Dec 1st, 2009
We’ve got Ed Miliband on the phone. What should we ask him?
By KatyW
UPDATE: We’ve grouped together the 12 most common suggestions for question areas from the blog, facebook, and the registration form, and set up a poll to prioritise between these. You can now help pick the questions here: http://38degrees.org.uk/page/s/PickQs4Miliband
This Saturday, we will have a direct line to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. Ed Miliband will be on the phone answering our questions before he heads off to the summit at Copenhagen next week.
Hundreds of us have signed up with questions to put to Ed and I’ve been taking a look at the list. So far questions range from the irreverent – ‘How much time have I got?’ – to the deadly serious. But what are the most important things we should be asking him?
Our phonecall with Ed is happening on the same day as The Wave, a massive march through London, organised by Stop Climate Chaos. For many of us, SCC demands are the starting point for questions. These demands are:
(1) That the UK government seeks to secure a fair deal at Copenhagen to limit global warming to 2 degrees C.
(2) That the UK government commit to funds on top of existing aid commitments, to help poorer countries adapt to climate change.
(3) That the UK end its reliance on dirty coal power.
Many of us will want to know where Ed stands on these aims.
For others who signed up with questions, different issues are just as pressing. How the UK is planning to put pressure on the US at Copenhagen is a question that is top of a lot of people’s lists, including my own. We need to secure commitments from the world’s second biggest carbon emitter, but this isn’t an easy task. Another key concern is renewable energy. Why aren’t we investing more money in this? Finally, many of us want to know what Ed’s strategy is for helping the UK population meet their personal emission targets. Will he use the carrot, the stick, or both?
Tomorrow our online poll will open so that you can help us decide what the most important questions to ask Ed are. In the meantime keep your thoughts and suggestions coming by signing up on our website, or joining the conversation on twitter and facebook.
