PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, 6th March 2014
As Dublin today plays host to the European People’s Party congress, Stop Climate Chaos is calling on the leaders of some of Europe’s most powerful countries to strengthen European action on climate change. The coalition is calling on delegates, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, to increase the ambition of the European Commission’s 2030 Climate and Energy Framework proposal.
Ciara Kirrane from Stop Climate Chaos said ‘Over the past year Europe has gotten a glimpse of how vulnerable we are to extreme weather events driven by climate change. Ireland, England and Wales have experienced their wettest winters on record and the floods that hit Germany and Central Europe last summer could become regular events if Europe does not act now to tackle climate change’.
‘A climate and energy package that is in line with the science and ensures we contain climate change is what we need and expect from Europe. The package currently on the table is not nearly ambitious enough, and puts us in line to breaching what scientists believe are ‘safe’ levels of warming. European Commission President Barroso said in January that ‘Climate action is central for the future of our planet’ – we now want to see European leaders living up to that sentiment’.
Stop Climate Chaos says the 2030 Climate and Energy package needs to have stronger and more ambitious targets: at least a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a renewable energy target of 45% and an energy savings target of at least 40%.
About Stop Climate Chaos
Stop Climate Chaos (SCC) is a coalition of 28 civil society organisations campaigning to ensure Ireland plays its part in preventing runaway climate change. It was launched in 2007 and is the largest network of organisations campaigning for action on climate change in Ireland. Its membership includes development, environmental, youth and faith-based organisations. The members of SCC are: Afri, BirdWatch Ireland, Christian Aid Ireland, Comhlámh, Community Workers’ Cooperative, Concern, Cultivate, Dublin Friends of the Earth, Eco Congregation Ireland, ECO UNESCO, Feasta, Friends of the Earth, Gorta, Just Forests, Kimmage Development Studies Centre, Latin America Solidarity Centre (LASC), Liberia Solidarity Group, Methodist Church of Ireland – Council of Social Responsibility, Mountmellick Environmental Group (MEG), National Youth Council of Ireland, Oxfam Ireland, Presentation Ireland, Progressio Ireland, Sustain West Cork, Trócaire, An Taisce, VITA and V.O.I.C.E. Further information is available at: www.stopclimatechaos.ie. Follow SCC on Twitter @SCC_Ireland and on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/
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