New policy forum - Steve Webb MP
Posted by David Howarth, MP for Cambridge, at 16:18, Thu 5 June 2008:
"How do we meet the climate change challenge?"
I am happy to invite you to the next policy forum I'm hosting.
Steve Webb MP, Lib Dem Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs is visiting Cambridge and is looking forwards to discussing climate change with you.
Please join us Wednesday 9th July at 6:00pm, at the Meeting House on Jesus Lane.
I look forwards to seeing you there,
Best wishes,
David Howarth MP
Comments
Commenting on this message is now disabled.
Posted by Mike Brady, 18:38, Thu 5 June 2008: (Is this post abusive?) #
Action is required at every level: personal, local, national and international.
Significantly, however, national action faces an obstacle because governments fear it will harm the economy to act if other countries are not. Business leaders lobby for carbon caps and taxes to be as limited as possible, threatening to move production overseas. To overcome this genuine fear simultaneous action is needed. But at the international level action is watered down as countries put their own national economic interests first.
Overcoming the problem of competition between nations is the aim of the Simultaneous Policy (SP) campaign, which brings people together around the world to discuss the policies they wish to see implemented to address global problems. On climate change the policy of 'Contraction and Convergence' has gained significant support in annual voting rounds, though other proposals may eventually win through in the democratic process.
MPs are asked to sign a pledge to implement SP alongside other governments, when all, or sufficient, have made the same pledge. This is not an alternative to other action, but could take us so much further. Mr. Howarth has not yet signed, unlike many of his colleagues in the LibDems, and I ask him to do so. The more MPs that sign, the sooner this becomes government policy and the sooner SP can be finalised and implemented.
If you think this is a good approach, you can sign up as an SP Adopter to take part in the policy development and to send a signal to politicians that you will favour those who sign the pledge to implement SP. Find out more and join the discussion at: http://www.simpol.org.uk/forum/