02/09/2005 - Organisations
with millions of supporters have united to
demand action on climate change. Eighteen
campaign groups in the UK, including WWF UK,
have joined forces to launch the biggest climate
change coalition the country has ever seen.
500 volunteers formed a giant human banner
on London's South Bank to mark the launch
of the unique new movement.
Stop Climate Chaos will mobilise its millions
of members and supporters to put pressure
on the government, whose plans to tackle climate
change fall far short of what's needed. The
new coalition wants the government to slash
the UK's global warming gas emissions and
make fighting climate change a key part of
its plans to deal with global poverty.
The coalition will use its huge base of support
to campaign against government failings while
mobilising public support for government initiatives
that reduce the huge levels of CO2 being emitted.
Ashok Sinha, Director of Stop Climate Chaos,
hailed the birth of the new movement, "We're
facing a catastrophe, with hundreds of millions
of people at risk from severe drought, starvation
and disease, and by the middle of the century
up to one third of land-based species may
face extinction. The time has come to respond
with the utmost urgency. The organisations
that have come together today are supported
by millions of people who will be called upon
to demand the steps that must be taken right
now."
The new movement believes politicians have
so far failed to take anything like sufficient
action to tackle the threat. The choices made
in the next 5 or 10 years will determine the
extent of the devastation faced by future
generations. With coordinated action and the
mobilisation of its massive supporter base
Stop Climate Chaos aims to become a potent
political force for action.
Ashok Sinha added,"We've rightly seen
huge movements assembled to fight world poverty,
now we're ready to take on what the Prime
Minister has called the greatest long term
threat the world faces. Before this decade
is out world leaders like Tony Blair need
to live up to their duty to prevent catastrophic
climate change. Politicians can save millions
of lives by keeping the average global temperature
rise under 2°C. That's the target. Our
supporters are ready for the challenge."
The members of Stop Climate Chaos are Airport
Watch, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Friends of the
Earth, Greenpeace, Medact, National Federation
of Women's Institutes, Network for Social
Change, Operation Noah, Oxfam, People &
Planet, Practical Action, RSPB, The Wildlife
Trusts, Sustrans, Tearfund, Woodland Trust
and WWF-UK.
