'Climate Emergencies'
The concept of Councils declaring Climate Emergencies appears to have been triggered by the publication of the IPCC Special Report "Global Warming of 1.5°C" on 8th October 2018. On 13th November 2018 the first 'Climate Emergency' was declared by Bristol City Council, citing the IPCC Special Report. The Forest of Dean District Council followed suit on 6th December 2018, committing the Forest of Dean district to achieving Net Zero emissions and energy self-sufficiency by 2030. By the end of 2018, 6 Councils had declared a Climate Emergency. During 2019 a further 247 English Councils followed suit.
The pace of declarations is remarkable, as is a comparison of the wording of motions put before Councils; In the case of Bristol City Council there is a list of 6 items under "Full Council calls on the Mayor to:", the first two items of which are:
1. Declare a 'Climate Emergency';
2. Pledge to make the city of Bristol carbon neutral by 2030, taking into account both production and consumption emissions (scope 1, 2 and 3);
It is remarkably similar to the list of 6 items under "Full Council calls on Council to:" in motion put before the Forest of Dean District Council, of which the first two items are:
1. Declare a 'Climate Emergency';
2. Aim to make the Forest of Dean District Council and the district carbon neutral by 2030, taking into account both production and consumption emissions (scope 1, 2 and 3), Ref 4
If I were a teacher marking homework, I would be calling the pupils concerned in for a little 'chat'.
However, it is important to remember that correlation is not causation so
perhaps a deeper look is necessary. The phrase "it is imperative
that we take the boldest steps to reduce our CO2 emissions from their
current 6.5 tonnes per person per year to less than 2 tonnes as soon as
possible" appears in the 'Climate Emergency' declarations of our Council and at least 8 others. This is explored in more detail in 'The Myth of Footprints'.
Other phrases appear to have been similarly plagiarized, most notably "The
world's leading climate scientists warn that there are only a dozen
years for global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5oC, beyond which
even half a degree will significantly worsen the risks of drought,
floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.", which is taken directly from an article in 'The Guardian' and copied to a number of other 'Climate Emergencies'.
There seems little doubt that the 'Climate Emergency' is a well organised campaign by person or persons unknown. The obvious suspect is Extinction Rebellion (Or Rising up!, or Just Stop Oil or Animal Rising or whatever they are called this week) but in reality they are just the the useful idiots in all this. Quietly aiding and abetting are organisations like The Local Government Association and the National Association of Local Councils, but the script they are all following is the United Nations 'Agenda 2030' and its "Sustainable Development Goals". Everything done by Councils around the country, from 'Emergencies' to 'Plant based foods' to '15 minute cities' derives inspiration from these UN goals. More on this in "UN Agenda 2030"
Enter your text here...