As a result of our #PM2UN campaign, BeThatChange received the following communication from Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change...
Dated: Thursday 21st January 2010
Last week marked the first deadline agreed at December’s Copenhagen climate change summit. In the coming days the parties to the Copenhagen Accord are due to publish their specific pledges to tackle carbon emissions, with clear numbers for future emissions levels.
Copenhagen didn’t go as far we wanted in some important respects, so those pledges will not be legally binding. But they will mark a significant step forward.
The task for campaigners and for government will be to build on them.
Our international campaign seeks to make progress on three fronts. We want the emissions reductions pledged as part of the Copenhagen Accord to be as deep as possible. That is why we are looking for real ambition from all countries, and in that context want the European Union to step up from a 20% cut to a 30% cut in emissions. We want the Accord to be as broad as possible, with more countries signing up. And we want it to be as strong as possible, with a clear path to a comprehensive legally binding treaty.
The Copenhagen Accord also calls for up to £10billion of support for developing countries each year over the next three years rising to $100 billion by 2020. We need to make sure that money flows.
At home we are making progress on our ambition of cutting emissions by a third by 2020. In the last few weeks we saw the start of the world’s biggest programme for generating electricity from offshore wind turbines. In the coming weeks we will unveil new programmes to support energy efficiency and people who want to generate their own energy at home.
We are trying to make the biggest change in our economy since the industrial revolution. Change on that scale cannot be done by government alone – it absolutely requires support from people like you, making the arguments everyday for the kind of change we need.
Thank you for all you’ve done – and I would like your help so that we can do more. It’s easier for me to make the argument when I can show that people care. Click here to tell me your priorities in taking Copenhagen forward.
