On the 2nd July David attended an Operation Noah rally to show his support for the need to tackle climate change. Operation Noah is a Christian climate change campaign. They held a rally in central London to highlight the need for governments to tackle the threat of climate change at a crucial United Nations Summit in Copenhagen in December. The summit is being dubbed as ‘the last-chance saloon’ for world leaders to act before global warming threatens more and more extreme weather events, including flooding and drought.
David joined the Bishop of London, The Rt Revd Richard Chartres, Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, several hundred school children from London, Bristol and Hampshire dressed as animals, real alpacas, sheep, goats, geese and rabbits, a brass quintet, Afro-Caribbean drummers and a bicycle-powered PA system.
Ann Pettifor, Executive Director of Operation Noah, said: "Operation Noah welcomes the support of David for the UK government to take the lead and negotiate substantial cuts in power station emissions at Copenhagen. If we are to protect the futures of our children and grandchildren, then it is vital that emissions are brought down to zero by 2030 – not 2050."
"The main aim of the Copenhagen summit is to establish an ambitious global climate agreement for the period from 2012. With David’s support and the support of other MPs Operation Noah hopes to pressure the UK Government to lead the world in forging a deal that will prevent catastrophic climate change."
David said: "I welcome the initiative taken by Operation Noah’s campaign to ensure leaders tackle climate change urgently at Copenhagen in December."
"The involvement of so many school children, and their concern for the threat facing all the creatures of the world, was inspiring. Climate change, if not taken seriously, will dramatically affect not just the future of our species, but all species. It is great that children are so engaged in the issue and are pressuring us to do all we can now to save the planet they will inherit."
Commenting on his decision to participate in this spectacle, The Rt Revd Richard Chartres said that "symbolic vocabulary" of Noah and the Ark has a vital role to play in making the abstract threat of climate change something immediate and comprehensible. "Noah saves animals and humans together in a big ship where, if there’s a leak in steerage, the first class passengers are going to feel the effects pretty soon," he said. "There are all kinds of resonance’s here."
You can find out more about Operation Noah by visiting their website www.operationnoah.org.
