Round-Up: On The Crest Of The Wave

#TheWave - Last Saturday local political activists descended on London to be part of a 'Wave' of coordinated demonstrations across the globe.

It was all in the aim of helping build pressure show their support for action on environmental targets ahead of the UN conference on Climate Change taking place in Copenhagen this week.


All Colours Offer Support

Reading eco-congregation St John and St Stephen organised a group of marchers and took lots of good pictures to give a sense of what it was all like.

But while Greens and LibDems from Reading were out in force Conservatives and Labour members stayed at home.

Labour's Rachel Eden says she was 'disappointed' to only make it to the station to see demonstrators off and MP Rob Wilson met with protesters, stating that he thought "it [was] great to see so many local people getting involved and keeping the issue of climate change high on the political agenda."

It was the same story in West Berkshire as Adrian Hollister reports that there was a good turn-out from Green party and LibDem members.

On the other side of the county David Young repeats the message that it's important to remember the issues cut across party lines.


The Climate Change Debate

Steve Gabb is concerned that the pressure on negotiators must be maintained and Darren Bridgeman says the debate can't wait.

Meanwhile Wokingham MP John Redwood attempted to frame the issues by describing four different sides of sceptical opinion which he says are all directly opposed to the 'fundamentalist global warmers'.

He places himself in the pragmatist camp of opposition, supporting sea defences such as a new Thames barrier and greater self-sufficiency. However he is also opposed to any new taxes or regulation which may hurt business, so we may ask how he hopes to pay for this.

BBC handily provides an thorough summary of the main complaints made by sceptics.

Tommy Gilchrist is concerned that the conference will fail to bring about any effective or binding agreement simply because rich people find it inconvenient and will use any excuse they find - he's clearly supporting the G77 group of developing nations who argue that the common interest of all humanity should be preferred to narrow national interests.

Reading West MP Martin Salter ramps up the hyperbole saying that "time is running out" and it is almost "too late to prevent a disaster for future generations". He argues that 'climate change denialists' must be challenged and a binding international agreement must build on newly introduced legislation.

Matt Blackall picks up on sceptics criticism of the scientific evidence and posts an excellent video taking aim at conspiracy theorists and 'McExperts'.

Clearly it is all a complex series of intertwined issues. Rob Fisher makes the point that as with all scientific research or practical applications openness in the only way to ensure reliability.

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Update: Gideon Mack really doesn't like the way climate science has been politicised!

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More on the UN Climate Conference at Copenhagen