Phil Woolas, Friday 10.30am, back in Oldham. It’s getting really exciting now. Hilary Benn is in India for the final round of pre Bali lobbying. Tremendous boost today from Prince Charles. His Corporate Leader’s Group have come out strongly in favour of taking action now to tackle climate change. This group includes some of the […]
Phil Woolas, London, Tuesday 5pm - Things are moving apace. Commonwealth Parliamentarians meeting in House of Commons - I gave a little speech but the star billing was the President of Guyana, on his way back from Uganda via Heathrow. He wants a carbon market for deforestation and has radically offered international stewardship of his […]
Phil Woolas, London, Thursday afternoon - England are all over today’s papers!
Just had a debate in the Commons on Climate Change - one of the first of these new topical debates each week. Really good debate with all Members recognising the UK’s leadership but inevitably calls for us to do more. You can read the […]
Phil Woolas, London, Wednesday, 7pm: The East Asian Pacific Countries have signed a new climate change and forestry deal ahead of Bali. This is welcome as it builds the momentum but we wait the Australian election result this weekend. Lots of lobbying going on at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting starting tomorrow in Uganda […]
Phil Woolas, Tuesday - 6pm. 12 days to Bali. Mixed coverage of Gordon’s speech - good internationally and not so good here. (Nothing new there then). I’ve spent most of the day on the water strategy which we’ll publish in the new year. Basically we are using too much and we are going to have […]
So - the Boss has made his speech and it seems to have gone down well. We’re very pleased in Defra that the issue is getting such support and the timing is great just after the IPCC. Our scientists in Valencia played a crucial role and we should be very grateful. I was late for […]
Phil Woolas, London, Friday 9.00am. Back in House of Commons - Job Done. The Mid Western Governors have signed up for a Carbon Trading Scheme and a climate change mitigation strategy. This will really help reassure the developing countries at Bali and will mean the US is taking the leadership mantle that the world is […]
Phil Woolas, Washington DC: It looks to me as though the United States is at the tipping point. Spent the morning with Jim Connaughton who, as President Bush’s Environment Supremo is one of the most powerful players in the Bali process - he has the power to make it or break it. Then up to […]
Phil Woolas, London: Tuesday afternoon - off to America to try to persuade the Governors that they are missing the boat on cap and trade. Everyone knows that there’s going to be a carbon market so its a case of trying to get the USA in the right place. Everyone also knows that whoever wins […]
Phil Woolas - London: We’ve got a big task ahead of us at the UNFCC meeting in Bali in December. We need to get governments from all over the world, with a huge array of different priorities, to sign up to the idea that we need a new climate deal in 2009. I want to […]
