Climate Change Communiqué from Six Chief Executives

Six Chief Executives from UK environmental institutions have come together to produce a communiqué on climate change. The communiqué calls for strong leadership and urgent action from all parties attending the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen during December, in agreeing a new framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  

The communiqué will be launched at a joint meeting between the Royal Society, Defra and the Royal Meteorological Society on ‘The Science of UK Climate Projections: UKCP09 and beyond’. The meeting will take place on Thursday 15th October at the Royal Society, Carlton House Terrace, London.

The six professional and learned institutions include the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (IEEM), the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE), the Institution of Water Officers (IWO) and the Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS). They recognise the scale of this challenge and the difficult issues of national interest, but there is evidence that unless there is a significant reduction in emissions that nationally and globally we will face significant environmental impacts.

Professor Paul Hardaker, Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, adds ‘ Our climate is changing and we know this will present us with some big challenges both globally and in the UK but we can’t hope to tackle these unless we are able to stop the increase in emissions of greenhouse gases. The longer we delay, the worse the problem will be. So we need all our politicians and government to fund a solution to this in Copenhagen.’

The six Chief Executives have called for:

• World leaders to demonstrate a high level of commitment and resolve to address climate change in a way that bridges political and cultural differences.
• Protectionism and self-interest to be set aside for the greater good of humankind and for the benefit of the most vulnerable people on the planet.
• A robust new agreement that will create the conditions for transformational change to a low-carbon future and deliver the economic signals that businesses need to invest billions in low-carbon products, services, technologies and infrastructure.
• Population growth and consumption to be placed at the heart of future action on climate change. The quest for low-carbon living lies in a sustainable population and smarter consumption.
• World leaders to fix a global emissions cap and a long-term reduction pathway for all greenhouse gases by 2050, with interim targets guided by high quality science.