Overview

This Climate Change Bill aims to accelerate the UK's efforts to tackle climate change by declaring a climate emergency, setting a new net-zero target for 2040, and creating a comprehensive strategy to achieve this. The bill also proposes investigating new taxes on large companies to fund climate action initiatives.

Description

The bill mandates the government to declare a climate emergency and create a climate emergency strategy to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 and limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This strategy must include interim targets and plans for environmentally-friendly job creation. The strategy requires approval from the UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Senedd Cymru, and Northern Ireland Assembly. The bill also requires a report on taxing large companies to finance the strategy, considering options within the existing corporation tax system or a new "green corporate responsibility tax". Finally, the bill amends the Climate Change Act 2008, bringing forward the net-zero target date from 2050 to 2040.

Government Spending

The bill requires government expenditure to fund the climate emergency strategy and any additional costs stemming from its implementation. Specific figures are not provided in the bill text.

Groups Affected

• Government: The government will be legally obligated to implement the strategy, potentially leading to significant policy changes and increased expenditure.
• Large Companies: Large companies may face new or increased taxes to fund the climate emergency strategy.
• Workers: The bill could create new jobs in environmentally-friendly sectors.
• Devolved Administrations: The Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Ireland administrations will be directly involved in approving the strategy.
• Citizens: Citizens will be impacted by the overall climate policies and regulations implemented to meet the bill's objectives.

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