[The title
was written by my editor.]
The G20 meeting of world leaders is set to take place later this month in
Brisbane, Australia, and it will not feature climate change on its agenda for
the first time in eight years.
by John
Tyburski
Copyright © Daily
Digest News, KPR Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
Despite an
urgent cry from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, world leaders
expected to attend this month’s G20 meeting in Brisbane, Australia, will not be
considering global warming as a distinct agenda item. This year marks the first
time in the past eight years that the gathering of G20 leaders will not address
climate change as a stand-alone issue.
Austrialia
Prime Minister Tony Abbott sees climate change outside of the scope of the G20,
which he views as “an economic forum.” While in office, Abbott has repealed his
country’s carbon tax, shut down its climate watchdog entity, and set the stage
for growth of the coal industry.
The G20
omission did not go unnoticed. A coalition of environmental groups launched an
appeal on Monday designed to prompt G20 leaders to recognize the looming threat
of manmade climate change and put it back on the meeting agenda. The campaign
is authored by 1 million women, Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Australian
Conservation Foundation, Earth Hour, GetUp, Greenpeace, Oxfam, 350.org, and
WWF.
People are
urged to tweet G20 leaders using #onmyagenda in their efforts to persuade the
members to reconsider the climate issue.
“There is
no solution to climate change without G20 members on board,” WWF CEO Dermot
O’Gorman said in a statement. “These countries are responsible for around 80%
of global emissions and more than 80% of global economic activity.”
“Young people
do not have a seat around the negotiating table, but will live to feel the
consequences of world leaders’ decisions,” adds Lucy Manne, Co-Director of the
Australian Youth Climate Coalition. “It is the responsibility of the G20 to put
it on their agenda.”
A
billboard that the campaign placed at the Brisbane Airport to greet meeting
attendees with a reminder of the impact of higher than normal temperatures on
the nation’s farmers was banned by the airport authority for being “too
political.”
The
coalition is urging concerned individuals to learn how they can help at onmyagenda.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment