CLIMATE CHANGE MARCH

March on the US Embassy
SATURDAY 8 DECEMBER:
Global Day of Climate Change Protest
Assemble 12 pm, Millbank, Central London

Called by Campaign against Climate Change
Supported by I-Count

Coaches stop at Caerphilly (7.15 am)
Cardiff Museum Steps (8 am)
Newport Bus Station (8.30 am)
Tickets - £16 waged or £8 concession/Student
To book a seat -  CardiffCCC@hotmail.co.uk

For a map of the march route and information about other events happening in London (including a cycle protest) see:  http://www.campaigncc.org/demoschedule.shtml


Last week, thousands marched across Australia for action against climate change. This week, the new Australian government announced that it would finally sign the Kyoto protocol on climate change. This leaves the US government isolated as the only developed country on the planet that has refused to ratify Kyoto. In December, hundreds of thousands of people will be be marching all over the world for action on climate change as part of the process of building a grassroots mass movement for action to save the planet: Join us!

What we're demonstrating for -

This may seem pretty obvious: to save the planet and billions of people on it - from the horrific tide of death and destruction that will come from the catastrophic destabilisation of global climate. But there are two main things we're pushing at the demo, which are reflected on the route we've chosen for the march.

We start at Millbank near the House of Commons and march past No 10 where we will deliver a letter. The focus here is on the UK government passing a strong Climate Bill. This will establish in legislation a cap for the whole of the UK's emissions - so its not like so many other climate initiatives - very good in themselves but at risk of being cancelled out by an increase associated with another sector of the economy. Also we cannot make meaningful reductions by our own individual efforts alone - these efforts will be wasted unless they are part of an overall plan coordinated by government. These are some of the reasons why we feel a strong climate Bill is so important !

We finish at the US embassy. Clearly whatever we achieve in the UK will be no use in solving this global problem except insofar as it encourages other nations to act and gives a stronger hand to those working to achieve a global agreement that will establish a cap on the global total of emissions. That is why our 'National climate March' is part of a Global Day of Action with demonstrations and events in more than 50 contries demanding real action on climate from world leaders at the UN Climate Talks in Bali. But the biggest block on progress at those UN Talks is still, as it has been for a decade or more, the United States. In particular the Bush administration has both rejected Kyoto (in 20001) and cynicaly manouevered to sabotage progress at the UN Climate Talks. It still refuses to accept binding targets (the only basis for a meaningful treaty) in a post Kyoto agreement and demands action, first, from China and India despite the fact that these countries emit far less per person, are much poorer with fewer resources to take the necessary action and do not have a historical reponsibility for much the greater part of the greenhouse gases currently in the atmosphere.

Most recently Bush has tried to derail progress on climate at the Washington Climate Conference on the 27th-28th September. This was a transparent attempt to divert the world down a blind ally of 'voluntary measures' and 'intensity targets' and thereby pre-empt and derail real progress on absolute and binding targets (the only thing that can really work) at the official UN Talks in Bali. This comes after he forced the final communique at the G8 in Heilegendam in June to abandon any firm emission reduction commitments. Bush has been forced to change his language on climate but continues to be the major obstacle to progress. He may be on the way out but he is still doing damage and the cost of the delay he is imposing could ultimately be measured in millions of lives. That is why our march finishes at the US embassy with a massive demonstration to show that we will not just stand by and allow Bush - or anyone else - to wreck the global effort to save billions of lives from climate catastrophe.

www.campaigncc.org