Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg has joined senior faith leaders from across the country in calling on the Prime Minister to back the Climate and Nature Bill ahead of a Commons debate next week.

The senior rabbi of Masorti Judaism UK is among 25 senior bishops, rabbis and imams to advocate for the bill, which sets out sweeping changes to the UK’s nature protections and accelerates the government’s existing emission reduction targets.

The landmark backbench private members’ bill, which is set to be voted through the Commons next Friday, is supported by some 250 parliamentarians and ministers. The government has not yet publicly set out their position ahead of next week’s vote.

In a joint letter delivered to Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday, the faith leaders urge him to “take responsibility for the international impacts of all our actions”, and say he has an opportunity to become a national and global “inspiration to us all” by backing the bill.

Signatories of the letter say the proposed bill has the potential to “improve the lives and livelihoods of people across the UK, as well as around the world” through strengthening environmental protection laws.

Rabbi Wittenberg told the JC that the bill amounted to a “very important piece of legislation” because “we need the law on our side in protecting our world, nationally and internationally.”

He explained: “We don’t exist alone as a species; we exist as part of a living, wondrous planet, and our relationship to nature is vital, not just for nature’s sake but for the sake of all of us.

“The hope is that we, together, build a world as rich, beautiful and vibrant as the one I and my parents were born into.”

Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg (Photo: Masorti Judaism)

Environmental campaigners Zero Hour, who are championing the bill, claim support for it has grown in recent days because of Los Angeles experiencing one of the largest wildfires in the state’s history, as well as devastating flash floods across Europe.

Referencing the “scenes of chaos and misery” seen recently, the letter claims it is “difficult to overstate the urgency of this legislation”.

Zero Hour said: “Keir Starmer needs to make sure MPs get a free vote next week and back the bill.”