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Ghost Dog

(16,881 posts)
Tue Aug 9, 2016, 08:32 AM Aug 2016

Nobody can buy the silence of a climate spinning out of control: Caroline Lucas

The government’s reckless pursuit of fracking has reached new lows with the announcement that ministers will attempt to buy off widespread community opposition to the controversial new fossil fuel source through the introduction of a £1bn Shale Wealth Fund. At a time when we need to be making the transition to a jobs-rich zero-carbon future, this would be a gross violation of the commitments made in Paris last year. Already 2016 is set to be the hottest year on record and without a global step-change we will blow the 1.5C goal within years. Nobody can buy the silence of a climate that is spinning into chaos and turmoil...

... Later this year, the government must publish a new carbon plan that will outline the path to a 57% reduction in emissions by 2030 to meet its commitments under the Climate Change Act. Alongside the decision to embark upon a new industrial strategy, this plan, if taken seriously, could be a real opportunity to put climate change at the heart of government decision-making.

Rather than betting on shale gas, which takes us further in the wrong direction, England should follow Wales and Scotland and announce a moratorium on fracking. Then it should do the only thing that makes sense – economically, environmentally and socially: invest in the shared wealth that can be generated by renewable energy and energy efficiency. In other words, invest in the future.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/09/climate-ministers-bribe-local-fracking-environment


... Does anyone with any influence in the Westminster establishment attend to what Caroline Lucas has to say, or is she generally dismissed (together with the Paris Agreement) as just another unrealistically utopian Green?
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