John Baron MP: Climate Change Bill
Dear Mr Baron,
I am co-ordinator of South East Essex Friends of the
Earth group. We are a group of volunteers which are
affiliated to Friends of the Earth. Our main concern
and campaign at present is clima te change, and we have
been campaigning in the local area for the Friends of
the Earth ~QBig Ask~R. The Big Ask is primarily EDM178
asking the government to reduce CO2 emissions by 3% a
year. Having held campaign stalls in Southend,
Basildon, Rayleigh and Burnham we have been delighted
that Bob Spink, James Duddridge, David Amess, and Mark
Francois have all signed the EDM. Angela Smith cannot
sign as she is a junior minister. Our campaign has not
been the reason for all of these MPs signing, as some
had signed prior to our group forming, however Mark
Francois had not signed but once we showed him the
level of concern from his constituents and gave him a
copy of the EDM he was good to his word and signed
very quickly.
That is the background, sorry it was a bit long
winded. Last Saturday we spent three hours in
Billericay High Street and got in excess of two
hundred and twenty Big Ask postcards signed, with no
one we spoke to leaving without signing. As before we
found the level of concern and lack of Government
action to be a huge concern with your constituents. I
am sure that not all of the post cards will be for
you, however a great proportion of them will be. The
cards will now be sent to Friends of the Earth head
office where they will be logged and sorted with only
cards completed by your constituents being then sent
to you.
Having seen the concern of your constituents first
hand, I would ask you to please consider signing EDM
178 putting your support towards fighting climate
change.
Thank you
Kind regards
Kim Power
HOUSE OF COMMONS
LONDON SW1A 0AA
14th August 2006 Ref: JB/JT
Dear [Mr.] Power,
Thank you for your email dated 7th August regarding the Climate Change Bill which was waiting for me upon my return from holiday.
I agree with you that climate change is one of the most pressing political problems we will face this century. Predictions for the UK indicate that average temperatures will increase by between 2C and 3.5C by 2100, resulting in warmei summers and wetter winters. This could have big implications for our biodiversity and economy.
I will be signing EDM 178 once Parliament reconvenes as I believe that year on year reductions on carbon emissions need to be made. We actively supported the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act, which creates binding targets upon the Government They call on the Prime Minister to produce an annual report on greenhouse gas emissions and present it to Parliament. However, I also await the findings of the Quality of Life Policy group on how we are going to preveni climate change.
I am confident that at the end of the current Conservative policy review, being lead by Zac Goldsmith and John Gummer, we will be able to bring forward a far more ambitious and holistic approach to tackling climate change, than any of the rather timid and unimaginative measures the Government has so far introduced. However, the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act is a welcome step in the right direction and it has my wholehearted support
Needless to say, should you wish to discuss this further then please do not hesitate to contact the constituency office. Meanwhile, I have taken the liberty of enclosing my latest Westminster Report.
Yours sincerely
John Baron MP