Members of London Green Party will be leafleting cinema’s tomorrow with a clear political message: if you want action on climate change, then you must vote Green on June 10th.
Darren Johnson, Green Party Mayoral Candidate said, "Although this film is fiction, climate change is real and we need real action to stop it. The other parties maintain the fiction that they are doing enough to stop climate change, but the reality is their policies are set to increase greenhouse gas emissions. The Government accepts the need to urgently control the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but lacks the courage to take the radical policies needed to combat climate change."
Greens in London will be reminding the public that environmental disasters don’t just happen in the movies. Leaflets will point out.
· Some scientists predict a 5 metre rise in sea levels as ice-sheets melt and collapse into the sea.
· A recent US defence department report said the severe storms, floods and droughts caused by climate change would lead to famines, refugee crises, worldwide civil unrest and war.
· The Pentagon, Sir David King and Hans Blix have all warned that climate change is a more serious than the war on terror
· The Government acknowledge that climate related damage could cost Britain more than £21 billion a year by 2080
Greens have argued that we need massive investment in non-nuclear renewable energy and all new developments should incorporate solar power and dual water systems. We need investment in public transport and the courage to take measures such as the Air Traffic Reduction Bill put forward by Green Party Peer, Lord Beaumont.
The Green Party has consistently supported the policy of contraction and convergence that combines equity with rigorous science. Contraction reduces the planet’s C02 emissions to a sustainable annual amount. Convergence ensures that all countries’ emissions converge over time to a position where entitlement to emit is proportional to population.
Darren Johnson concluded, "This film is a Hollywood epic so of course it’s not entirely authentic. But the message is sound, that climate change is the most serious threat facing humankind. Only the Greens have the political will to tackle climate change. The Tories, Labour and Liberal Democrats for short term political gain are jeopardising the welfare, indeed the survival of large numbers of people."
Jean Lambert and Caroline Lucas, Green MEPs have consistently put forward policies in Europe to tackle climate change.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
· Darren Johnson is 38 and was selected as the Green Party’s candidate for Mayor of London in May 2003. He was elected to the London Assembly in May 2000 where he is Leader of the Green Party Group. He was also elected to Lewisham Council in May 2002.
· The Mayoral election will be held on June 10th at the same time as the elections for the London Assembly and the European Parliament. At the last Assembly elections the Greens scored one of their best ever results in the Party’s history, securing 11.1% of the vote across London and winning three seats on the 25-member Assembly.
· Darren Johnson’s vision for a sustainable Green London can be found on his website www.johnsonformayor.org.uk
· Jean Lambert is London’s Green Member of the European Parliament and she is No 1 on the list for the London Green Party. Her website is www.jeanlambertmep.org.uk
· Green Party Assembly Members are Cllr. Darren Johnson AM, Deputy Mayor Jenny Jones AM and Noel Lynch AM
· Biographies for all candidates are available from London Press Officer, Penny Kemp 07711 760692 or penny.kemp@virgin.net
· Published and promoted by Chris Cotton on behalf of London Green Party both at 1a Waterlow Road, London N19 5NJ
· Printed by Penny Kemp, Press Officer on behalf of London Green Party at 1a Waterlow Rd, London N19 5NJ
Further information, interviews:Penny Kemp 07711 760692
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