As people may know, Rodney Berman, Leader of Cardiff County Council has contacted the South Wales Echo attacking Cardiff Campaign against Climate Change over flypostering for a public meeting with Mark Lynas, as well as harrassing the distinguished author on email. He has also been putting pressure on Cardiff University to pull the plugs on the event. We currently do not believe that the University will cancel the event, but we have already been researching another back-up venue in the area. In the event that we do have to change venue, stewards will be at the Main Building of Cardiff University to re-direct people.

We would urge people to contact Mr Berman urgently and explain to him why it is vital that Mark Lynas be allowed to educate and inspire the people of Cardiff to take action to save the planet.

Please send (polite) emails to Rodney Berman, urgently, at  RBerman@cardiff.gov.uk and copy in  mark.stead@wme.co.uk and  CardiffCCC@hotmail.co.uk

We enclose our press release:

Cardiff Council behind on tackling Climate Change -
Rodney needs to hear Mark Lynas's Message!
RESPONSE TO RODNEY BERMAN'S ATTACK ON OUR CAMPAIGN
Press release - For Immediate issue.

Environmentalists have hit out at Rodney Berman, Leader of Cardiff Council who is calling for Cardiff University to pull the plugs on a public meeting on Thursday with acclaimed environmentalist and bestselling author, Mark Lynas, in a dispute over flyposting.

Mr. Lynas who, in the past has shared platforms with leading members of Berman's own party, such as Deputy Leader, Sir Vincent Cable and LibDem Environmental spokesman, Norman Baker MP will be presenting a talk and slide-show based on his latest book, Six Degrees - Our Future on a Hotter Planet.

They have also questioned the failure of Cardiff Council to sign the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change signed by over 400 other local councils.

A spokesperson for Cardiff Campaign against Climate Change said:

"Hundreds of people are hoping to hear a leading thinker speak on how to tackle the climate crisis. Climate change is the biggest issue facing humanity and the planet. It is a shameful that Mr. Berman is trying to prevent a meeting with such a distinguished speaker talking on such an urgent issue and reflects badly on Cardiff.

We also note that rather than contacting our Campaign directly to raise his concerns, Rodney Berman, chose to contact the local media. This perhaps reveals his true agenda, which is to gain publicity for himself at the expense of genuinely tackling the most important issue facing us today, that of climate change.

Of course we, as a Campaign, do not endorse flyposting, but we do realise that the issue at hand is more important for our planet than whether a few posters are posted up across the city. This is a cheap publicity stunt from Mr Berman at the expense of the lives of future generations.

Perhaps, before he lectures environmentalists he needs to get his own environmental house in order. Many councils across the country have a far better record of cutting emissions and tackling climate change than his.

We would be willing to meet with Mr Berman to discuss how he can follow the examples of Woking Council and Derby Council who have publiclly pledged to cut emissions by 25% over the next 5 years. We would also ask Rodney Berman publicly to explain why Cardiff is not among the 410 local councils who have signed the Nottingham Declaration on tackling climate change.

We should - and could - be working together to plan how we can make Cardiff the greenest city in the UK"

Notes for Journalists:

For more information on what other councils are doing to tackle climate change, see:  http://society.guardian.co.uk/localgovt/story/0,,1981441,00.html

For more information on Mark Lynas, Author of High Tide, see: www.marklynas.org

"Mark Lynas has been active as a broadcast commentator and journalist, writing for the Guardian, Observer, Independent and various other publications, as well as appearing on radio and television news and discussion programmes ranging from Newsnight to the BBC World Service. His book High Tide: News from a Warming World was published by Flamingo/HarperCollins on 1 March 2004. He lives in Oxford, but has given talks and presentations on climate change and his travels for High Tide as far away as the United States and Australia. He writes a fortnightly environmental column for the New Statesman magazine, entitled ‘Green thinking’."

Mark Lynas will (Rodney Berman's antics permitting) be introducing a talk and slide-show based on his latest book - Six Degrees - Our Future on a Hotter Planet at the Wallace Lecture Theatre, Main Building, Cardiff University on Thursday 17 May at 7 pm.