A European Union (EU) plan, endorsed by ministers on Monday in Brussels, will see 90,000 diplomats in over 3,000 missions lobbying to win new pledges on carbon cuts from countries ahead of a United Nations (UN) climate summit in Paris this December.
The plan supposedly requests a ‘Climate Action Day’ in June and a "100 days to Paris countdown" event later in the year.
The purpose of the campaign is to raise the EU profile and secure more greenhouse gas cuts, with June as a working deadline.
Danish foreign minister, Martin Lidegaard, told the Guardian: “I have urged my colleagues to commit to including climate diplomacy in their activities in the run up to COP21 (the Paris summit) – and the EU’s foreign service to work more on this. We should focus our efforts on the major growth economies and climate financing.”
Cedrec's take
This news from the EU, reported by the Guardian, is an interesting one. It shows the EU are actively seeking new ways to get greenhouse gases down.
The idea of a "Climate Action Day" is an appealing one, due in part to the power of social media and the desire people have to take part in such challenges. A hashtag trend and a viral craze on the internet would be a great advantage to the cause.
Additionally, similar to the sobriety challenge of Dry January and Dryathalon, the public love a challenge and the challenges can lead to big changes. For example, if the challenge for Climate Action Day was to bike to work rather than drive, people would be inclined to take part for the short term experience and the change of pace. It could then prove to many people that such a change is an easy one to make, and perhaps it would encourage them to implement that change permanently.
