Open letter to the Prime Minister
Download a copy of the letter here.
CC: Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Energy Security & Net Zero
Dear Prime Minister,
The need for a bold and fair climate plan
We write to you as representatives of UK businesses, unions, NGOs, voluntary & community sector organisations and others, 100 days before the deadline for your government to produce a new climate plan, to urge you to ensure that this plan is bold and fair.
We acknowledge your leadership on climate action to date, including having the drive for clean power at the heart of government, attending COP 29 and your recent speech to the energy security summit.
As you know, the government is legally obliged to produce a new climate plan by the end of October.
Boldness in this plan includes clear steps for delivering policy that ensures the UK meets all of its domestic carbon budgets and international climate commitments. Boldness will also enable your government to be the global climate leader that you and your ministers have said it will be. Fairness means making sure that everyone benefits from the net zero transition, and that no-one is left behind. Marginalised communities are already disproportionately impacted by climate change. Fairness in climate policy is also essential so that the long-standing public mandate for action can be maintained.
A bold and fair plan will help deliver cheap and reliable energy, security and resilience, warm homes, clean air, widespread public transport, thriving nature, healthy workplaces, and well-paid green jobs that are accessible to all communities. It will also be fully and fairly funded through public and private investment to unlock the economic opportunity for the 21st century.
It’s clear that the public is concerned about climate change and wants more action:
- In recent polling for Friends of the Earth, almost two-thirds of those questioned were worried about the impact of climate change on young people and future generations; and
- Over half of people in a recent poll for WWF said that the government is not doing enough to protect the environment and nature (including 52% of Labour voters, 47% of Conservative voters and 45% of Reform voters).
The climate plan can help your government deliver the growth you are striving for. As the Chancellor of the Exchequer said a few months ago “There is no trade-off between economic growth and net zero. Quite the opposite. Net zero is the industrial opportunity of the 21st century, and Britain must lead the way.” The strength of the net zero economy is evident from recent analysis by CBI Economics: the sector grew by over 10% from 2023 to 2024 and now generates over £83 billion a year in Gross Value Added.
That’s why we, as representatives of UK businesses, unions, NGOs, voluntary & community sector organisations and others urge you to deliver the bold and fair plan that the climate needs, that the public wants, and that will help both the people of the UK and the economy.
Yours sincerely,
Jamie Peters
Interim CEO
Friends of the Earth England, Wales & Northern Ireland
On behalf of:
Sarah Woolley, General Secretary, Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union
Dr Tom Dolphin, Council Chair, British Medical Association
Liam Purcell, Chief Executive, Church Action on Poverty
Kyle Lischak, Head of UK, ClientEarth
Andrew Forth, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Climate Group
Almir Kodzic, Director, Counterpoints Arts
Lucy Becque, Chief People Officer, Coventry Building Society Group (including The Co-Operative Bank)
Kamran Mallick, CEO, Disability Rights UK
Ed Matthew, Director of the UK Programme, E3G
Junaid Ahmed, CEO, East London Mosque
Simon Francis, Co-ordinator, End Fuel Poverty Coalition
Hannah Whittaker, Managing Director, Faith in Nature
Dr Shanon Shah, Director, Faith for the Climate
Steve Wright, General Secretary, Fire Brigades Union
Anna Hughes, Director, Flight Free UK
Kate Gibson, Marketing Director, Gibsons Games
Ian McKee, Head of Communications, Good Energy
Holly Brazier Tope, Deputy Director of Politics, Green Alliance
Fatima Ibrahim, Co-Executive Director, Green New Deal Rising
Areeba Hamid, Co-Executive Director, Greenpeace UK
Chris Bettles, Director and Co-founder, If Not Now Digital
Tufail Hussain, Director, Islamic Relief UK
Lord Deben, Former Chair, Climate Change Committee
James Thompson, Director, Marmot Tours Road Cycling Holidays
Anna Peiris, CEO, Medact
Khalid Javid, CEO, Muslim Aid
Fadi Itani, CEO, Muslim Charities Forum
Susie Hewson, Director, Natracare Bodywise (UK) Limited
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary, National Education Union
Charlotte Howell, Co-Director, Parents for Future UK
Carys Boughton, Fossil Free Parliament Campaigner, Platform London
James Sutton, Co-Director, Possible
John Moloney, Assistant General Secretary, Public and Commercial Services Union
Tim Naor Hilton, Chief Executive, Refugee Action
Kevin Austin, Director of Policy and Advocacy, RSPB
John McGowan, General Secretary, Social Workers Union
Jamie Agombar, Executive Director, SOS-UK
David Hillman, Director, Stamp Out Poverty
Alice Brown, Farm Business Manager, Sutton Community Farm
Anna Krajinska, UK Director, Transport & Environment
Tim Pilkington, Interim CEO, Tearfund
Helen Meech, Executive Director, The Climate Coalition
David Cowdrey, Director of External Affairs, The MCS Foundation
Melissa Green, Chief Executive, The Women’s Institute
Luke Byrne, Innovation and Sustainability Director, THISTM
Louisa Ziane, Co-founder and COO, Toast Brewing
Mark Clayton, CEO, Triodos Bank UK
Elaine Mulcahy, Director, UK Health Alliance on Climate Change
Jo Grady, General Secretary, University and College Union
Holly Thallon Steenson, Managing Director, Viridian Nutrition
Joseph Watts, Facilities and Sustainability Manager, Wiper and True
Kate Norgrove, Executive Director, WWF-UK