MertonNews

Activists seek MP’s help to press Starmer into tougher climate stance

Wimbledon MP Paul Kohler has joined forces with Friends of the Earth in calling for a tougher government action plan to tackle the climate crisis.

Following a meeting with Merton Friends of the Earth on Saturday, Mr Kohler has agreed to write to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, urging him to show leadership on the climate crisis by drawing up a “fair and ambitious plan” to cut emissions.

The new government has to write a plan in the coming months after a High Court judge ruled that the previous plan – introduced by Rishi Sunak’s government – was unlawful, following a successful legal challenge by Friends of the Earth earlier this year.

UK targets for tackling climate change are dangerously off track, said the pressure group.

Friends of the Earth said the new plan must put UK climate targets back on course and ensure that the benefits of building a green economy, such as new jobs and lower bills, are felt by everyone – especially those on lower incomes.

The meeting between Merton Friends of the Earth and Mr Kohler was part of a wider Commons Grounds Day of Action, organised by The Climate Coalition, where constituents around the country met up with their MPs to urge them to show leadership on the climate and nature crises.

Gabriel Partos, co-cordinator of Merton Friends of the Earth, said: “We’re delighted that Paul Kohler has joined the call for a stronger climate action plan. We urgently need a credible plan to meet our climate targets, that benefits people – not polluters.

“Without bold action, communities that are already at the sharp end of inequality will face the harshest impacts of the climate emergency.”

On the same day another group of Merton Friends of the Earth supporters met Siobhain McDonagh, MP for Mitcham and Morden, who they said also agreed to urge the Prime Minister to adopt ‘a bold and ambitious climate action plan.’

Pictured top: (left to right): Auriel Glanville, Paul Kohler, MP for Wimbledon, Edward De Quay, Kate Main, Gabriel Partos and Linda Murgatroyd, at Bliss Coffee Shop, Wimbledon Broadway (Picture: Merton Friends of the Earth) 

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