A teaser of January’s Planet Possible: The Climate and Nature Bill

Energy & Climate Change, Management & Regulation

31 January 2025

Roz Savage MP talks to host Niki Roach about the Climate and Nature Bill, which she brought to Parliament early this month

This month on CIWEM’s Planet Possible podcast, host Niki Roach explores the Climate and Nature Bill with Dr Roz Savage MBE, the MP who is bringing the bill to Parliament. In a conversation full of insight and passion, they discuss how to address the linked biodiversity and climate crises, the new parliamentarian’s motivation behind selecting the bill in the Private Members Ballot – and what changes it will make.

Niki’s co-host, The Right Honorable The Lord Deben, former chair of the UK government’s Climate Change Committee, also shares his reflections on what the bill might mean for the future of the Climate Change Committee.

Here we bring you an edited taster of the episode. If you like what you read, you can listen to the conversation in full here or search for Planet Possible in your favourite podcast app or on Spotify. Click ‘follow’ so as not to miss any of our in-depth monthly episodes.

Planet Possible tells the stories of the people paving the way for positive planetary and societal change, so join Niki as she explores what's possible with practitioners and visionaries working on the big issues, from resilience to climate change, to enhancing our natural environment, to improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in the environment sector.

You’ll find the Planet Possible MiniPod on the same feed, bringing you a monthly 15-minute burst of topical environmental discussion with some of the leading voices in water and environmental management. January’s MiniPod features Julie Foley, director of flood risk strategy and national adaptation at the Environment Agency.

Now, over to Niki and Roz…


Niki Roach: Can you start by telling me what the climate and nature bill is all about?

Roz Savage MP: It’s about the relationship between climate and nature. A lot of people are aware that a changing climate is having bad impacts on nature. But I think what people are maybe less aware about is that damaging nature is actually affecting the ability of the planet to regulate its own climate. This is a two-way street.

Then there's the people part, which is about a citizens’ assembly for climate and nature. I think often people feel that environment is something maybe it's a bit of a luxury; that you have to have enough bandwidth and material comfort to be able to worry about environmental issues. So, it does feel really important that we bring people along with us on this journey.

The assembly is designed to be an advisory body to government, and it should represent a genuine cross-section of British society, so that no matter which part of the country you live in, the colour of your skin, what sort of house you live in, you can see somebody in the assembly that you can relate to. It’s giving a voice to every demographic as we navigate into an increasingly uncertain future for climate and nature.

The nature part is holding the UK to commitments that have already been made under international agreements to be restoring nature, and for 30 per cent of nature to be protected by the year 2030.

NR: Tell me about your motivation behind introducing this bill as your private members' bill.

RS: I don't know if all of your listeners will know about private members bills. I will confess that I didn't. It is this slightly bonkers system: there's basically a lottery where they draw numbers out of a bowl, and if your number gets picked, then you get to present a private member's bill.

I'd only been an MP for two months when I was drawn and I immediately knew that I wanted to do something environmental. I've been an environmental campaigner for the last 20 years, and for a while that took the rather unusual form of me rowing alone across three oceans – the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian. Using those expeditions as my way to get people's attention, so that I could talk about my real passion for the environment and why we need to take better care of this Earth if we want it to continue to be able to look after us.

The Climate and Nature Bill was already in existence [originated by Caroline Lucas of the Green Party], but it really encapsulated everything that I wanted to see anyway. It already had a huge amount of support: over 50,000 members of the public, over 1,000 scientists and environmental NGOs and businesses, and several celebrities supporters as well, including people like Chris Packham and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

To manage expectations, as private members bills go, this one is very ambitious. The ones that tend to get past are very small and don't cost very much to do. And here I am as a brand new LibDem backbencher – not the party in government, not even the party of opposition, but the third party trying to get something pretty brave and bold into law. But as you could probably guess from the ocean rowing, I do like a challenge.

NR: If things don't go the way that you hope and this private member's bill isn't passed into law, what are the likely implications of that?

RS: It won't be the end of the journey, not as far as I'm concerned. Ocean rowers are nothing if not tenacious. The ocean did teach me patience, persistence and resilience. It was partly my passion for the environment that motivated me to come and stand for parliament, and although it's not the only thing that I'm concerned about, it is a very strong thread running through my life.

No matter what happens on the 24th, I will just keep putting these issues on the table. One of the things to come out of presenting this bill is that I now have more of a relationship with ministers in DESNZ [Department for Energy Security & Net Zero] and in Defra [Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs] and with NGOs across the country. Most of the big environmental NGOs are supporting this bill, so we've got a huge amount of support, and we will just keep campaigning.

I don't know how old this bill will have to be before it actually gets into law, but we do need to close the ambition gap and the delivery gap. This is the challenge of our generation, and if we fail at this, then we are not being good ancestors to the generations to come. We have to give this everything. I don't know what more I can say about that. Sorry. I'm getting a bit too emotional.

NR: Do not apologise for the passion that you clearly have for it, Roz, it's wonderful to hear. I think it's really important that our elected members care, and you clearly do.


There’s much more where that came from, so listen to the full conversation here, including commentary from The Right Honorable The Lord Deben, former chair of the UK government’s Climate Change Committee.

Or search for Planet Possible in your favourite podcast app or on Spotify.

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