Greenpeace Lewes urges MP to press for carbon emissions target
Greenpeace Lewes have written to James MacCleary MP, about pressing for the UK’s Seventh Carbon Budget (CB7), which sets national carbon emission targets for 2038-2042, to be finalised, and for the UK to show leadership on moving to net zero carbon emissions.
Carbon budgets are five-year caps designed to gradually step down the UK’s greenhouse gas footprint, set 12 years in advance to give businesses and industries time to prepare.
CB7 potentially sets a legally binding limit of 535 MtCO₂e (million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) for the five-year period from 2038 to 2042. This target represents approximately an 87% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels.
Greenpeace Lewes’ letter to James MacCleary MP:
Dear James,
Over the coming weeks, Parliament will debate Carbon Budget 7, the next legally required step on the UK’s path to net zero.
Some will try to frame this debate as a choice between climate action and economic prosperity. They are wrong.
The real choice is between remaining dependent on expensive and volatile fossil fuels or building a future powered by affordable, homegrown renewable energy. The government has said meeting this carbon budget will save the UK an estimated £445 billion in fossil fuel spending over the next 25 years.
Recent years have shown just how vulnerable our country is to global gas markets. Households across Britain have paid the price through higher energy bills, while oil and gas companies have continued to report enormous profits. Every international crisis seems to bring another shock to household budgets.
The net zero economy is already growing at 10% a year and supporting nearly a million high-wage jobs. Hampering that transition means deliberately locking our community out of the 21st century’s biggest economic opportunity.
That is why Carbon Budget 7 matters.
It is not simply a climate target. It is a plan for greater energy security, lower long-term costs, cleaner air, and economic opportunity. It is about investing in industries and infrastructure that will help communities thrive in the decades ahead.
Here in Lewes we regularly hear from residents who want practical solutions to the challenges facing their families and communities.
As you know, the Greenpeace Lewes Group, which includes a number of your constituents, raised the Carbon 7 Budget with you in person at a recent meeting on 14 May at the Lewes Climate Hub. We are writing to enquire as to the progress and what you propose to do please
These conversations remind us that climate action is not an abstract Westminster debate. It is about the kind of future we are building together.
The UK has a proud history of climate leadership. We were the first major economy to legislate for net zero. We have reduced emissions while growing our economy. We have shown that environmental responsibility and economic progress can go hand in hand.
Yet today, a small but vocal group of politicians is trying to convince the country that climate action is somehow unaffordable or unpopular.
The evidence points in the opposite direction. Most people continue to support climate action, and the cost of failing to act will ultimately be far greater than the cost of making the transition.
Leadership means looking beyond the next headline and focusing on the long-term interests of the country.
Carbon Budget 7 offers Parliament the opportunity to do exactly that.
Will you be supporting it, and encouraging colleagues from all parties to do the same please?
The future will not be built by those who argue for delay. It will be built by those willing to lead.
Yours sincerely
Greenpeace Lewes Group