Stop Climate Chaos
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| Founded | 2005, London, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Type | Coalition of NGOs |
| Focus | Environmentalism |
| Location | |
Area served | UK |
| Method | Lobbying, Demonstration |
Members | in excess of 100 organisations who comprise the coalition's 11 million members |
| Website | www.stopclimatechaos.org |
Stop Climate Chaos is a climate change coalition of primarily environmental and international development NGOs that was formed in September 2005. The coalition ran the I Count campaign in 2006–07 and organised The Wave, a campaign focused on the climatic impacts of energy production which took place on 5 December 2009 in the run-up to the UN talks in Copenhagen. The coalition encourages individuals to lobby the UK government for what they see as positive policies on climate change.
From 2005 to 2010 the director of the coalition was Ashok Sinha. There is also a Scottish secretariat called Stop Climate Chaos Scotland.
The I Count Campaign
The I Count campaign aimed to ensure that world leaders act on rising global greenhouse gas emissions in order to keep average global temperature increase to under 2 °C (3.6 °F) and so avoiding the more serious consequences of global warming.
In 2006 the campaign focussed on the lead up to the Queen's speech, urging the Government to introduce a Climate Change Bill in the forthcoming Parliamentary session - including legally binding cuts in emissions (3% per year and 50% by 2050), and an annual carbon budget.
The I Count London Climate Change Rally was a demonstration in London on November 4, 2006. It was attended by 20,000 to 25,000 people and was timed to coincide with the release of the Stern Report, calling on the government to take more serious action to prevent damage from climate change.
The event started with an initial rally at Grosvenor Square, outside the US Embassy, where George Monbiot, Caroline Lucas, and Norman Baker addressed the crowd. The rally marched to Trafalgar Square, joining with an already assembled crowd.
The campaign then focussed on the contents of the Climate Change Bill and criticised the initial proposals as failing to take into account the 2 °C 'global warming danger threshold'.[1]
The Energy Campaign
At the end of 2008 with the climate change act through parliament, the coalition switched its attention to energy policy. The new campaign demands were for UK government to boost investment in renewables and scrap plans for a string of coal power stations beginning with Kingsnorth.
Via a pair of e-actions on their website, thousands of emails were sent to Ed Miliband, Gordon Brown and campaigners' local MPs requesting energy policy is rethought.
The coalition are also working with The Age of Stupid team on their Not Stupid campaign.
The Wave
On 5 December 2009, people from all walks of life gathered in London and Glasgow to mark the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 which took place in Copenhagen. The aim was to rally the British Government and other members of other UK parties to ‘Quit Dirty Coal’, ‘Protect the Poorest’ and ‘Act Fair & Fast’ to avoid the worst impacts of Climate Change. Reports of attendance vary from 40,000 to 60,000 people, which makes it the largest demonstration on climate change in the world to date.
Lobby of MPs
In November 2010 the coalition organised the "Big Climate Connection", a lobby of MPs regarding the Cancún climate summit and the forthcoming Energy Bill. [2]
Members
The members of the coalition include:
See also
- Campaign against Climate Change (UK pressure group)
- United Kingdom Climate Change Programme
- United Kingdom Climate Change Bill
- Action on climate change
- Global Day of Action
