I recently attended an Arctic experience, recreated in Westminster by the WWF to raise a sense of urgency about the devastating impact climate change is having on people and places around the world. WWF invited an Arctic “Climate Witness” called Mille Porsild to VictoriaTowerGardens – close to the House of Lords, and set the Arctic scene with a life-size igloo hand sculpted from ice and three Polar Huskies including a puppy.
I met with Arctic explorer Mille Porsild, who measures the impact of global warming on the Arctic and talked about the changing environment which is affecting people and wildlife in the Arctic.
The event marked the launch of WWF’s Climate Witnesses initiative, part of its new climate change campaign. WWF put a human face to climate change by raising awareness about how people across the UK and elsewhere have been affected by severe weather. It is predicted that extreme weather events such as the flooding in Boscastle and the landslide in Lochearnhead, Scotland, this year will become more frequent if climate change goes unchecked.
I have signed a parliamentary motion, tabled by WWF, which calls on the Government to honour its commitment to cut the UK’s CO2 emissions by 20% by 2010. It emphasises the crucial importance of ensuring that the global temperature stays below 2oC, the crucial tipping point for the environment and would have devastating impacts for people and wildlife.