Archived press release

Top scientists debate new ideas to tackle climate change

7 January 2004

A major international symposium [1] of leading scientists to assess "imaginative new ideas" for tackling climate change, which is being held in Cambridge this week (7-9 January), has been welcomed by Friends of the Earth. But the environmental campaign group warns that technical fixes must not distract from the urgent need to drastically cut back on our use of coal, oil and gas - the main source of climate-changing carbon dioxide.

The symposium, which has been organised by the Tyndall Centre and the Cambridge-MIT Institute, will "explore the feasibility of imaginative new ideas for reducing global warming in the future". Ideas include burying carbon dioxide underground, injecting it into the deep sea, fertilising the absorption by marine algae and reflecting the sun's rays back into space.

Friends of the Earth's Climate Campaigner, Roger Higman, who is attending the gathering, said:

"Climate change is the biggest environmental threat the world faces, so it is important for scientists to explore imaginative ways to tackle its impacts. But technical fixes must not be used as an excuse for failing to reduce the growing levels of greenhouse gases pumped into the atmosphere. Government and industry must play a leading role in cutting the amount of coal, gas and oil we all use. And nowhere more so than the United States, the world's biggest polluter, where President Bush still refuses to sign up to the Kyoto Protocol, the only international treaty to tackle the problem."

Next week the Government is expected to announce carbon dioxide emission caps for industry as part of the EU emissions trading scheme.

Friends of the Earth is campaigning for the phase-out of the carbon economy and a massive increase in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Last year the organisation launched its `carbon dinosaurs' campaign which called for Britain's inefficient coal-fired power stations to be phased out and replaced with cleaner green renewable power:
www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/climate/press_for_change/carbon_dinosaurs/

Earlier this month, Friends of the Earth published its green electricity guide which recommends the greenest electricity tariffs for consumers to subscribe to:
www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/climate/press_for_change/choose_green_energy/

Friends of the Earth is also campaigning against unsustainable Government policies that will lead to massive increases in climate changing gases. This includes last month's decision to massively increase air travel by increasing UK airport capacity:
www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/aviation_government_abando0.html

1. Tyndall Centre Press release:
www.tyndall.ac.uk/media/press_releases/pr_29.pdf (PDF†)

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