20091205_CL
Source: SimonDotException, YouTube
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEn9UGoa8E0
Date: 05/12/2009
Event: Caroline Lucas: "climate change is a far greater threat than international terrorism"
Credit: SimonDotException
People:
- Caroline Lucas: UK Green Party Leader and MEP
[Caroline Lucas addresses the climate emergency rally held in Hyde Park by CaCC on 5th December 2009.]
Caroline Lucas: ... and it's based in a bleak future in 2055, after climate catastrophe [Lucas is probably referring to the film The Age of Stupid]. And I'm haunted by some words of the main character, the sole survivor, who looks back to 2009 - he looks back to today and he says "Why is it that, knowing what they knew then, didn't they act while there was still time?"
And that, to me, is the most important question of our time. Why have we still failed to galvanise the political will that we need to tackle climate change? Because local campaigns like the 10:10 campaign are fantastically important, but we need real political commitment and real political leadership as well. And what have we got? A Labour government under whom emissions have risen, not fallen, a Tory party that is squabbling amongst themselves over whether climate change even exists.
And so that's why it's so important that we're here today with our urgent message, which is this: that climate change is a far greater threat than international terrorism, and is itself a weapon of mass destruction. That it is obscene that governments can find money to bail out banks and pay bankers' bonuses but can't find the money to stop the planet burning.
That [applause and whooping from the audience]... That, according to the UN, 300,000 people are already dying every year as a direct result of climate change. And that's why we say today that governments' failure to act is nothing less than a crime against humanity. [More applause and whooping from the audience.]
So no wonder people are confused. The greatest threat we've ever faced, up there with the rise of fascism in the 1930s, and we're being told just to change our light bulbs and turn the washing down to 30 degrees. Well, don't get me wrong - both of those things are really important. But we need government action as well - they have to take a lead. If people could sort it out for ourselves, we'd have done it. We need government action.
What if William Wilberforce had said "Yeah, we know slavery is wrong, but actually we're worried about the economy, so let's just make do with one slave instead of two". What if Emmeline Pankhurst had said "Yes, we know women want the vote, but hey, people don't like change, so we'll just ask our husbands to vote for us." That is not the sort of change we need.
Let us be clear - that our governments have betrayed us in the most fundamental way. They have pretended that a bit of lagging on your loft and a few light bulbs are enough. And the reason why? Because they're so afraid of saying that we need more radical action, because they think it involves sacrifice. Well, our message today is that green jobs isn't about sacrifice. Our message today is about warm homes and decent public transport - that's not about sacrifice. The truth is that climate change policies are positive policies that will make our lives better. [Cheering and applause from the audience.]
But if our politicians fail to act, I think we should be really clear, that we pledge ourselves to do everything in our power, both within the law and if necessary outside the law, to peacefully prevent our headlong descent into climate chaos. [Whooping and applause from the audience.] Because while it's brilliant to see you here and being on this march is really important, it is not enough. The terrible truth is that climate change is happening far more quickly than expected, and not even the most ambitious pledge on the table at Copenhagen is going anywhere near enough to guarantee that we avoid the worst of climate change.
And that's why we have to take the necessary action ourselves. I think we need to pledge here, today, now, that we will build the country's largest ever campaign of nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience, to make our politicians act. [Cheering and applause from the audience.] And [smiling] I might add, you could perhaps vote for different politicians as well. [Some audience laughter.] Because we know what needs to be done, we know that the deal at Copenhagen has to have social justice at its heart, it has to be built on something like contraction and convergence. We know that personal carbon rationing has to be part of the equation. We know we need a massive investment in renewable energies, energy efficiency, millions of green jobs. We know that we need to eat less meat, we know we need to have to tackle the issue of population, and we know, more than ever, that this current economic system is not part of the solution, it is part of the problem. [Cheering and applause from the audience.]
So let me just finish by saying that some people think we'll never be able to persuade politicians to act on such a radical agenda, that while it might be economically and technically possible to deal with climate change, some people say it's not politically possible. Well, I think that we're here today to change the definition of what is politically possible. Scientists tell us we have within 10 years in which emissions need to peak and then fall. That means it falls to this generation, it falls to our generation, it falls to us to act - now that is an awesome responsibility but it is also an amazing opportunity, that we are here today and we can do this.
Together, we're powerful. A century ago, Emmeline Pankhurst said that to be militant is a privilege, and she was right. Friends, the future demands that we are militant today. I wish you exhilarating and militant times ahead, because the time for action is now. [Cheering and applause from the audience.]