Members of Parliament (Oil and Gas Companies) Bill

That this House welcomes the publication of the Members of Parliament (Oil and Gas Companies) Bill on 13 December 2023; supports the Bill’s aims of prohibiting Members of Parliament from working for or receiving any financial or other benefit from oil and gas companies as well as its call for the divestment of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund from oil and gas companies; notes that the world faces a climate emergency that has been driven by the fossil fuel industry; further notes that the science is clear that it will be impossible to limit global heating to 1.5°C without the phasing out of all fossil fuels; also notes that for decades fossil fuel companies and their lobbyists have used their financial and political influence to delay, weaken and undermine climate action to protect their profits; believes that as with the tobacco industry in the past, the damaging influence of the fossil fuel industry on democratic processes poses a huge risk to the public; and believes this Bill can play a positive role in creating the necessary firewall to protect democratic institutions and political decision-making from fossil fuel industry interference.