Update on Copenhagen talks

Labour MP David Lepper has met energy minister David Kidney in Brighton for talks about the plans being made by the government for the crucial decisions on an international strategy to tackle climate change at a UN meeting in Copenhagen in December.

The Minister outlined Labour's strategy which will be to secure agreement on:

• Clear actions for cutting greenhouse gas emissions
• Support for poorer countries in dealing with climate change
• The development and sharing of technology to tackle the causes and consequences of climate change
• Protecting forests whose loss is a major contributor to levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

David Lepper says:

" I know how strongly people in my constituency feel about the need for agreement. Gordon Brown and the Secretary of State, Ed Miliband, are taking the international lead in the discussions leading up to Copenhagen, just as the then recently elected Labour government took a lead at Kyoto in 1997 in developing our current climate change agreement."

Labour's Nancy Platts, Brighton Pavilion parliamentary candidate, says:

"I'm a member of Friends of the Earth and I was pleased to support their campaign and petition calling for international action regarding cutting carbon emissions. I've posted the petition and a link below if you want to get involved.

"For me, cutting carbon emissions has many dimensions. We can all do our bit to make personal changes (like with the Guardian 10:10 initiative), communities too can make a contribution and we can tackle the problem on a Citywide level. Then we need to tackle this enormous issue on a national and international scale.

"It's a case of 'not only but also'. I fundamentally disagree with people who say that there is no point pursuing this most pressing and important issue because we might fail: we must try to get international action too.

Find the FOE petition here."

For information on the government's approach to Copenhagen visit www.actoncopenhagen.gov.uk