Far from the eyes of the media, elected representatives in the European Parliament are writing a climate and energy plan for our continent. As citizens, we've campaigned hard for a global deal to stop catastrophic global warming, and Europe's negotiators have driven progress in international talks -- but if big polluters succeed in watering down Europe's own climate action plan, all our momentum will be lost.[1] And that's just what's happening right now.
This Tuesday afternoon, European parliamentarians are gathering to finalise their proposals -- but the whole plan is being undermined by industry lobbyists demanding they lock in massive "permits to pollute", which would put emissions targets completely out of reach for 2020 and beyond.[2] Before it's too late, in the next 48 hours, let's deluge representatives from our own countries with emails and phone calls -- urging them not to give in to the lobbyists, and instead to put forward strong plans to build a sustainable future for our societies, showing the world the way forward.
Just click the link below to see the names and phone numbers of the representatives from your own country -- we've added a few "talking points" you can use in your emails and phone calls:
68 people from 27 countries -- the members of the European parliament on its environment committee -- can fix this plan. And there are tens or hundreds of thousands of us in every one of these countries.
We're told that the most effective thing we can do is for as many as possible of us to email or call the offices of those representatives in our own countries (particularly those from the conservative EPP umbrella party, who have shown most signs of giving in to the lobbyists), making the case for them not to compromise on permits to pollute and other backward-looking loopholes, and asking them to invest in building a cleaner, greener future for Europe. At a time of economic difficulty and high fossil fuel prices, efficiency and sustainability become even more vital.[3]
Just click the link below for everything you need -- names, phone numbers, email addresses and suggestions about what to say. And don't delay -- we have hours, not days, to make a difference.
Paul, Pascal, Veronique, Graziela, Ricken, Ben, Iain, Milena and the whole Avaaz team
Sources:
1. For Avaaz's previous climate campaign successes, see http://www.avaaz.org/en/bali_report_back/
Reuters: "EU urged to agree on climate before UN talks open": http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LU300512.htm
2. European Voice: "EPP-ED group split over carbon emissions" http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/epp-ed-group-split-over-carbon-emissions/62506.aspx
AFP: "WWF criticises attempts to water down EU's green targets" http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hJvhQ9ClFitMa4husGWkUZRYJxQQ
Financial Times: "Climate change fears over industry lobbyists" http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4e47f656-88ba-11dd-a179-0000779fd18c.html
EUX.tv: "EU set for 'Super Tuesday' with controversial vote on climate" http://www.eux.tv/article.aspx?articleId=20536
3. UK Stern Review: "Ignoring climate change will damage economic growth": http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/4/3/executive_summary.pdf
EU carbon market will not raise power prices: http://www.euractiv.com/en/climate-change/report-eu-carbon-market-raise-power-prices/article-175667
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