International development agency Christian Aid and its overseas partners will be given centre stage at a special climate change Parliamentary meeting organised by Alan Campbell, MP for Tynemouth, on Wednesday 11 July in the Jubilee Room at the House of Commons.
As Christian Aid prepares to kick off the longest ever UK protest march, the Cut the Carbon March, on Saturday 14 July, Alan Campbell MP has invited MPs who represent constituencies along its 1,000 mile route to a special briefing on the political messaging behind the protest.
The briefing is to drum up support for changes to the new Climate Change Bill, currently in draft format, which will enter Parliament for discussion on 8 October, 6 days after the end of the historic March.
Christian Aid is calling on the UK Government to ensure the new Climate Bill includes:
· A target for UK CO2 emission cuts of at least 80 per cent on 1990 levels by 2050, so we play our fair part in keeping global warming below 2˚C
· The introduction of mandatory reporting of CO2 emissions by companies trading in the UK.
Christian Aid also wants the UK to take the lead in calling for a UN agreement on climate change that works for the world's poor and will cut rich countries' CO2 emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050.
Alan Campbell said: 'I am pleased to support Christian Aid's Cut the Carbon March. The draft Climate Change Bill is the first of its kind in the world and demonstrates that Britain is leading the way on environmental issues.
'It's testament to the campaigning skills of groups such as Christian Aid that environmental issues have caught the public imagination and events like these are vital in raising awareness of the issue and show that important though government and international action is, it's vital that every individual plays their part to ensure we create a sustainable environment for future generations.'
The briefing will begin at 16.00 on 11 July 2007 in the Jubilee Room at the House of Commons.
ENDS
For further press information contact :
Karen Hedges on 020 7523 2404 or email khedges@christian-aid.org.
Liz Livesley, office manager for Alan Campbell, on 0191 257 1927
Notes to editors
Christian Aid is an international development agency working with people of all religions and none in around 50 countries.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
