“COUNTDOWN FOR A NEW CLIMATE DEAL”: EGP COMMON ACTION IN 16 COUNTRIES CALLS FOR URGENT ACTION
Member Parties of the European Green Party in 16 countries (15 EU Member States and Norway) are taking part in an EGP Common Action which is designed to coincide with the UN climate negotiations taking place in Poznan, Poland from December 1st to 12th. Those parties participating in the Common Action will present their country's Minister for Environment with a stopclock which will count down the days and hours until the UN climate negotiations conclude on 11th December 2009. The Green Parties will also present the Ministers with a letter which will list the Greens' key demands which must be met if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
The countries where Green Parties are participating in the Common Action are : Austria(www.gruene.at), Belgium( www.groen.be), Cyprus(www.cyprusgreens.org), England and Wales (www.greenparty.org.uk),
Estonia(www.erakond.ee), Finland(www.greens.fi), Germany( www.gruene.de), Greece(www.ecogreens.gr/gr/), Ireland( www.greenparty.ie), Luxembourg(www.greng.lu), Malta( www.alternattiva.org.mt), Netherlands(www.groenlinks.nl), Norway( www.gronne.no), Portugal(www.osverdes.pt), Romania( www.verzii.ro) and Sweden(www.mp.se).
In parallel to the EGP Common Action, the Stop Climate Change Campaign (www.stopclimatechange.net), a joint campaign of the EGP and the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, is running a Web Action whereby people all over the EU can send an email to their Environment Minister calling on them to ensure that the EU does it all can to stop climate change.
EGP Co-spokespersons Ulrike Lunacek and Philippe Lamberts said: "In this EGP Common Action, we Greens are urging governments to take the necessary measures to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change before it is too late. The clock is indeed ticking and climate scientists have shown that a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (based on 1990 levels) has to be the minimum target if the EU is serious about combatting climate change. Specifically, EU member states must ensure that the climate package of legislation currently being decided on will deliver the necessary emissions reductions within the EU ;this means limiting the possibilities to pay to offset reductions outside of Europe and ensuring that the legislation makes polluters pay the truecost of CO2 emissions. The EU must also play a leading role in forging an international climate dealin Copenhagen in December 2009. This agreement must reflect the most up-to-date science and not short-term political or economic interests. It is also vital that the agreement includes a mechanism to ensure a meaningful and guaranteed source of predictable funding to assist developing countries with their efforts to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. We also remind those government ministers meeting in Poznan that reaching agreement on a meaningful new climate deal is an economic as well as an environmental imperative. As Sir Nicholas Stern showed in his report in 2006 , the cost of inaction could be as high as 5 to 20% of global consumption whereas taking the required action now would cost a mere fraction of that. "
