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CLIMATE CHANGE: CALL FOR REALITY CHECK |
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21st December 2005
 Thank you for covering the march in London to demand action on climate change: more than 150,000 marched worldwide (Echo 6/12/05). Some commentators have since claimed the Montreal talks were "a success", but to do so merely institutionalises our collective willingness to lie about the seriousness of the task and our failures.
I suspect Margaret Beckett's tears were not of joy but rather relief
that the conference didn't completely collapse. At least there was
agreement that it's still worth more talks about talks to save the
planet. This is not good enough. We need a reality check.
Countries like Britain need to reduce emissions by over 3% year on
year. Yet while Britain claims to be providing international
leadership, our emissions rose for the third consecutive year (i), we
campaigned to allow more emissions from industry (ii) and failed to pay
into new funds to help the poorest countries adapt to global warming
(iii).
Unsurprisingly usually diplomatic developing nations are getting
angrier and justifiably calling for "compensation for damages due to
unavoidable adverse impacts of climate change" and "binding
commitments" to secure adequate funds (iv).
Global warming is a bigger threat to society than terrorism. Churchill
said: "It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to
succeed in doing what is necessary." We urgently need the kind of focus
found under Churchill's war leadership to make the necessary economic
changes - otherwise our chances of avoiding catastrophic climate change
will completely vanish like the ice-sheets.
Philip Booth, Press Officer, Gloucestershire Green Party.
Notes:
(i) The Government's target on
reducing CO2 emissions by 12.5 per cent by 2012 will not be met.
Instead of cutting the harmful emissions that contribute to global
warming, Britain has increased the emissions by 9 per cent since 1999.
See:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=921&Itemid=2
See also ‘So Much Hot Air’, drafted
by the Association for the Conservation of Energy and commissioned by
the Green Party group at the European Parliament, examines the UK
response to five EU directives designed to reduce the CO2 emissions. It
finds the UK has been slow to implement them – and has failed to
promote bindings targets for reducing CO2 emissions throughout the
first three months of its presidency. Despite Tony Blair's pledge to
make tackling climate change a priority of his presidency of the EU, it
finds the UK has:
• Delayed implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
• Demanded an increase in the UK 's level of CO2 emissions permitted under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme
• Failed to set binding targets for energy demand reduction under the Energy services Directive
• Failed to promote small-scale combined heating and power plants in line with the Cogeneration directive
(ii) See details at:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=803&Itemid=2
(iii) There was supposed to be $400m
made available annually from all rich countries, starting in 2005, to
cover all poor countries' costs of adaptation. Unfortunately it will
cost more than 36 times that amount to protect just the populated
coastline of Tanzania against sea-level rise. Parts of Africa face even
greater problems of increased drought and new climate-borne disease.
(iv) Rafiq Ahmed Khan from
Bangladesh, speaking on behalf of the least developed countries, called
for "immediate and adequate resources for adaptation". He then
suggested a shift from the politics of aid to one of obligation, or
legal rights, he called for "compensation for damages due to
unavoidable adverse impacts of climate change", and said "binding
commitments", rather than voluntary contributions, would be needed to
secure adequate funds. |
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