Sunday, April 3, 2011

WWF resigns from Zero Carbon taskforce ... is the government ducking climate change

 There has been a number of backwards steps in the last couple of weeks by this 'greenist of governments'. On Friday the WWF resigned from the Government's Zero Carbon taskforce because of weakening of the defination of 'Zero Carbon Home' (read more here).

At the same time the climate change campaigning group 38 degrees has issued another very successful online campaigns (re-printed below).

Several supporters have written to local MPs about they concerns. On the 16th April there is bicycle lobby starting in Dover and going to Canterbury by local coalition of East Kent Climate Change groups.


 From 38 degrees
David Cameron has always promised to tackle climate change, but it looks like he might be on the brink of ditching that promise.. We need to move fast to stop that happening.

Government climate change experts are recommending bold but realistic new targets. But hardliners in the Treasury are trying to block their progress. [1] It's being reported that the government is "deeply divided" on what to do next. [2] If we act now, we can make sure the decision goes the right way.

The next two weeks are vital. If Cameron and Clegg are hearing from thousands of us, they'll know that breaking their promises on climate change would mean uproar.

Click here send a message to David Cameron and Nick Clegg: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/action-on-climate-change

Last year Cameron promised to tackle climate change, saying he wanted to lead “the greenest government ever”. [3] It would be a disaster if this promise was broken. If we water down our targets, we won't bring down emissions fast enough to stop dangerous climate change. And if we're watering down our own targets, how can we ever hope to persuade the rest of the world to take action?

It was people power that pushed the last government to agree to set targets to tackle climate change in the first place. [4] It was people power that pushed Cameron and Clegg to promise to make climate change a priority. Now people power can persuade Cameron and Clegg to keep their climate promise.

Email Cameron and Clegg now telling them to accept the expert advice:
http://www.38degrees.org.uk/action-on-climate-change

38 Degrees members have a great history of pushing the government to do better on the environment. Back in 2009, thousands of us phoned the then Climate Minister Ed Miliband just before he left for international climate talks. Last month, half a million of us helped stop government plans to sell off our forests. Just two weeks ago, tens of thousands of us voted to keep climate change a priority campaign for 38 Degrees. So now, let's keep up the pressure and make sure Clegg and Cameron know they can't water down our climate targets.

http://www.38degrees.org.uk/action-on-climate-change


Thanks for getting involved,

Johnny, Hannah, David and the 38 Degrees team


Notes:
[1] The really important recommendations are
- A domestic action fourth carbon budget of 1950 MtCO2e
- An indicative 2030 target to reduce emissions by 60% relative to 1990 levels (46% relative to 2009 levels)
- An adjustment of the second and third budgets to reflect the level of ambition in the intended budget for the non-traded sector, giving an economy-wide reduction of 37% in 2020 relative to 1990.
The full report can be seen here: http://www.theccc.org.uk/reports/fourth-carbon-budget

[2] The Guardian reports: "The news comes ahead of a crucial cabinet discussion of the UK's climate change targets beyond 2020. There are still deep divisions between the Department of Energy and Climate Change, which is calling for tough targets to stimulate green growth, and the Treasury and the Department of Business, which argue that the current economic situation calls for less stringent targets in 10 years' time." http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/29/uk-global-green-investment-rankings

[3] http://www.guardian..co.uk/environment/2010/may/14/cameron-wants-greenest-government-ever

[4] http://www.foe.co.uk/news/climate_law_world_first_16014.html

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