Britain's day of climate shame

This morning, (10 Jan) the average person in Britain will have already produced more carbon in 2009 than a person from the poorest countries emits in a whole year warns the World Development Movement [1].

Benedict Southworth, director of the World Development Movement said:

"It is shocking that by today the average Briton will have already produced more carbon this year than someone in a poor country will in the whole of 2009. The world’s poorest people contribute little to climate change but will suffer most from its consequences."

Today also marks, the minister in charge of energy and climate change, Ed Miliband's 100th day in post. The World Development Movement challenged him to use his first 100 days to take the lead on transforming the way the UK produces its energy and responds to the threat of global warming. We outlined a five point program asking the Minister to:[2]

• Refuse E.ON’s application for a new coal power station at Kingsnorth in Kent.
• Increase the carbon reduction target in the climate bill to 80 per cent, including emissions from aviation
• Ensure that the carbon emissions reductions happen in the UK, rather than relying on carbon trading
• Set out a plan to ensure that more than 40 per cent of electricity supplied in the UK comes from renewable sources by 2020.
• Support the demands of developing countries for funds for mitigation and technology transfer at the UN Climate Change Conference at Poznan

Benedict Southworth continued,

"Ed Miliband has got a tough job, where he needs to make tough decisions and fast. But if he doesn't make the right decisions now, the average person in the UK will continue to emit 40 times more carbon as someone in the developing world. And that would be simply shameful.

"Ed Miliband must immediately refuse consent for Kingsnorth. To go ahead with this climate wrecking project would be a grave mistake and one which history would judge this government for harshly."

ENDS

Notes to editors

[1] The 50 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are those judged by the United Nations to have the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development. All the CO2 figures are based on the US Energy Information Administration figures for total and per person emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. We have used the most up-to-date figures, those for 2006. We calculated the date by dividing per person emissions in a country or group of countries by per person emissions in the UK, and then multiplying this figure by 365 days. For example, the fifty LDCs cumulatively have per person emissions of 0.23 tonnes per person. The UK is 9.66 tonnes per person. 0.23 / 9.66 = 0.0238. 0.0.238*365 = 8.7, so the ninth day of the year, 9th January.

[2] To help Stop Kingsnorth power station take action with the World Development Movement: http://www.wdm.org.uk/climatechange

Kate Blagojevic
Press officer, World Development Movement
0207 820 4900/4913, 07711 875 345, Email: kate.blagojevic@wdm.org.uk