MEPs Caroline Lucas and Jean Lambert, amd London Assembly Member Jenny Jones, have delivered a letter to 10 Downing Street urging the Prime Minsiter to secure strong greenhouse gas reduction targets at the Poznan climate talks next week. The letter also asks that poorer countries are given the technology they need for low-carbon development, free of charge.
Deputy Leader Adrian Ramsay, London Assmbly Member Darren Johnson and MEP candidates Peter Cranie (North West) and Rupert Read (Eastern) also signed the letter, as part of a joint campiagn that saw Greens petition governments in 16 countries.
The letter reads:
28 November 2008
To: The Prime Minister, Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP
Dear Prime Minister and Secretary of State,
We are writing to you regarding the United Nations negotiations on climate change taking place in Poznan this December.
It is of the utmost importance that we achieve an effective agreement at the talks in Copenhagen in one year’s time in 2009, and Poznan will be an important milestone in the evolving negotiations.
We should aim to reach zero carbon emissions in the shortest possible timescale, at the latest by 2030, and an international agreement is crucial if we are to achieve this. There can be no reason to reject such a goal, not least because the first countries to achieve it will be in a very competitive situation, while fossil fuel become increasingly scarce.
The EU can provide the leadership the world needs at this crucial time in our history. This will require us to be generous in our dealings with developing countries, taking full account of their concerns. Any negotiated agreement will need to be based on the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities, with equity at its core.
Developing countries should also be provided with renewable energy technology free of charge. This will not only help to mitigate climate change, and help economies in developing nations, but will also enable worldwide price reductions in this new technology by generating economies of scale, benefiting everyone.
Since the publication of the IPCC report last year, climate science indicates that runaway climate change is likely unless extremely rapid cuts in carbon emissions take place within the next few years. The second world war saw us transform our economy in months, so this is entirely realistic.
A similar effort is required now, and is justified, as the scale of the threat is far greater. Our children will not forgive us if we fail.
The scientific uncertainty over tipping points, and the precautionary principle, demand that the only morally acceptable conclusion for the talks in Copenhagen is to move in the direction of a zero carbon world as fast as we can.
Caroline Lucas MEP, Leader, Green Party of England and WalesCouncillor Adrian Ramsay, Deputy Leader, Green Party of England and Wales
Jean Lambert MEP
Cllr Darren Johnson AM
Cllr Jenny Jones AM
Cllr Dr Rupert Read
Peter Cranie