New requirement for the UK to control methane in Climate and Nature Bill

Is it time for HBC to rethink climate change agenda?

Local campaign groups will be disappointed that parliament voted 120 – 7 to adjourn the second reading of the Climate and Nature Bill (CAN) until 7 July. But is this a setback or an opportunity? Dee Williams reports. 

As previously reported there was an expectation that the long-awaited Climate and Nature Bill would pass through the second reading stage in the Commons on 24 January, but prior to Friday’s debate, Labour ministers ‘did a deal’ with backbenchers to vote for an adjournment.

There appears to be a clash of priorities within the Labour leadership who are targeting growth over net zero. It is difficult to see how any economy could grow while simultaneously working towards reducing energy consumption to 60% of current levels. With the newly inaugurated Trump stating that the US plans to ‘drill baby drill,’ the UK, with some of the highest energy prices in the world, would soon be left behind. Perhaps this realisation poured cold water over the UK ambition to be global leaders in combating climate change.

At the very least this pause in proceedings will allow MPs to spend time reviewing the CAN white paper which emerged, just two days before the debate, with a number of new clauses.

Point 2 (a)(i) requires the UK to achieve reductions in line with its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The UK represents 1% of the global population and must therefore reduce its global emissions by 1%.

Another new entry into the CAN white paper was the requirement at 2.6 (c) to reduce total emissions of greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide to a level consistent with achieving its obligations under the Paris Agreement and under the Global Methane Pledge.

The Global Methane Pledge, agreed at COP29, aims to reduce global methane to 30% below 2020 levels. Over $2 billion in grant funding has been mobilized to achieve this objective. Both global methane and CO2 are trace elements. Total CO2 currently stands at 0.04% of the atmosphere while methane is 0.00019%. As a consequence, the UK’s 1% reduction will need to be matched by countries such as China and India and other signatories to the Paris Agreement to keep within the 1.5C cut-off.

As world leaders grapple with what appear to be infinitesimally small numbers are we missing the elephant in the room? When Green Councillor Amanda Jobson put forward the Climate and Nature Motion to Hastings Borough Council in November 2024 (which passed with 17 votes for and 0 against) she stated: “Like many coastal towns, erosion and landslips are affecting our ecological landscape and residents’ homes.”   

Councillors are still trying to get their heads around the cause of the landslip at Old Roar Gill. Blaming global climate change and cutting back on emissions does little to help the residents get back into their homes. Could there be a simpler solution right under our noses? The video below was posted on Facebook by Sinkysnap, a page that dedicates itself to making art forms out of local potholes. It shows the consequence of poor drain maintenance in the Ore area of Hastings.

The newly appointed HBC Climate Action Officer could make good use of their time by monitoring and clearing blocked drains. This action could produce more tangible results than attempting to control cow flatulence. The planet has been both hotter and colder than it is now and survived by adaptation. Could a ‘more rain, more drains’ approach be the way forward? Your comments are most welcome.

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