Over recent weeks it has been great to see over 40,000 of our supporters join our campaign to defend the EU Nature Directives - across Europe more than 200,000 have now submitted a response to the Commission's consultation - a record I am told! While defending the directives remains our campaigning priority, we continue to play an active part in the Climate Coalition - a group of over 100 civil society organisations campaigning for positive action to stop climate chaos. And, next week we are taking part in the climate event of the summer - Speak Up For The Love Of....
I’ve blogged many times (for example see here, here and here) about the overwhelming threat posed by climate change to our natural environment. And indeed it’s all too easy to get overwhelmed ourselves by the magnitude of the challenge. There seems to be such a big gulf between the global political response needed and the changes we need to make as individuals and organisations (and I’m pleased to report that the RSPB continues to make progress on its own journey to reduce its carbon footprint and help wildlife adapt at its many sites round the UK, and indeed with its work on tropical forests abroad).
This is why I’ll be joining thousands of other people in Westminster on 17 June to call for a big political response to climate change. I’ll be speaking up for the wildlife that will be affected by climate change but there will be development groups, the WI, businesses and others, all speaking up about the particular concerns they have about the issue.
The more the better so it would be great if you can join me: if you’d like to sign up, please do that here.
We’ll all be heading to meet up with our MPs (hopefully including mine, Daniel Zeichner MP) and tell them we care about climate change; and to ask them what they care about that might be affected by it, and what they hope to do about it.
We’re also hoping to remind Prime Minister David Cameron of a pledge he and the other two main party leaders at the time made back in February. It was a reaffirmation of his commitment to the UK’s Climate Change Act and his intention to push for a strong, fair and legally binding deal at United Nations climate talks in Paris this December.
MPs will be ferried around Westminster in rickshaws (yes, rickshaws) to their constituency hubs, where they’ll meet with their constituents and there will be a rally featuring some famous faces and great music to round off the day if you can stay.
It will be a fun day with a deadly serious purpose – to remind our decision makers that climate change is the greatest long term threat to humans and the other millions of species on which we share this planet. We need Governments to speak up and step up for our wildlife, both at home and at the UN.
On 17 June, they’ll see that thousands of people have come all the way to London to send them that message as well.
I hope to see you there.