UK: If we’re to win the climate struggle, we must remain in Europe

(the-guardian-blog, 12 Jun 2016) Concerted EU diplomacy helped secure a landmark agreement at the Paris climate change summit. We should not leave the field just as the battle is turning.

Our security and prosperity depend on a successful response to climate change , the most urgent challenge of our time. So does any prospect of a transition to a way of living together that is just and sustainable. And if we fail on climate, we lose the very capacity to shape our destiny that makes sovereignty worth having.

Today’s European Union is, yes, tired, damaged and in need of reform. But without the EU the climate struggle would have been lost already.

It was almost lost at Copenhagen in 2009 . But European nations had the vision to stick to the commitments they had put on the table. Acting in concert they avoided a race to the bottom between member states. Europe’s example strengthened the hand of those in Asia, Africa and the Americas who wanted their own countries to do more. European diplomacy helped forge the global coalition that in Paris last year finally forced ajar the door to a post-fossil age. And throughout, European social movements have mobilised across borders to keep governments honest.

External link

the-guardian-blog, 12 Jun 2016: UK: If we’re to win the climate struggle, we must remain in Europe