By Paul Homewood

 

 

Now what could go wrong?

 

Letters are being sent to 30,000 households across the UK inviting people to join a citizens’ assembly on climate change.

Once participants are selected, the assembly will meet next year, with the outcome of their discussions reported back to Parliament.

The initiative, set up by cross party MPs, will look at what members of the public can do to reduce CO2.

The UK government has committed to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.

Rachel Reeves, chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee, one of six select committees who commissioned the climate assembly, said a clear roadmap was needed to achieve this goal.

"Finding solutions which are equitable and have public support will be crucial," she said.

"Parliament needs to work with the people and with government to address the challenge of climate change."

Random selection

The invitees to Climate Assembly UK have been selected at random from across the UK. From those who respond, 110 people will be chosen as a representative sample of the population.

They will meet over four weekends from late January in Birmingham, and will discuss topics ranging from transport to household energy use.

A citizens’ assembly has been a key demand of the environmental campaign group Extinction Rebellion, whose protests caused widespread disruption this year.

The group said they welcomed this as a first step, but warned that the assembly should be focussing on cutting carbon emissions to net zero by 2025 not 2050.

Spokesperson Linda Doyle said: "Waiting 30 years to reach zero net carbon emissions is a death sentence to people around the world and in the UK – it gives us a higher chance of breaching irreversible tipping points as the climate breaks down and it only serves short term ‘business as usual’."

Complex issues

Environmental group Friends of the Earth said citizens’ assemblies could play an important part in policy-making.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-50264797

 

Reasonable? Just take a closer look:

 The invitees to Climate Assembly UK have been selected at random from across the UK. From those who respond, 110 people will be chosen as a representative sample of the population

 

Most ordinary people won’t have the time, inclination or knowledge to bother with this. What you will end up with is a handful of activists. Any ordinary members of the public who do volunteer will quickly find themselves browbeaten, without the knowledge to defend their views.

Momentum activists have taken over the Labour Party in just the same way, by using a small number of entryists to take over local meetings, thanks to the apathy of most members.

Undoubtedly, MPs will use the recommendations of these “ordinary members of the public” to justify future policy actions, which will be hugely unpopular with the public at large.

via NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

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November 2, 2019 at 01:03PM