THREE women from the Thame area joined thousands of other people on Saturday to raise the profile of climate change during the critical UN talks in
Montreal, Canada.
The Rally and march, which began at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London, co-incided with demonstrations in 32
countries worldwide and was organised by the Campaign against Climate Change and by many of the UK’s leading social, environmental and political groups, including Friends of the Earth. It went past Downing
Street where a letter was handed in, demanding that the British government reaffirms its commitment to an international climate treaty with legally binding targets on emission reductions.
Maureen Dyroff, from Chinnor, said: “The event exceeded my expectations. This was the biggest show of concern for the environment in this country for a very long time. The rain showers didn’t dampen our spirits as we arrived at the American Embassy and listened to the speaches, the message of which was loud and clear – that there has to be legislation to control these emissions to save the environment.”
“It was made clear that nuclear power is not the answer; its production is not carbon free and is uneconomic; it would just be a quick fix that could produce big problems in the future.”
Lord Williams’s pupil, Maddie Fry, who joined the march with her mother, Cecilia Fry and Maureen Dyroff from Chinnor, told ThameNews.Net: “The atmosphere at the march was great. There was an enormous mix of people; although there was the usual crowd of Socialists, Marxists and anarchists, there were also mothers and fathers with small children, students, OAPs, and people from all over Britain. There was no trouble, and the police presence was not very big. Overall, the atmosphere was light-hearted and peaceful.”
Friends of the Earth’s Climate Campaigner, Nick Rau, who spoke at the event, said: “If the UK is serious about leadership on climate change, then our Government needs to take action at home. It isn’t too
late – if the UK cuts its carbon dioxide emissions every year, starting now, we really can achieve the big reductions needed in the long term. That’s why The Big Ask, Friends of the Earth’s climate change campaign,is calling for a new law to ensure UK governments from now and until 2050, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by three per cent every year.”
Other Speakers addressing the rally included Michael Meacher MP (ex Environment Minister), Norman Baker MP, Caroline Lucas MEP and author and journalist George Monbiot.
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