MDXSU Calls for Bold Action at the UN Climate Talks

Monday 24-08-2015 - 18:52
Paris climate change un 2015

Sayed Alkadiri, MDXSU Vice President Business & Law

 

The governments of more than 190 nations are meeting at a summit in Paris later this year to negotiate a legally binding agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions for the first time ever after over 20 years of negotiations. These negotiations are critical, as current commitments on emissions run out in 2020; this is one of the last chances to strike an agreement that would take us on to the next decade.

 

Action on climate change is of key importance to students. From 2008 to 2012, 144 million people were forced from their homes in 125 countries. Our students from across the globe will increasingly see their world shaped by climate change, and our generation of students who will be using our education to respond to the consequences.

 

Middlesex students call on the UK Government to take a global lead in these negotiations and show strong leadership, by taking bold action to:

  • Keep 80% of fossil fuels in the ground – in line with keeping below 2 ̊c warming
  • Fully transition the UK from fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy by 2050

 

There is a lot of pressure on the UK Government and members of Parliament to keep the status quo, although the UK has been at the forefront on the fight against global poverty, and led by example by building upon a sustainable transition to renewable energy at home, and the world now needs the UK Government to play that a pivotal role again, in bringing countries together and taking bold leadership to take place once again.

 

Why is this so important?

Leading Scientists across the world have warned for decades that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, the world will pass the threshold of 2 ̊c above pre-industrial levels, beyond which global warming then becomes an international catastrophe and irreversible.

 

The graph shows scenarios of what will happen if we choose to act on emissions, and if we choose not to. The orange line shows what happens if we continue on a trajectory of increasing our carbon emissions - we will see global warming increasing to between 3 and 5.4c – far above the 2C threshold.  You can’t understate what this catastrophe will start to look like; rising sea levels, disrupted food & water availability and ever increasing extreme weather events. This is the summit that can set a framework for governments across the world, to work to reduce emission and avoid those catastrophic consequences.

 

What are we asking for?

The UK Government should be divesting from fossil fuels and investing in renewables, with a target of 100% renewable & clean energy by 2050. The single biggest driver of climate change on our planet is coal pollution - the harmful emissions from coal fired power stations are the leading causes of smog, acid rain and toxic air pollution. The United Kingdom must take bold action, and begin a phasing out of burning coal and push other nations, such as the United States to do the same.

 

Universities in the United Kingdom, including Middlesex University, must also take a stand and divest from the fossil fuel industry. Universities should be role models in society, acting responsibly and helping to create a safe future that is better for everyone, and not contribute to the destruction of our planet. The fossil fuel industry is complicit in causing climate change and its catastrophic impacts, and we must do everything in our power to rapidly reduce the global use of fossil fuels and the rogue industry’s major influence on government policy.

 

What is Divestment?

Divestment is the act of removing money from a particular fund or asset. This is done in order for organisations invest their money in a way which is good for the environment and society. This involves lobbying institutions and organisations to ensure they do not invest their money in organisation which are polluting the environment, and speeding up climate change. Students across the world are lobbying their universities to divest from fossil fuel, so that their institutions are not helping to fund reckless and polluting activity.

 

What can you do to influence the Climate Talks?

  • Sign and promote this online petition, which will create a draft email to send to your local MP. You can also arrange a meeting with your local MP, and ask for your concerns to be conveyed to the Energy & Climate Change Sectary.
  • Join Greenpeace, Oxfam, 350.org and the global movement calling for coal to be phased out.
  • Join the MDX Going Green Society, and campaign for divestment on campus. You can also propose a policy that goes to referendum, which supports the demands of the divestments campaign.
  • Check out the NUS Divestment Campaign Guide, for how to approach the campaign on campus.

 

Please don’t hesitate to contact myself (s.alkadiri@mdx.ac.uk), or Vice President Orla Hillary (O.Hillary@mdx.ac.uk) who has cross campus oversight over the Students Union’s Environment and Ethical campaigns.

Related Tags :

sayer alkadiri, sayer, paris climate summit, un, climate change,

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