The letter has almost 450 signatures as the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill heads back to Parliament.
Amendments to the Bill seek to introduce a new legal obligation for local authorities to prioritise climate action while strengthening their duties to protect nature in their communities.
LONDON, 24 November — Hundreds of cross-party local leaders, cabinet members and councillors have signed an open letter to Ministers in support of a climate statutory duty for local authorities as the Devolution Bill heads back to Parliament today.
The councillors that signed the letter include 22 leaders or deputy leaders of councils, 61 council cabinet members, Labour London Assembly Member, Leonie Cooper and Labour Mayoral candidate for Hampshire & Solent, Lorna Fielker. The list of council leaders includes:
- Adam Hug - Leader of Westminster City Council (Labour)
- Phil Munday - Leader of Havant Borough Council (Labour)
- Scott Patient - Deputy Leader, Climate and Environment portfolio, Calderdale MBC (Labour)
- Chloe Turner - Leader of Stroud District Council (Green)
- Andy Mellen - Leader of Mid Suffolk District Council (Green)
- Lisa Spivey - Leader of Gloucestershire County Council (Liberal Democrat)
- Nick Ireland - Leader of Dorset Council (Liberal Democrat)
The letter was launched by UK100 and Climate Emergency UK as The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill reaches the Report Stage in the House of Commons, representing the final opportunity to include a statutory duty in the Bill.
Amendments to the Bill, due to be debated later on Monday, seek to introduce a new legal obligation for local authorities to prioritise climate action while strengthening their duties to protect nature in their communities.
The amendments have the backing of 24 cross-party MPs, making climate and nature duties one of the best supported proposals for consideration during the report stage of the Devolution Bill. Backers include Labour, Green, Liberal Democrat, Conservatives, and the Independent Alliance.
In support, the letter signed by local leaders and councillors calls on Ministers Miatta Fahnbulleh and Katie White to introduce new climate and nature duties modelled on the local health duty in the Bill.
Christopher Hammond, Chief Executive of UK100, said:
"The extraordinary response from hundreds of councillors across almost every major party should be no real surprise. When we surveyed our members, nearly 90% of local authorities backed a statutory climate duty.
"Without this statutory backing, councils will continue fighting with one hand tied behind their backs while the window to act rapidly closes."
Isaac Beevor, Partnerships Director of Climate Emergency UK, said:
"Local leaders are ready to deliver on climate action, but they're being held back by fragmented funding, short-term thinking and a lack of clear legal footing.
"The report stage of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill is a pivotal moment. Ministers can seize this opportunity to put climate and nature duties into the Bill. And if they don't, we're calling on MPs to back the amendment.”
Cllr Chloe Turner, Leader of Stroud District Council, said:
"Our Green-led council has shown what's possible when climate action is prioritised, but to avoid a patchwork and postcode lottery of action across England, we need the government to back councils with proper funding and powers. A statutory duty must come with the resources to deliver real change for our communities."
Cllr Mike Hakata, Cabinet lead for Climate Action, Environment and Transport at the London Borough of Haringey, said:
“Haringey residents are experiencing the impacts of climate breakdown right now through extreme heat and flooding, and these will only intensify. Councils are at the forefront of climate action, and a statutory duty in the Devolution Bill would recognise the critical importance of this work and ensure all English councils have the framework and resources to deliver. We've shown what's possible in Haringey through energy projects, robust building standards and active travel expansion, but we need government support to match the scale of the challenge ahead.”
Cllr Andrew Mellen, Leader of Mid Suffolk Council and UK100 Co-president, said:
"The climate emergency doesn't respect political boundaries, and neither should our response. This overwhelming cross-party support shows local leaders are ready to deliver, but we need the government to step up with the statutory framework, resources and powers that make ambitious action possible."
Cllr Scott Patient, Deputy Leader, Climate and Environment portfolio, Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council, said:
"Calderdale lives the climate emergency through flooding. We've built strong partnerships and won recognition for our leadership, but trailblazing councils like Calderdale can't tackle this alone. We need a statutory duty backed by the powers and investment to protect our communities and deliver the government’s national climate ambitions.”
ENDS
More information: Liam Ward, UK100, liam.ward@uk100.org
Notes to the Editor
The open letter can be found here: https://bit.ly/StatutoryClimateAndNatureDuty
- The exact number of councillors that signed the letter is 444 at the time of sending
- Signatories to the letter had to verify their emails to ensure that their signatures were genuine
- Signatories included councillors almost every major party: Labour, Green, Liberal Democrat, and Conservative
Climate and nature duty amendments (NC29 and NC58) to the Devolution Bill are here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/59-01/0318/amend/english_dev_day_rep_1124.pdf
Leaders/Deputy Leaders signing the letter include:
Labour
- Adam Hug - Leader of Westminster City Council, Labour
- Phil Munday - Leader of Havant Borough Council, Labour
- Scott Patient - Deputy Leader, Climate and Environment portfolio, Calderdale MBC
- Lorna Fielker - Mayoral Candidate for Hampshire & Solent and former leader of Southampton City Council
- Leonie Cooper, Assembly Member, Greater London Authority, Labour & Co-operative
Liberal Democrats:
- Lisa Spivey - Leader of Gloucestershire County Council
- Nick Ireland - Leader of Dorset Council
- Mike Bell - Leader of North Somerset District Council
- Mike Evemy - Leader of Cotswold District Council
- Juliet Layton - Deputy Leader of Cotswold District Council
- Peter Taylor - Elected Member of Watford Borough Council
- Sarah Warren - Deputy Leader, Bath & North East Somerset
- Sally Symington - Deputy Leader, Hertfordshire County Council
Green party:
- Andrew Mellen - Leader of Mid Suffolk District
- Chloe Turner - Leader, Stroud District Council
- Ian Davison - Leader, Warwick District Council
- Jim Martin - Leader, Folkestone & Hythe district
- Catherine Braun - Deputy Leader, Stroud District Council
- Adrian Birch - Leader, Forest of Dean District Council
- Councillor Steve Ringham - Co-Leader, Runnymede District council
- Helen Glavin - Leader of Lewes District
- Cara Lavan - Deputy leader of Bristol City Council
- Deborah Saw - Deputy Leader, Babergh District Council
- Julia Hilton - Deputy Leader, Hastings District Council
About UK100
UK100 is the only network of ambitious councils led by all political parties working together to tackle climate change.
We help local leaders overcome challenges and turn innovation into solutions that work everywhere. We build the case for the powers needed to make change happen.
From cities to villages, we help communities across the UK create thriving places powered by clean energy — with fresh air to breathe, warm homes to live in, and a healthy natural environment.
About Climate Emergency UK
Climate Emergency UK is a not-for-profit which has been working with councils and residents to share best practice and to encourage effective council climate and nature action.
