More than 100 Ribble Valley residents have written to the government asking it to stop “dragging its heels” on the climate and nature crisis.
Local campaigners posted an open letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, joining 649 other letters, one from each constituency across the country, asking them to deliver “real change” in tackling the crisis.
It is thought that this is the first time any Prime Minister has received a letter from all 650 constituencies across the UK on an environmental issue.
Fiona Campbell, a Ribble Valley resident who signed the letter, said: “People in Ribble Valley want real change from the Prime Minister.
“But the government is dragging its heels on this issue and the benefits are not filtering down to local people like us.
"That is why we have joined campaigners across the UK who are calling for change.
“The Climate and Nature Bill is the landmark legislation that would unlock all these benefits for Ribble Valley.
"The Prime Minister needs to give the Bill time in Parliament for a proper debate.”
The letters were hand delivered on Friday, July 4, by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Revd Canon Giles Goddard, chair of Faith for the Climate, Ellen Bradley, co-director of UK Youth 4 Nature and Professor Dame EJ. Milner-Gulland, who teaches biodiversity at Oxford.
The "REAL Change" campaign, led by the Zero Hour environmental group, has also called on ministers to back the cross-party Climate and Nature Bill, which is set to be debated in Parliament later this month.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, celebrity chef and broadcaster, said: “The Prime Minister must get a grip on the climate and nature crisis which threatens our economy, our health and our food and energy security.
“We cannot allow the next year of this Labour government to be a continuation of the dither and delay we witnessed under the previous administration.
“While some ministers appear to have gone into hiding since previously pledging their support for the ambitions of the Climate and Nature Bill, we know, and they know, that failing to act will have devastating consequences for our future. It must be brought back to Parliament for a proper debate.”
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So far more than 190s MPs have supported the Climate and Nature Bill, making it the largest cross-party environmental movement in Westminster.
The debate on the Bill is to be resumed on Friday, July 11.
Dr Amy McDonnell, Co-Director of the Zero Hour environmental campaign, said: “The Climate and Nature Bill has been written by scientists to ensure the UK does its bit to tackle the climate and nature crises.
"They know, just like people in Ribble Valley do, that taking bold action will have a real benefit for communities across the UK.
“If the government wants to see off the threat of Reform at the next election, they need to be making ordinary people’s lives better, healthier, and more prosperous while protecting the natural world we all rely on.
“Recent polling shows 89 per cent of people globally want more to be done on the climate and nature crises.
"We need Keir Starmer to step up and deliver not just in Ribble Valley, but across the UK.”
Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, has previously thanked the campaign for making the nation's voice heard on issues of nature and climate.
He said: "The Zero Hour Campaign has been an incredibly important campaign about the climate and nature crisis that we face, and I want to thank everyone up and down the country who made their voice heard as part of this campaign.
"As a result of all of your efforts, we have reached an agreement on how we can take forward the spirit and substance of the bill. Strengthening the action of nature, having an annual climate and nature statement to Parliament and the country and greater public participation on these issues.
"Now we are going to set to work in dialogue so we can make a real and meaningful difference to climate and nature in this country.
"We need to go beyond party politics and go together. This has been reflected in the support for the bill and the dialogue we have had on it, and we look forward to working together in the months ahead."
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