Polar bears, in royal costume, made their presence known at Parliament Square today on behalf of I Count - the UK's largest campaign on climate change. They were there to mark the State Opening of Parliament and the Queen’s Speech, which announced the Climate Change Bill as part of the Government’s legislative programme for the new parliamentary session. The legislation is the first of its kind in the world and proposes to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2050.
The bears asked that Government act in line with its stated aim to keep global warming below the danger threshold of 2 degrees C and set a carbon dioxide reduction target in the Climate Change Bill of at least 80% by 2050.
Ashok Sinha, Director for I Count said: “It’s great news that the Government will introduce the first legal obligation to drive down carbon emission of any country in the world. But to really to set an international lead, the Bill must commit the UK to least an 80 per cent reduction in UK carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, rather than the proposed 60 per cent. The Government has taken a big step; but it must now have the courage of its convictions and make UK the first country in the world to deliver emissions cuts in line with the need to keep global warming under the danger threshold of 2 degrees C”.
If industrialised countries only delivered a 60% C02 reduction target, and ignored aviation and shipping, we will see a global temperature rise of 4 degrees C or more according to The Tyndall Centre.