On Tuesday 21 April, Islamic Relief handed in a petition to Department of Energy and Climate Change as part of the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition.
The petition, signed by 85,480 people, calls on the UK Government to say ‘No’ to new dirty coal plants and instead to deliver renewable energy on a mass scale. Flags from organisations including Islamic Relief, the Women’s Institute, RSPB, Oxfam and the NUS were planted outside the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
The visit takes places in the week the Government is expected to launch a consultation on coal as well as the Budget. The Prime Minister has pledged that this will be environmentally friendly in order to kick start a low-carbon recovery.
In a letter to Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Stop the Climate Chaos warned that coal power stations that cannot capture and safely store their carbon emissions must be banned.
The Coalition also argue that by transforming Britain into a low-carbon economy, with investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency, the Government can tackle climate change and create thousands of new jobs at a time of economic hardship.
Climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity and the poorest are the most vulnerable to its effects. It is estimated that by 2020, between 75 and 250 million people in Africa will face water shortages as a result of climate change. This could lead to famine, mass displacement and even conflict.
A rise of just two degrees could increase the frequency and intensity of droughts, floods and hurricanes. The poorest countries are the most vulnerable to these natural disasters and are less able to cope with their effects.
“It is important for Islamic Relief to offer support to organisations like Stop Climate Chaos who share a similar sense of responsibility of being guardians of this planet. Tuesday’s event was a crucial example of guardianship in action,” said Samia Ahmed, Islamic Relief’s Development Education Coordinator who was one of those to hand in the petition.
“Many of us are oblivious to how issues around climate change are linked to poverty. At Islamic Relief we want to work in solidarity with other organisations to raise awareness about these issues and encourage appropriate action at governmental level.”
Stop Climate Chaos Coalition is made up of 11 million supporters, campaigners, hearts, minds and voices that represent over 100 organisations. The heat is on to quit the use of dirty coal and to deliver a fair international climate deal that keeps global warming under two degrees. For more information please visit: http://www.stopclimatechaos.org/
Islamic Relief realises that there will be little progress to reduce poverty levels or the suffering caused by natural or man-made disasters, unless environmental concerns are tackled. Although more needs to be done, we are already working to reduce the effects of environmental degradation in some of the countries where we work.
