My Take Away Bites: Kim Price
On line event Friday, 11 December 2020
This event was a collaboration between the CEE Bill Alliance Oxfordshire and the 19th Oxford Human Rights Festival which is part of the Centre of Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP) at Brookes University.
People do care about the planet- I’m not an oddball
I am not alone in being worried, concerned, passionate and frustrated about our climate emergency; sitting in my lounge with my two adult children, it was encouraging to see 229 people from all over Oxfordshire join the event on a Friday night. However, it was noticeable that the only local MPs who made time to join the event were Anneliese Dodds and Layla Moran. Yet one of the main messages or requests from the panel and participants was that this issue requires cross-party support, collaboration and engagement.
We can’t tackle climate change in silos
We all know tackling climate change is complex and the CEE Bill emphasises that interconnectedness will be fundamental to any solutions. Planning bills, environmental bills, transport bills, agriculture bills with any financial incentives, all have to dovetail and align with the climate emergency.
We can’t leave it to others, and certainly not to politicians alone
We can all do our bit – we can talk to others; we can use our vote and voice to drive change. We can hold our politicians and local government to account for their actions and record on climate change. As consumers we have to change how we consume – our purse is our power. We can rethink how we travel, how we eat, what we buy (cars and anything in single-use plastic) and clothe ourselves (no to fast fashion) – we need to reduce consumption yes, we can recycle yes, we can buy second hand, yes, but we need to exert pressure so the supply chain gets rethought. Pause before you purchase!
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We have an emergency, there is so little time to redress the balance and we have to act now. We have to act within a clear, joined-up, global strategy. There was genuine concern that neither the government nor parliament are acting with enough urgency. Urgency is the first focus area listed in the CEE Bill, followed by science, targets, fairness, and accountability. This year and the next ten years are critical to addressing the climate emergency.
Onside
It is important we get everyone on side and it matters what we say and how we say it. To that end, the CEE Bill does highlight the role and contribution of all stakeholders with evidence in the CEE Bill of the economic and social positive impacts of it. It is this evidence of the impact that will enable us to ‘win the argument’ or more to the point persuade the public to trust that any change will be good, short term and longer-term, with the result that we will have a healthy planet for our grandchildren to live on.
Blue Peter
Here is one I made earlier …
What helps me tackle difficult things is seeing others strive with similar issues. Knowing it can be done helps me persevere. Seeing the courage and patience of others enables me to believe I will get there. I was struck by the comment of a one-panel member, drawing our attention to the very painful and difficult negotiations that were had over the last decade to change Ireland’s abortion law. There comes a time when enough is enough, and the damage is all too evident; I do believe there is the will by the young, the old and the in-between to get climate change under control. The event ended on a positive courageous commitment. At the end of the Zoom call my nippers and I felt informed, involved, empowered and energised.
Watch the video to learn more about the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill at
Author: Kim Price
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