Action plan to halt climate chaos

Without an immediate crash programme of action to halt and reverse global warming the planet faces disaster within the next decades. Profit-hungry corporations have the prime responsibility for climate chaos and they should pay the price. Without urgent measures, sea levels will rise and overwhelm many population centres. New Labour’s plans to expand carbon trading and negotiate a post-Kyoto treaty will have no impact on the crisis.

Cutting carbon emissions drastically is clearly beyond the capacity of the existing capitalist political and economic system, which is incompatible with a sustainable planet. Implementing a crash programme therefore goes hand-in-hand with creating truly democratic alternatives to corporate power and Britain’s undemocratic and unrepresentative parliamentary system.

An action plan paving the way for a transformation of the economy along sustainable not-for-profit, ecological lines should:

ban car use in congested city centre areas and take rail, bus, and river/sea networks into not-for-profit ownership, slashing fares to make them affordable to all
establish car pool schemes in every locality to discourage private car ownership, encourage car sharing and create cycle-only networks in cities; prohibit the sale of private vehicles that average less than 60mpg immediately, and 80mpg by 2008
bring airlines into social ownership, setting upper limits on total flight miles in and out of Britain to be distributed on an equitable basis, and abandon airport expansion plans
transport all long-distance internal freight on the rail network, with lorries only being used for local distribution
make free solar panels available to local communities and reduce energy demand in homes by investing in insulation and boilers
return energy supply to public ownership to put an end to market-driven pricing, moving to decentralised generation of electricity and heat
expand investment in wind, wave, tidal and solar power and make research into non-carbon power sources a national priority; scrap plans for new nuclear power stations
curb excessive packaging, advertising and promotion
offer no-strings financial support to developing countries to reduce unnecessary food exports to richer nations
launch an international effort to protect the Amazon rain forest and other forested areas from further clearances and ban import of soya from deforested sites
end wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and scrap plans for a Trident II nuclear missile system to help fund eco-investment
close down carbon trading schemes, which commodify carbon to profit from pollution, replacing them with permitted and progressively reducing carbon allocations
prohibit the use of pension funds for speculation, using them instead to invest in the climate change emergency action plan

A World to Win 4 November 2006

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Nick says:

I totally agree, but it doesn't go half way far enough! The government is CRIMINAL. It is illegal to pay people to commit crime. It is therefore illegal to pay tax until the government stops being criminal... The threat of environmental damage and destruction is as serious, or worse than, a war. Therefore it is illegal to pay tax until a "State of Emergency" is declared, as in the UK in 1939 for the second world war, but FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. In other words, "full on permaculture!" Any questions? see EcoTort , and Permaculture Institute

Robbie says:

In answer to Neale, this is a crash programme which needs to be implemented straight away. Where there is a will, there is a way to raise finance - the government found no difficulty finding £6billion to illegally invade Iraq. A World to Win will shortly be publishing a booklet Running a Temperature which will give further long-term proposals to tackle global warming.

Neale says:

I support some of what is said, but not all. I'm sorry to say that I had high hopes of the action plan, but prefer George Monbiot's suggestions in 'Heat'. What I find difficult is that the above proposals involve a significant financial outlay, but do not say how the money will be raised. I absolutely think that global big business is out of control, too big, corrupt and much more, but I do believe in giving people an incentive to work and be innovative. This is possible in a sensible way. I believe that to move forwards we need to take some social steps, and maybe take on some of the suggestions from "Small is Beautiful". Rather than eliminating profit, we should be proposing converting companies to being employee-owned, and with a limit on the ratio between the highest and lowest salaries. For anyone trying to propose solutions to the capitalism problem, I would recommend you to read "Small is Still Beautiful" (a more recent and readable version) before thinking you've got answers.

Anita says:

Unless all peoples of the world come together to fight the destruction of our environment....there will be apocalyptic consequences.

Deepak says:

Excellent. But need to challenge Clean Developent Mechanism and biofuel production. Plus peat fires in Indonesia

David says:

As always, your perspectives are laden with insight and common-sense. Can't tell you what a constant encouragement and motivation this is to me.

Deepak says:

This is an absolutely essential action. Also make your voice heard by signing at Power Down Petition

Anthony says:

Give people personal energy quotas, so that they can see plainly that they need to change their lifestyle. Corporations and government will need to adjust to re-focussed consumer demand. People should be able to invest locally, in community renewable energy schemes, healthy food, etc; simultaneously providing jobs for themselves, their heirs, and community.

Christopher says:

Agree with all your proposals. Keep the pressure on.

Justus says:

I support the plan. Global policies on environment must be put in place to stop the capitalists, especially the oil companies from damaging the environment. Struggle should be at least to sustain the African forests, lakes as well as lands where industrialisation is still low.

Maureen says:

I truly support the action plan because if all the people globally can conserve the forests and stop the sell of carbon dioxide which is a menace to the ozone layer then it would create a breathing space for all the people in the future.

Anthea says:

You need a planet to have a life

Soraya says:

I fully endorse the action plan to halt climate chaos. Although the hour is late, the method by which to effectively optimise and actualise the fundamental change required is precisely through such a concerted plan of action

Robbie says:

I think that the action plan is a workable "first steps" solution that could easily be put into place with the political will. This necessitates a different kind of democracy. We should also see the other benefits that this plan provides: a cleaner atmosphere to breathe, less road noise, less accidents, more healthy cyclists...

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