On 11th March 2025, the Bishop of Sheffield spoke in support of amendment 13 to the Football Governance Bill which would ensure that football clubs comply with the Climate Change Act 2008:
My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 13, to which I have added my name. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, for tabling this significant addition to the Bill.
Our national game has a vital role to play in support of the Government’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050, not least because there is a vital connection between the long-term financial sustainability of English football and its long-term environmental sustainability. We know that climate change impacts sport; we therefore need to equip clubs, especially those in the lower leagues, to mitigate the vagaries of extreme weather, whether in the form of droughts or torrential rain. Incorporating a duty to monitor and reduce the climate impacts of English football would only enhance its value to our nation and local communities.
Football clubs have a history of social, cultural and even moral leadership. I celebrate the example of Kick It Out, a campaign established in 1993, under the name Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football, to raise awareness and tackle all forms of discrimination in sport. Given this precedent, I invite noble Lords to imagine the difference it would make in South Yorkshire if Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers, Rotherham United, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday football clubs together led the way in our region to a more climate-friendly future.
Why should English football not be on the front foot, rather than on the back foot, in the journey to net zero? I am tempted to call it an open goal. I commend the amendment.
Extracts from the speeches that followed:
Lord Bassam of Brighton (Lab): It would be better if we focused on what clubs are currently doing. My own club, Brighton & Hove Albion, has a sustainable transport policy, and most football clubs now commit to such policies. I think we get most of our fans to the grounds by some form of public transport—I am told that it is about 50% or 60%—and most clubs would recognise that as an agreeable target. Legislation is not required to do that; what is required is close working with the local authority and the transport undertakers.
While there is a good intention behind this proposal, I do not think we need to have it in the Bill. Most regulators already subscribe to statements on sustainable practices. While the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Sheffield made a good point, clubs are already working hard in this area to promote good environmental practice. Although these amendments are well intentioned, I believe that they are unnecessary, and I hope that the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, will not push them.
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con): To the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Sheffield and my noble friend Lord Gascoigne, I must regretfully say that I cannot support them on the amendment they have spoken passionately about. As I set out in Committee, we worry about the propensity for mission creep here. They have very wisely chosen to put their initiative behind Amendment 13, which is the more modest of the two and reflects an Act of Parliament that has already been passed with duties under it. While we cannot support the noble Baroness’s Amendment 13, neither will we oppose it if she presses it to a vote.
With renewed thanks to the Minister for the government amendments in this group, I look forward to her response.
Baroness Twycross (Lab): I am really comfortable with her absolute determination—as is her right—to raise environmental issues in every single way at every point of our deliberations in your Lordships’ House. The noble Baroness is right that we need to limit our impact. I note that she has support from the noble Lords, Lord Hogan-Howe and Lord Gascoigne, demonstrating her incredible ability to forge unlikely—some might say unholy—alliances with very noble aims. I apologise to the right reverend Prelate; I am not referring to him in that sweeping statement.
The Government are absolutely committed to environmental sustainability. One of the Prime Minister’s five national missions is to accelerate the transition towards clean energy and ensure that the UK fulfils its legal obligation to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, and other speakers, including the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Sheffield, that as a huge part of our national psyche, all sports, including football, have an important role to play in this transition.
The Government expect authorities across the sport to be working together to advance environmental sustainability. However, we do not feel it is right to add environmental sustainability to the regulator’s objectives or general duties. The bar for statutory intervention in any market should be very high. That is why the regulator’s focus should be on the problems that football has clearly shown itself to be unable to properly address through self-regulation.
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: I thank all noble Lords who have spoken in the debate, particularly my co-signees: the very holy right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Sheffield and the very brave—and possibly slightly less holy—noble Lord, Lord Gascoigne. Their speeches were short, powerful and to the point, which I think the whole House appreciated.
I say to the noble Lord, Lord Bassam, that calling my amendment well intentioned was probably the nicest thing he has ever said about a Green Party person, so I am going to bank that. However, he is completely wrong, because acknowledging a commitment—which is what he said various organisations do—is not the same as actually doing it. So I would argue that this amendment is absolutely relevant. Subscribing to statements—which was another phrase the noble Lord used—does not mean doing it; I want clubs to do it. Therefore, the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, is totally wrong; this is not otiose or unnecessary. In fact, we added this very provision to the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025—in Section 10. If it was relevant then, it is relevant now.
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