Less than 300 days

Friends of the Earth Europe and more than 50 other organisations have published an open letter to European Heads of State and Government stressing that they have less than 300 days to secure a strong agreement at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen this December.

The letter - published on 20th February in the European edition of the Economist magazine - demands that any response to the economic crisis promotes sustainable recovery, and not outdated polluting technologies. The letter calls on European governments to accept their historic responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, and also demands that governments provide $35 billion to tackle climate change in the developing world.

Text of the letter:

Less than 300 Days: An open letter to EU Heads of State and Government about the climate crisis.

As you and political leaders across the world strive to counter today’s financial meltdown, it is imperative that you do not lose sight of the climate crisis, which poses an even bigger threat to the world’s citizens and economies.

Its impact is already being felt by millions of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people – through floods, droughts, increased extreme weather phenomena and rising sea levels.

You and other world leaders have less than 300 days to secure a strong agreement to tackle climate change at the UN summit in Copenhagen. If you get it right, this deal could save the world from the enormous costs of catastrophic global warming and protect the lives of poor people in developing countries. It could boost economic growth; create millions of high quality green collar jobs; and secure a safe energy supply for generations to come.

But there will be no agreement if rich countries, who have caused the climate crisis, fail to show a strong commitment to investing public money in climate protection, at home and in developing countries.

The European Union’s position for the Copenhagen summit will be determined in the next few weeks. At the next summit of EU leaders on 19-20 March, you must:

• Agree to use today’s fiscal stimulus measures to invest in the climate-friendly and environmentally safe industries of tomorrow. Taxpayers’ money should be used to support a ‘green new deal’ to ensure a sustainable economic recovery – instead of bailing out polluting industries;
• Champion the creation of a new international financial mechanism to support adaptation to climate change, clean energy and forest protection in developing countries. Government contributions should be based on historic responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, and ability to pay;
• Commit to pay Europe’s fair share – a minimum commitment now in the order of €35bn per year. This money must be additional to existing aid targets, and to any purchasing of carbon credits that offset EU emissions.

Signed by over 50 representatives of global civil society:
Climate Action Network-Europe
Greenpeace International
Oxfam International
WWF International
Global Call to Action Against Poverty
Avaaz
Friends of the Earth Europe
Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance
All Africa Conference of Churches
CIDSE
Sisters of the Good Samaritan, Australia
Edmund Rice Centre, Australia
Bond Neter Leefmilieu, Belgium
VODO, Belgium
Centre for Transport and Energy, Czech Republic
CEE Bankwatch Network, Czech Republic
Danish Ecological Council, Denmark
IBIS, Denmark
Climate Action Network France
Germanwatch
Deutscher Naturschutzring e.V., Germany
INKOTA-netzwerk, Germany
BUND e.V., Germany
Artefact – centre for sustainable development
German Young Naturefriends
Brot fur die Welt/Diakonie Katastophenhife
Landesarbeitsgemeinschaft Agenda 21 NRW e. V.
Green Budget Europe, Germany
Church Development Service, Germany
Wikiwoods, Germany
Iceland Nature Conservation Association
Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change
Grian, Ireland
Citizens Alliance for Saving the Atmosphere
and the Earth, Japan
Franciscan Friars Minor OFM, Kenya
Education for Life Institute/The Seed Institute
IndyACT – the League of Independent Activists
Nature Trust Malta
Natuur en Milieu, Netherlands
Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth NL
ICCO, interchurch organisation for
development cooperation, Netherlands
4C Climate Change, Netherlands
Norges Naturvernforbund, Norway
Natur og Ungdom, Norway
Changemaker Norway
Spire, Youth of the Development Fund, Norway
Forum for utvikling og miljø, Norway
Focus Association for Sustainable Development
Church of Sweden
Swedish Society for Nature Conservation
E3G, UK
Tearfund, UK
Christian Aid
Cafod
Practical Action, UK
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Download the letter (.pdf)