With just 12 years left to limit climate change, Council must oppose new fracking laws, say Greens.
THE Green Group of Councillors on Brighton & Hove City Council have reaffirmed their call for an end to fracking, calling for ‘immediate action’ on climate change following a damning report from the UN on global warming.
A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was published this week, with 91 scientists warning that the planet will reach climate disaster as early as 2030 if no action is taken to curb increases in global warming.
According to the report, a rise in global temperature will lead to extreme droughts, food shortages and increased poverty, with the IPCC calling for ‘unprecedented changes in all aspects of society,’ to minimise climate disaster.
Green Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty said: “This report should serve as a painful wake up call. The effects of climate change are already being felt. However the IPCC has concluded that a rise of even half a degree above current global temperatures will herald a climate disaster as soon as 2030. Increases in global temperatures of half a degree could lead to millions exposed to severe drought and plunge us into a food shortage.
“Yet the IPCC have reminded us that we can reverse some of these changes if we take serious action now. That’s exactly why Greens will call for an unequivocal rejection of hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’ at the next meeting of Full Council. It’s never been clearer that our reliance on fossil fuels has to end. With unprecedented levels of change needed, we also repeat our concerns that limited actions by the Labour Council on air pollution and sustainable transport do not go far enough, and call for a serious commitment from this Council to play its full part in curbing global warming.”