No sooner had I received word this morning that Greenpeace were taking action to urge government ministers from the world’s 17 biggest greenhouse polluters to “Stop Global Warming” and “Rescue the Planet” from the devastating effects of climate change that I then get confirmation that Phil Radford, Greenpeace USA’s new and shiny executive director, gets arrested for the sentiment!

Well, all I can say to Greenpeace is what a find! I for one think this new hire sure puts his money where his mouth is. After all, how many of us can say that we’ve been arrested the first day on the job and for such a heinous crime to boot? He and six other climbers were arrested after apparently unfurling a massive banner from a construction crane near the State Department with a message for environment ministers from the world’s largest economies: “Stop Global Warming. Rescue the Planet.”

See what I mean….absolutely heinous…..

The ministers are in Washington to discuss how these countries, the world’s largest global warming polluters, will address the climate crisis. Radford and his colleagues will be charged with unlawful entry and possibly caring too much for future generations.

“Even though President Obama was elected on a platform of delivering action on global warming, and has passionately reiterated those pledges since becoming president, he will have to overcome enormous skepticism from his international negotiating partners, Radford wrote in a blog post today. “At this summit, it is they who will be repeating Ronald Reagan’s maxim about Soviet overtures at the beginning of the glasnost era: Trust, but verify.”

A peak in global emissions by 2015 followed by a rapid decline to as close to zero as possible by 2050 is crucial to protect the climate. The industrialized world must commit to deeper cuts in emissions and provide financial and technical assistance to developing countries to enable them to switch to clean energy, stop deforestation and adapt to those climate impacts that are now unavoidable.

This week, climate will be on the agenda at both ends of Pennsylvania Ave. While nations gather at the State Department, members of Congress will be discussing the Waxman-Markey draft legislation, a good first step in cutting emissions, but a bill that needs to be strengthened by the removal of government giveaways to the coal industry and the removal of greenhouse gas reduction shortcuts in the form of off-sets.

Last month, Greenpeace released its road map for slowing climate change, the Energy Revolution, which shows that the US can cut emissions 25 percent by 2020 while creating millions of jobs in the renewable energy sector and avoiding taxpayer subsidies to the coal and nuclear industries.

The full report can be viewed here

The 17 top polluters are…… in no particular order:
Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Getting a fair deal at Copenhagen would require:

1. Global emissions to peak by 2015 and decline rapidly thereafter reaching as close to zero as possible by mid-century.

2. Developed countries, as a group, must reduce emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020 (compared to 1990 levels). At least three quarters of these reductions must be achieved domestically.

3. In the spirit of a gradual widening, deepening and strengthening of global action, developing countries must reduce their projected emissions growth by 15-30 percent by 2020, with support from industrialized countries.

4. A funding mechanism must be established to stop deforestation and associated emissions in all developing countries by 2020.

5. Developed countries need to commit to adequate funding to enable developing countries to speed up the switch to clean technology, rapidly reduce tropical forest destruction and to adapt to unavoidable climate change impacts on a wide scale. Public funding in the region of $140 billion a year will be required.

So, Mr Radford and friends – my children and I salute you.