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Asking the Big Question |
Friends of the Earth at Edinburgh's Make Poverty History event. © Colin Hattersley/Friends of the Earth last July.
What Can We Do About Climate Change?
UK - This summer, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke joined Friends of the Earth to launch The Big Ask, the envi-ronmental group’s new campaign to make the government legally responsible for reducing the UK’s emission of carbon dioxide.
The Big Ask campaign asks the publicc to put pressure on British Members of Parliament (MPs) to support a new Climate Change Bill that would force the reduction of CO2 emissions by three per cent every year. It would compel the Prime Minister to report annually on progress against this target, with tough sanctions for faillure includ-ing symbolic pay cuts for ministers.
“Kyoto is an important first step, but tougher international action is crucial in order to combat climate change,” said Catherine Pearce, Friends of the Earth climate campaigner. “The world around us is changing in dramatic and life-threatening ways. It’s time to weigh up the threat before it’s too late.”
Three top environmental MPs put as-ide party differences to bring the Climate Change Bill to Parliament. The Former Labour Environment Minister, Mi Miier, Michael Meacher, Conservative ex-Secretary of State, John Gummer and also Liberal Democrat Envi-ronment spokesperson, Norman Baker MP, sponsored the Bill requiring CO2 emissions to be cut by three per cent everyto be cut by three per cent everyper cent every year to 2050. The annual targets, checks and balances also included in the Bill, would ensure that Governments actually deliver.
Tony Juniper, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth said: “Acting now will enable the UK to show real real show real inter-national leadership, something that the United States has failed to do so far. All the main political parties agree that emissions mustrship, something ththe United States has failed to do so far. All the main political parties agree emi-ssions must come down. Now they need to make it a legal obligation.”
The Government has pledged in its last two election manifestos to reduce C02 emissions to 20 per cent below the 1990 le 1990 lecausing gas, to 20 per cent below 1990 le, to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010. Despite promises, the Government is off track as since it came to power in 1997, emissions have increased by 4.7 per cent.
President of The Royal Society, Sir Robert May, has warned that the climate change denial lob lob loblob denial lob lobby, funded by the US oil industry, has moved to the UK. “On one hand we have the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the rest of the world’s major scientific organisa-tions as well as the Governmeld’s major scientific organisa-tions as the Government’s chief scientific adviser, all pointing to the need to cut emissions,” he said. “And on the other, we have sceptics, including lobbyists, a sci-fi writer and the tabloid press who deny that the scientists are right. It is reminiscent of the tobacco lobby’s attempts to persuade us all that smoking does not cause lung cancer.”
Already over 250 MPs have signed Early Day Motion 178 in support of the Climate Change Bill. Ultimately, over 400 MPs will need to be prepared to do the same. To show your support, To show your support, the answer is simple. The Big Ask invites you to visit its website to sign a petition and send an email to your MP.
Over the summer, Friends of the Earth took The Big Ask out on the road to film and music festiof film and music festivals. Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead, described the campaign as: “The first sane and reasoned way out of what is basically an international emergency. Anyone who has concern about global warming, who feels powerless like I did, should get involved in The Big Ask.”
Contact: www.thebigask.com
Friends of the Earth, 26-28, Underwood St. London, N1 7JQ. Tel: 020 7490 1555 Website: www.foe.co.uk
UK - This summer, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke joined Friends of the Earth to launch The Big Ask, the envi-ronmental group’s new campaign to make the government legally responsible for reducing the UK’s emission of carbon dioxide.
The Big Ask campaign asks the publicc to put pressure on British Members of Parliament (MPs) to support a new Climate Change Bill that would force the reduction of CO2 emissions by three per cent every year. It would compel the Prime Minister to report annually on progress against this target, with tough sanctions for faillure includ-ing symbolic pay cuts for ministers.
“Kyoto is an important first step, but tougher international action is crucial in order to combat climate change,” said Catherine Pearce, Friends of the Earth climate campaigner. “The world around us is changing in dramatic and life-threatening ways. It’s time to weigh up the threat before it’s too late.”
Three top environmental MPs put as-ide party differences to bring the Climate Change Bill to Parliament. The Former Labour Environment Minister, Mi Miier, Michael Meacher, Conservative ex-Secretary of State, John Gummer and also Liberal Democrat Envi-ronment spokesperson, Norman Baker MP, sponsored the Bill requiring CO2 emissions to be cut by three per cent everyto be cut by three per cent everyper cent every year to 2050. The annual targets, checks and balances also included in the Bill, would ensure that Governments actually deliver.
Tony Juniper, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth said: “Acting now will enable the UK to show real real show real inter-national leadership, something that the United States has failed to do so far. All the main political parties agree that emissions mustrship, something ththe United States has failed to do so far. All the main political parties agree emi-ssions must come down. Now they need to make it a legal obligation.”
The Government has pledged in its last two election manifestos to reduce C02 emissions to 20 per cent below the 1990 le 1990 lecausing gas, to 20 per cent below 1990 le, to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010. Despite promises, the Government is off track as since it came to power in 1997, emissions have increased by 4.7 per cent.
President of The Royal Society, Sir Robert May, has warned that the climate change denial lob lob loblob denial lob lobby, funded by the US oil industry, has moved to the UK. “On one hand we have the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the rest of the world’s major scientific organisa-tions as well as the Governmeld’s major scientific organisa-tions as the Government’s chief scientific adviser, all pointing to the need to cut emissions,” he said. “And on the other, we have sceptics, including lobbyists, a sci-fi writer and the tabloid press who deny that the scientists are right. It is reminiscent of the tobacco lobby’s attempts to persuade us all that smoking does not cause lung cancer.”
Already over 250 MPs have signed Early Day Motion 178 in support of the Climate Change Bill. Ultimately, over 400 MPs will need to be prepared to do the same. To show your support, To show your support, the answer is simple. The Big Ask invites you to visit its website to sign a petition and send an email to your MP.
Over the summer, Friends of the Earth took The Big Ask out on the road to film and music festiof film and music festivals. Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead, described the campaign as: “The first sane and reasoned way out of what is basically an international emergency. Anyone who has concern about global warming, who feels powerless like I did, should get involved in The Big Ask.”
Contact: www.thebigask.com
Friends of the Earth, 26-28, Underwood St. London, N1 7JQ. Tel: 020 7490 1555 Website: www.foe.co.uk
Photo: Carolyn Peterson, the Mayor of Ithaca.
Mayoral Response
In an unprecedented move for local officials, over 100 mayors across the country have agreed to abide by the terms of an international environmental treaty that President Bush rejected.
At the U.S. Conference of Mayors in June, 168 mayors from 37 states committed their cities to the Kyoto Protocol, which aims to combat global warming by decreasing the emissions of greenhouse gasses. The mayors, both Democrats and Republicans, believe that the growing threat of global warming necessitates immediate action. Their decision to meet or exceed the conditions of the Kyoto Protocol will require their cities to reduce pollution from cars and power plants to 1990 levels before the year 2012.
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement to decrease the emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gasses. So far, 153 countries have ratified the treaty, constituting more than 61 percent of global emissions.
President Bush chose not to sign the treaty, citing concerns about the accuracy of scientific data on global warming. He said the treaty would also endanger the US economy. The President's decision to not sign onto the treaty has been extremely controversial abroad because the United States produces 22 percent of the world's greenhouse gasses despite making up only four percent of its total population.
The mayors who signed the treaty believe the time has come to confront the issue of global warming and feel the treaty will not have deleterious effects on the economy. "The United States inevitably will have to join this effort," Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said. "Ultimately we will make it impossible for the federal government to say no. They will both see that it can be done without huge economic disruption and they will see that there's support throughout the country to do this."
The mayors have proposed a series of strategies that they can implement on a local level: restoring forests, reducing urban sprawl, developing alternative energy technologies and educating the public. Nickels has led the campaign for new pollution goals, and his city has led by example. Greenhouse gas emissions fell 60 percent in Seattle between 1990 and 2000, according to city government officials. The city implemented climate-friendly initiatives both large and small, adapting its power utility company into the country's only zero net greenhouse gas emitter and compensating individual citizens who carpool with cash rewards or the free use of city-owned cars when needed.
Many other cities are now attempting to replicate Seattle's success. Some of the ways that Carolyn Peterson, the Mayor of Ithaca, plans to implement sustainable changes are: developing alternate transportation trails, recovering methane from the wastewater plant for heating and hot water, and achieving full street tree stocking.
In an unprecedented move for local officials, over 100 mayors across the country have agreed to abide by the terms of an international environmental treaty that President Bush rejected.
At the U.S. Conference of Mayors in June, 168 mayors from 37 states committed their cities to the Kyoto Protocol, which aims to combat global warming by decreasing the emissions of greenhouse gasses. The mayors, both Democrats and Republicans, believe that the growing threat of global warming necessitates immediate action. Their decision to meet or exceed the conditions of the Kyoto Protocol will require their cities to reduce pollution from cars and power plants to 1990 levels before the year 2012.
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement to decrease the emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gasses. So far, 153 countries have ratified the treaty, constituting more than 61 percent of global emissions.
President Bush chose not to sign the treaty, citing concerns about the accuracy of scientific data on global warming. He said the treaty would also endanger the US economy. The President's decision to not sign onto the treaty has been extremely controversial abroad because the United States produces 22 percent of the world's greenhouse gasses despite making up only four percent of its total population.
The mayors who signed the treaty believe the time has come to confront the issue of global warming and feel the treaty will not have deleterious effects on the economy. "The United States inevitably will have to join this effort," Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said. "Ultimately we will make it impossible for the federal government to say no. They will both see that it can be done without huge economic disruption and they will see that there's support throughout the country to do this."
The mayors have proposed a series of strategies that they can implement on a local level: restoring forests, reducing urban sprawl, developing alternative energy technologies and educating the public. Nickels has led the campaign for new pollution goals, and his city has led by example. Greenhouse gas emissions fell 60 percent in Seattle between 1990 and 2000, according to city government officials. The city implemented climate-friendly initiatives both large and small, adapting its power utility company into the country's only zero net greenhouse gas emitter and compensating individual citizens who carpool with cash rewards or the free use of city-owned cars when needed.
Many other cities are now attempting to replicate Seattle's success. Some of the ways that Carolyn Peterson, the Mayor of Ithaca, plans to implement sustainable changes are: developing alternate transportation trails, recovering methane from the wastewater plant for heating and hot water, and achieving full street tree stocking.
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