the-BA : The x-change: July 2005

The recent G8 summit of leaders from the world’s richest nations agreed that global warming was a ‘serious long-term challenge’ for the entire planet and promised to act with ‘resolve and urgency’ to tackle the crisis now facing us. But was their communiqué a step forward or merely empty rhetoric?

On Tuesday 26 July, at the x-change, Sir David King, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, will be discussing the communiqué with Charlie Kronick, Chief Advisor for Greenpeace, and Sarah Mukherjee, Environment Correspondent at the BBC. The event will take place at the Dana Centre, London, and will be webcast live.

Commenting on the G8 communiqué, Charlie Kronick, says: ‘The scientific community has given an unequivocal signal that urgent and radical action is needed to cut emissions and stabilise the climate. The G8 communiqué has failed to acknowledge this warning. This has left the G8 leaders treading water on this crucial issue.

‘The people who will most immediately pay the price for this failure will be the poor people in Africa whose lives are already being damaged by climate change and the increased droughts, floods and hunger it brings.

‘We’ve already had sixteen years of meetings on climate change, and have in the UN a recognised international process for countries to agree action. In the communiqué all the G8 countries recognised the UN to be the right forum.

‘The developing countries are already involved in dialogue through Kyoto, and Kyoto is already addressing the issue of moving on action after 2012. Nobody is against dialogue, but there’s no way it’s a replacement for action.’

The G8 summit was overshadowed by terrorist atrocities in London. As Sarah Mukherjee says: ‘We had all been gearing up for months for the climate change communiqué that would come out of Gleneagles – ever since the Prime Minister had said it would be one of his two priorities for the G8 summit. As we got closer, I was doing a report almost every day on the implications – from development agencies, who said tackling Africa's economic problems could only be done if you tackled climate change; from the environmental groups, who expressed increasing disappointment in the endlessly leaked versions of the statement; and even from government sources, who were voicing real concerns about the chances of any sort of deal at all.

‘In the end, I spent Thursday night outside King's Cross station, watching sombre workmen go down to seal off the site of one of the London bombs. None of the editors I work for were, understandably, really that concerned about the minutiae of the final statement, despite the build up. I think we will have to wait some time to revisit it.’

The x-change starts at 18:30.

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Craig Brierley, Press Officer, the BA
Tel: 020 7019 4947
Email: craig.brierley@the-ba.net

Note for editors

1. The BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science) is the UK's nationwide, open membership organisation dedicated to connecting science with people, so that science and its applications become accessible to all. The BA aims to promote openness about science in society and to engage and inspire people directly with science and technology and their implications. Established in 1831, the BA organises major initiatives across the UK, including the annual BA Festival of Science, National Science Week, programmes of regional and local events, and an extensive programme for young people in schools and colleges. For more information about the BA, please visit www.the-ba.net.

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