Completed petition Declare a Climate Emergency and fit all policies with zero-carbon targets
We call on the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to:
- Declare a Climate Emergency.
- Ensure all current and future policies are consistent with averting further climate change and ecological collapse.
- Enact legally-binding policy measures to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels.
- Implement a Citizen's Assembly of Wales to oversee the changes.
- Enact legally-binding policy measures to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels.
We call upon the Welsh Government to declare a Climate Emergency immediately, and commit to executing the remaining actions by June 2019.
WAG targets for a zero-carbon public sector must be used as a catalyst to engineer rapid decarbonisation in the private sector through procurement, taxation and subsidy. Across the UK, twenty city, town and county councils have already declared a Climate Emergency, including Powys and Machynlleth. Citizens must be involved to ensure the necessary change is made across society, as demonstrated in a Sortition model of participatory democracy. Initiatives to partner with include: The Climate Mobilization; Beyond Zero Emissions; Rapid Transition Alliance; Green New Deal Group; One Million Climate Jobs; The Breakthrough Institute; and Zero Carbon Britain.
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The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that we have 12 years to make the necessary changes to limit a rise in global temperatures by 1.5ºC. Failure to act will see a significant and accelerating increase in sea levels and flooding, extreme and abrupt changes to weather patterns, crop failures, and extinctions of plant, insect and animal species. This will inevitably lead to global economic disruption and humanitarian crisis. It will also detrimentally impact the well-being of the people of Wales and billions of others. Last year, Sir David Attenborough said:
"Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale. Our greatest threat in thousands of years. Climate change. If we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon. The world's people have spoken. Their message is clear. Time is running out."
The One Planet Development policy and Wellbeing of Future Generations Act show that Wales can lead the way in progressive policy. But they do not motivate government to act in accordance with the urgency of the situation. The scientific consensus shows the unprecedented scale of collective action needed to avert the worst outcomes in the near future. We must demand no less.
People worldwide are being inspired by the Extinction Rebellion movement to urge governments at all levels to meet the challenge posed by accelerating climate change and ecological collapse. Future generations will judge us on our courage to make the urgent change we know is needed. Please act now.
This petition was considered by the Petitions Committee
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The Senedd debated this topic
This topic was debated on 19 June 2019
The petition was debated in Plenary on 19 June 2019.