost if the bill is passed,
The second reading of the Bill in the House of Commons is scheduled for 24 January. Contact your MP and let them know why, as your representative, they should not vote in favour of this draconian Bill.
This article (UK’s CAN Bill: A draconian, vague law and what we can do to stop it before it’s too late) was created and published by Free Speech Backlash and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author Rhoda Wilson
*****
ALTHOUGH…
For those worried that the Climate and Nature bill is a plot to TRACK EVERY CHOICE YOU MAKE:
Stop getting your Great Big Reset pants in a palaver.
JO WALLER
Quoting someone saying that the Bill is a plot to control our every action, doesn’t mean that this is true.
Have you read the Act? It is zero percent accountability and dead lines and one hundred percent wriggle room for fossil fuel cartels to lobby politicians and for politicians with animal ag farmers in their constituencies.
‘Require the United Kingdom to achieve climate and nature targets (no time limits); to give the Secretary of State a duty to implement a strategy to achieve those targets; to establish a Climate and Nature Assembly to advise the Secretary of State in creating that strategy; to give duties to the Committee on Climate Change and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee regarding the strategy and targets; and for connected purposes. B E IT ENACTED by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— 1 Duty of the Secretary of State: climate and nature targets
(1) The Secretary of State must achieve the objectives in subsection (2) (“the objectives”).
(2) The objectives are to ensure that the United Kingdom— (a) reduces its overall contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions to 5 net zero at a rate consistent with— (i) limiting the global mean temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels as defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; and (ii) fulfilling its obligations and commitments under the UNFCCC 10 and the Paris Agreement (which has already failed), taking into account the United Kingdom’s and other countries’ common but differentiated responsibilities, and respective capabilities, considering national circumstances (wriggle room); (‘the climate target’); and 15 (b) halts and reverses its overall contribution to the degradation and loss of nature in the United Kingdom and overseas by— (i) increasing the health, abundance, diversity and resilience of 20 species, populations, habitats and ecosystems so that by 2030, and measured against a baseline of 2020 (very low bar), nature is visibly and measurably on the path of recovery; (ii) fulfilling its obligations under the UNCBD and its protocols and the commitments set out in the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature Bill 192 58/4 Climate and Nature Bill 1 and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; and (iii) following the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities; (‘the nature target’).
(3) The Secretary of State may fulfil the duty in subsection (1) by acting on matters of devolved legislative competence, subject to section 5. 2 Duty of the Secretary of State: climate and nature strategy (1) 10 The Secretary of State must, within 12 months (already procrastinated for a year in even producing a strategy, let alone implementing it) of the passing of this Act, publish and lay before Parliament a strategy (‘the strategy’) to achieve the objectives specified in section 1. (2) The strategy must include annual interim targets consistent with the achievement of the objectives and the Secretary of State must take all reasonable steps (lots of wriggle room) to meet those annual interim targets. (3) The strategy must include measures that, subject to sections 3 and 4, will 15 achieve the objectives specified in section 1 by— (a) limiting the United Kingdom’s total emissions of carbon dioxide to no more than its proportionate share of the remaining global carbon budget; (b) reducing emissions of carbon dioxide in respect of imports to the 20 United Kingdom, at the same percentage rate each year as the annual reduction of the United Kingdom’s emissions of carbon dioxide required pursuant to (a); (c) 25 reducing the United Kingdom’s emissions of greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide at rates consistent with a proportionate United Kingdom contribution to limiting global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius; (d) ensuring the end of the exploration, extraction, export and import of fossil fuels by the United Kingdom as rapidly as possible (no time limit); (e) 30 ensuring that steps taken under the strategy to mitigate emissions in the United Kingdom and overseas minimise damage to ecosystems, food and water availability, and human health, as far as possible; (f) restoring and expanding natural ecosystems and enhancing the management of cultivated ecosystems, in the United Kingdom and 35 overseas, to protect and enhance biodiversity, ecological processes, and ecosystem service provision; (g) ensuring that all activities in the United Kingdom which affect the health, abundance, diversity and resilience of species, populations and ecosystems prioritise avoidance of the loss of nature, through adherence to the Mitigation and Conservation Hierarchy; (h) taking every possible step to avoid, where avoidance is not possible, 40 limit, and where limiting is not possible, restore, or otherwise offset, the adverse impacts in the United Kingdom and overseas on ecosystems and human health of— (i) 45 United Kingdom-generated production and consumption of goods and services, and 2 Climate and Nature Bill (ii) all related trade, transport and financing including impacts from the extraction of raw materials, deforestation, land and water degradation, pollution and waste production.
(4) 5 With respect to subsection (3)(a), (b) and (c), measures in the strategy must seek to achieve the objectives by reducing the United Kingdom’s gross greenhouse gas emissions, and those in respect of imports to the United Kingdom, as far and as rapidly as possible.
(5) The strategy must— (a) 10 in the opinion of the Secretary of State, be projected to have an overall positive impact on— (i) local communities with a high deprivation rating according to Government deprivation indices; (ii) young people; and (iii) 15 people with protected characteristics under section 4 of the Equality Act 2010; (b) set out how the requirements under paragraph (a) have been met; and (c) include financial support and retraining for people whose livelihoods and jobs will be affected by the proposed measures—including those 20 measures that require transitioning out of industries characterised by high emissions and high impacts on ecosystems.
(6) The strategy may include measures in areas of devolved legislative competence subject to section 5. 3 Public involvement (1) 25 The Secretary of State must, within three months of the passing of this Act, procure, by open tender, an expert independent body to establish a Climate and Nature Assembly (‘the Assembly’) (greenwashers) comprising a representative sample of the United Kingdom population. (2) The body appointed pursuant to subsection (1) must secure the establishment of the Assembly within three months of appointment. (3) The Assembly must consider relevant expert advice and publish its 30 recommendations for measures to be included in the strategy. (4) Working together, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) must— (a) 35 review the Assembly’s recommendations under subsection (3) and relevant expert advice; and (b) publish a joint proposal for measures to be included in the strategy, including all recommendations by the Assembly that have the support of 66% or more of its members unless, in the opinion of either the 40 CCC or the JNCC, there are exceptional and compelling reasons, which must be stated, not to implement those recommendations. (5) The Secretary of State must include in the strategy all recommendations by the Assembly that have the support of 66% or more of its members, where those recommendations are also jointly proposed by the CCC and the JNCC. Climate and Nature Bill 3 (6) Subsection (5) does not apply where, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, there are exceptional and compelling reasons, which must be stated in the strategy, not to implement those recommendations. 4 5 Duties of the Committee on Climate Change and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (1) The CCC and the JNCC must— (a) evaluate, monitor and report annually on the implementation of the strategy and on the achievement of the interim targets; (b) undertake the duties referred to in sections 3 and 6. (2) The CCC must recommend annual emissions budgets for each greenhouse 10 gas for the United Kingdom, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with a view to the requirements of section 2 being met. 5 Approval by devolved legislatures (1) 15 The targets in section 1 apply to matters of devolved legislative competence if the condition in subsection (2) is met. (2) That condition is— (a) in relation to Scotland, that the Scottish Parliament has passed a motion of the form “That this Parliament agrees to the climate and nature targets in section 1 of the Climate and Nature Act 2024”; (b) in relation to Wales, that Senedd Cymru has passed a motion of the 20 form “That the Senedd agrees to the climate and nature targets in section 1 of the Climate and Nature Act 2024”; (c) in relation to Northern Ireland, that the Northern Ireland Assembly 25 has passed a motion of the form “That this Assembly agrees to the climate and nature targets in section 1 of the Climate and Nature Act 2024”. (3) The strategy under subsection (2) may include measures in areas of devolved legislative competence if the condition in subsection (4) is met. (4) That condition is— (a) in relation to matters within the legislative competence of the Scottish 30 Parliament, that the Scottish Parliament has passed a motion of the form “That this Parliament agrees to the measures in the Climate and Nature Strategy”; (b) 35 in relation to matters within the legislative competence of Senedd Cymru, that Senedd Cymru has passed a motion of the form “That this Senedd agrees to the measures in the Climate and Nature Strategy”; and (c) in relation to matters within the legislative competence of the Northern 40 Ireland Assembly, that the Assembly has passed a motion of the form “That this Assembly agrees to the measures in the Climate and Nature Strategy”. 4 Climate and Nature Bill 6 Acceptance and implementation of the strategy and any revisions (1) The Secretary of State must lay the strategy before the House of Commons. (2) A Minister of the Crown must move a motion for resolution of the House of Commons of the form in subsection (3). (3) The form of the motion is “That this House approves the Climate and Nature 5 Strategy, laid before this House on [date]”. (4) The Secretary of State must implement the strategy, including— (a) any amendments made to the strategy in accordance with the resolution of the House of Commons under subsection (2); (b) any revisions made under subsection (6). 10 (5) The Secretary of State must report annually to Parliament on the implementation of the strategy or any revisions thereto; and on progress towards achieving the objectives (no mention of penalties for not meeting targets, a slap on the wrist maybe) and interim targets under sections 1 and 2. (6) 15 If, at any time, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, the CCC or the JNCC based on up-to-date scientific evidence, or of the House of Commons expressed by resolution, the measures in the strategy or the interim targets are unlikely to achieve the objectives, the Secretary of State must revise the strategy, or make a statement to the House of Commons explaining why a revision is not necessary.
(7) Whenever the strategy is revised under subsection (6), the provisions of 20 subsections (4) and (5) apply. 7 Financial provisions There is to be paid out of money provided by Parliament— (a) any expenditure incurred under or by virtue of this Act; and (b) any increase attributable to this Act in the sums payable under any other 25 Act out of money so provided. 8 Interpretation (1) In this Act— “the United Kingdom’s total emissions of carbon dioxide” means— (a) all territorial emissions of carbon dioxide from the United 30 Kingdom, and (b) all emissions of carbon dioxide generated by the United Kingdom’s share of international aviation and shipping, emitted between 2020 and 2050; “emissions of carbon dioxide in respect of imports to the United 35 Kingdom” means emissions of carbon dioxide generated outside the United Kingdom by the production of goods that are imported to the United Kingdom, and by the provision of services overseas that are received in the United Kingdom; “remaining global carbon budget” means 400 billion tonnes of carbon 40 dioxide; Climate and Nature Bill 5 “proportionate share of the remaining global carbon budget” means the share of the remaining global carbon budget in proportion to the United Kingdom’s share of the global population, averaged over the 5 period 2020 to 2050, using United Kingdom forecast population data from the Office for National Statistics and global forecast population data from Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 1; “greenhouse gas” has the same meaning as in section 92 of the Climate Change Act 2008; 10 “UNFCCC” means the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which entered into force on 21 March 1994, and all subsequent agreements and protocols arising from it; “the Paris Agreement” means the agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted on 12 December 2015; “nature” includes— 15 (a) the abundance, diversity and distribution of animal, plant, fungal and microbial life, (b) the extent and condition of habitats, and (c) the health and integrity of ecosystems; “ecosystems” includes natural and managed ecosystems and the air, soils, 20 water and abundance and diversity of organisms of which they are composed; “UNCBD and its protocols” means the United Nations Convention on 25 Biological Diversity, which entered into force on 29 December 1993, and all subsequent agreements and protocols arising from it; “the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature” means the agreement of the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity of 28 September 2020; “the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” means the 30 framework adopted by the decision of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal on 19 December 2022; and “the Mitigation and Conservation Hierarchy” means the hierarchy adopted by resolution 58 of the World Conservation Congress at the 35 International Union for Conservation of Nature from 1 to 10 September 2016. 9 Extent, commencement and short title (1) This Act extends to England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. (2) This Act comes into force on the day on which it is passed. (3) This Act may be cited as the Climate and Nature Act 2024. 6 Climate and Nature Bill Climate and Nature Bill.’
It is total greenwashing bullshit. Not a plan to control nor bankrupt us. We are destroying our ability to live on this planet with our profligate lifestyles and imports. High emitting products should be more expensive. Industry should have to pay for polluting the environment. People complain about subsidies for green energy but they are outweighed by subsidies for fossil fuels, which cover pipelines, excavation and production as well as reducing the price direct to the consumer. The tax payer is giving money to companies who make $billions in profits. When implicit costs of fossil fuels to the environment and health are added in, we discover that the tax payer covers the oil billionaires to the tune of $7 trillion per year, far outweighing subsidies to renewables by miles.
However, no attempt will be made to slow down this process, at least not with this Bill.
Manufacturing left the UK years ago and had nothing to do with co2 emissions. It had more to do with being undercut by cheap foreign goods from the ‘far east’ which didn’t have our laws on pay and conditions. Net-zero asks for the same consideration and respect for the environment as for employees. Off-shoring has already removed the majority of our emissions. Including imports takes us to about 2.7% instead of 1% of global co2- which for a small country, just 0.08% of the population, is a lot. It also doesn’t include international flights.
Though net zero is a scam to indefinitely procrastinate it is supported by many people who also think it’s too little, too late.
Netzero is opposed by many who’ve fallen from the propaganda by Reform (funded by fossil fuels) who omit to include that the monetary cost of not implementing netzero is as high, or higher, than doing so. They, of course, also ignore the environmental cost of not addressing the climate crisis: which will be the ultimate one, of humanity’s continued existence on the planet.
Scientifically illiterate Reform says the cost of net-zero is “estimated by the National Grid and others at some £2tn or more” – but leaves out the part about this being cheaper than not meeting net-zero. ‘Scenarios that deliver Net Zero do not result in a material increase in costs over the scenario where Net Zero is not met by 2050’.
Strikingly, the IEA concluded that accelerating climate action to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 would make the global energy system “more affordable and fairer”. Rapid role out of clean technologies will make energy cheaper, not more costly.
“Energy transitions could lead to major reductions in household energy bills and accelerate progress towards universal energy access. But managing upfront costs for poorer and rural households – as well as ongoing costs – remains a key public policy challenge.”’ Hence considerable pushback on green investment from richer and urban households. And from the fossil fuel industry, currently making record breaking $trillions in profits.
The bill is procrastinating, greenwashing bullshit. There is no need to be TERRIFIED of it. That would be a more understandable reaction to the climate and environmental crises.
This article (For those worried that the Climate and Nature bill is a plot to TRACK EVERY CHOICE YOU MAKE:) was created and published by Jo Waller and is republished here under “Fair Use”
Featured image: eoi.es
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