30/03/10
Politics is not for the faint-hearted. Just when it seems the pressure of economic meltdown, 24-hour news and public trust can hardly be heavier, you’re told that the future of humanity is in your hands.
The Last Parliament Panel, convened by the Green Alliance, says MPs elected this year will be looking though “the last window of opportunity… to prevent irreversible climate change”.
The group, chaired by Jonathon Porritt, has published a five-part plan calling on the new parliament to: build support for action, lead the international community toward an agreement on climate finance, set out a route map for low carbon infrastructure, unlock finance for low carbon growth, and “green our communities” by upgrading the housing stock.
The recommendations are well presented and, Mr Porritt insists, perfectly feasible, if the will exists. Many will ask, however, about the value of an apocalyptic theme in getting things done. Is it, for example, too close for practical comfort to the discipline of eschatology, the branch of theology that is concerned with the end of the world or of humankind?
Climate change – the Last Parliament?
Green Alliance report
