Miliband steps up pressure for Copenhagen countdown
Ed Miliband has urged politicians and the public to step up the pressure for a commitment on climate change resolution
The Countryside Alliance’s purpose is to campaign for the countryside, country sports and the rural way of life. |  |
Find more Opinion Formers in this category:
Gordon Brown is in Trinidad today attending the Commonwealth climate change conference, which brings together the leaders of the 53 Commonwealth states.
|  |
Copenhagen can't just be about political agreements. It needs to be legally binding.
|  |
Monday, 30, Nov 2009 12:00
By Emmeline Saunders
Ed Miliband has called on every nation to show the "necessary ambition" to secure a climate change agreement at next week's Copenhagen talks.
The energy and climate change secretary said it was crucial for the summit to be a success, but urged it needed "maximum pressure from politicians and public alike".
"As we enter the final stretch, our focus is on ensuring the most ambitious, comprehensive agreement we can," he said in a statement.
Mr Miliband's call follows pledges made by China and the US to cut emissions.
China has promised to reduce its emissions by up to 45 per cent in the next decade, and the US plans to cut down on carbon by 17 per cent by 2020.
Gordon Brown has proposed help for poorer countries to tackle climate change in the form of a £6 billion support fund.
The prime minister believed this would help break the "deadlock" on a new agreement.
"Last week we saw again that the pressure of the December deadline is paying off as the US and China put numbers on the table," said Mr Miliband.
"We have come a long way but there is still a distance to travel to get the agreement we need, consistent with the demands of the science.
"Every day, in any way we can, we will be pushing every country to show the necessary ambition for the agreement we need."
The climate change summit begins on December 7th and will be attended by world leaders and political activists.
And, despite the fact he has repeatedly denied climate change and said global warming is "essentially a hoax", BNP leader Nick Griffin will be there in his role as representative of the European parliament, as he sits on its environment committee.
But it is unlikely he will be allowed to speak, as the EU parliament has little influence over decisions on climate change resolution.