Have you signed the pledge yet?

The Live Earth Pledge was launched during the recent concerts - 2 billion people saw the concerts - I wasn't amongst them but they clearly raised the issue of climate change to an even wider audience. There have been various actions to encourage people to think more about their emissions - one of the widest has been the Live Earth Pledge:
www.liveearthpledge.org/

I PLEDGE: 1.To demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth; 2.To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become "carbon neutral;" 3.To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the CO2; 4.To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation; 5.To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal; 6.To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests; and, 7.To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century.

Clearly the most important of these is getting Government to act as without it personal measures taken are not going to be enough - one concern re the pledge is the strong support for offsetting - there is still no quality control on offsetting yet and many schemes are to say the least dubious and possibly do more harm than good - see my blog entry for a discussion on 23rd February 2007. That is not to say there is not a role for off-setting....

One thing that is also worth noting is that Al Gore is supporting Green Party policy of a 90% UK cut in CO2 emissions and although not directly in the words Contraction and Convergence principles it is a clear indication of his support for Green party rather than any of the other grey parties in the UK who are still failing to call for the changes we need - let alone have the policies to tackle climate change.