York Uni People & Planet Climate Change Campaign

=What is climate change and why is it a problem?=




 * The ten warmest years ever measured worldwide have all occurred since 1990. 1998 was the warmest of the previous 1000 years.
 * During the 1960s there were 16 climate-related natural disasters. During the 1990s there were 70.
 * By 2025 over half of all people living in developing countries will be ‘highly vulnerable’ to floods and storms.
 * The current amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is greater than it has been in the past 450,000 years,
 * Climate change will place an additional 80-120 million people at risk of hunger, 70 to 80 per cent of these will be in Africa.

Click here for more on the science of global warming.

York Uni People & Planet is taking part in 2 big national campaigns on Climate Change:
 * Ditch Dirty Development
 * I Count

=Ditch Dirty Development=



Info on national Ditch Dirty Development campaigning is here:.

=I Count=

The government isn't doing enough to reduce emissions in the UK, or to encourage other countries like the USA and Australia to take up the challenge and join with international efforts. So we need to put pressure on them.

What are we up to?


Nationally, People & Planet is a member of the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition whose aims are:


 * 1. The UK government must meet its target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2010 and commit to an EU wide target of 30% by 2020.
 * 2. The UK government must make climate change a top international priority so that global warming is capped at a temperature rise of 2°C. This will require global emissions to be irreversibly declining by 2015.
 * 3. The government must ensure that its policies on combating global poverty include investing in low carbon technologies and clean energy and providing assistance to the developing world to adapt to climate change.

This term we plan on lobbying our MP John Grogan on the issue, and taking loads of people from campus to the Carnival of Climate Chaos on 4th November.

In the spring five of us went to get stuck in at Westminster at the Carbon Dating event organised by Stop Climate Chaos (see photo) and we've written letters to John Grogan MP.

We've also been collecting pledge cards (see above) and asking people to sign The Big Ask.

What can I do?


Global warming has increased because emissions of greenhouse gases. The good news is you don't have to wait for governments and firms to sort their act out, you can make some changes yourself:
 * Fit energy saving lightbulbs and conserve electrticity.
 * Walk, cycle, and use public tranport.
 * Buy locally sourced produce and recycle.
 * Switch your supplier to a renewables-sourced company.
 * Avoid taking flights.

Use the links below to find out more :O).

Info about national campaigning on I Count is here:.

=Links=

Climate Change Campaigning

 * People and Planet National - Climate Change
 * Stop Climate Chaos
 * The Big Ask from Friends of the Earth
 * Climate - BBC Online
 * Climate Change - DEFRA (Dept. of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs)
 * Climate Change - New Scientist
 * Climate Change - Friends of the Earth
 * Global Climate Change Student Guide
 * Campaign against Climate Change

Info on Going Green

 * The Green Electricity Market Place - Compares Renewable Electricity Suppliers.
 * Calculate your ecological footprint
 * Who are the 'greenest' supermarkets? - Ethical Consumer Magazine
 * See also recycling.

York Uni People & Planet

 * York Uni People & Planet Wiki Home
 * York Uni People & Planet website