Greens push to make Copenhagen count

8th November2009

A Green Party motion has been passed in Council to lobby Government to push for "more significant action" to get cuts in emissions in the international climate change conference in Copenhagen in December. The motion said that addressing climate change would increase employment and benefit society generally. It also said that rich countries must promise support for developing countries in tackling the problem.

Coun Bernard Little said, "We’re really pleased other councillors have
supported us in the push to make Copenhagen count. It’s vital that Governments agree to real actions on climate change. Individuals and organisations in Sheffield are already doing good work, but that commitment needs to be followed by our Government and other Governments around the world.

"We're asking for changes in where money goes to make our country much more energy efficient and cut emissions. It would create more jobs in manufacturing and construction, be better for the environment, be better for all of us."

The Council will lobby Sheffield MPs and Ed Miliband, the UK Energy and
Climate Change Secretary. The Copenhagen conference runs from the 7th to 18th December and will be attended by leaders from across the world. The conference is likely to draw up an informal agreement, with a treaty being signed in 2010. A demonstration on December 5th in London will call or alegally binding treaty to be signed at the conference, and will be attended by many from Sheffield, including from Sheffield Green Party.

Coun Little added, "We look forward to all political parties including strong
climate change policies in their manifestos for the 2010 general election."

Here is a very educational video on You Tube about the problem of exponentialgrowth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM1x4RljmnE

SHEFFIELD GREEN PARTY MOTION

That this Council:

(a) believes there is a pressing need for action by the international community
to cut global greenhouse gas emissions in line with scientific evidence of the
reductions needed to keep below a 2°C rise in average global temperatures;

(b) welcomes the efforts made by the people of Sheffield, businesses,
universities, the City Council and other organisations across the City, in
tackling climate change;

(c) recognises that the UK Government has recently implemented climate change
legislation, but believes that even more significant action is needed at
national and international level and therefore welcomes the Copenhagen
Conference taking place this December that aims to set a climate agreement
from 2012;

(d) believes that a resolution from Copenhagen should:

(i) establish a baseline and annual greenhouse gas reduction targets to 2020;
(ii) include greenhouse gas emissions such as from the international maritime
industry and the international airline industry;
(iii) commit to clarifying and resourcing the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
such that any offsetting projects are sustainable for the long-term and
properly assessed;
(iv) include a measure to curb the rate of deforestation, especially of tropical
rainforest;
(v) establish a framework of financial and technological support to help
countries adapt to climate change with additional investment provided to the
most vulnerable developing countries; and
(vi) commit to boosting funding of research, development and demonstration of
low-carbon and adaptation technologies.

(e) furthermore, believes that Governments:

(i) cannot assume "business as usual", especially areas with high per capita
emissions such as the United States and Europe, and States with a huge current
or potential impact on the climate such as China and India;
(ii) will reap economic, environmental and social benefits through investment in
technologies, industry and lifestyles sustainable with regard to climate
change;
(iii) should divert investment away from industries that are worsening climate
change, such as air travel; and
(iv) should commit to meet emission targets by reducing greenhouse gas emissions
each year rather than outsourcing or off-setting; and
(f) directs officers to send a copy of this motion to Sheffield MPs and the UK
Energy and Climate Change Secretary, urging them to push for a deal at the
Copenhagen Conference that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide the
best possible security for Sheffield’s future, and that of the wider world.

FINAL MOTION

As above but with the points under (d) replaced with

(i) ensure that greenhouse gas emissions peak no later than 2015;
(ii) commit industrial countries to reduce their emissions by 40% over 1990
levels by 2020 and to phase out fossil fuel and industrial greenhouse gas
emissions by 2050 with at least 75% of these cuts being achieved domestically;
(iii) secure at least a 75% reduction in global emissions from deforestation
by 2020, and the halving of the carbon intensity of global food production by
2050;
(iv) provide finance for adaptation in developing countries additional to the
existing commitment by developed countries to spend 0.7% of gross national
income on international development;
(v) commit developed countries to contribute $160 billion in each year of the
period 2013 - 2017 to assist with mitigation and adaptation measures in
developing countries and for this contribution to be deposited with the United
Nations;
(vi) implement the following policy instruments:
(1) a Leapfrog Fund to facilitate the development of low-carbon technologies,
energy efficiency and renewable energy in developing countries, together with
the reform of patent rules;
(2) a United Nations Adaptation Fund to provide grants for communities
vulnerable to the impact of climate change without increasing the burden on
indebted countries;
(3) a multilateral insurance mechanism available for developing countries which
implement risk reduction under the Adaptation Fund, designed to cover
climate-related risks or disaster losses; and
(4) a fund to prevent deforestation and promote biodiversity, fully respecting
the rights of local and indigenous peoples and consistent with the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and
(vii) establish all its funds and mechanisms as the responsibility of the
United Nations, to be run in an open and transparent manner with an equitable
decision-making process between developed and developing countries.

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