Next Saturday, 30th May, is the Global Day of Action on Climate Change, and, as part of the action, Salford residents have launched a petition urging Salford City Council and Peel Holdings to go green.
Both Salford Council and Trafford Council, which host potential sites for the controversial practice of fracking, were found to be investing in extreme energy group IGas, via the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (see here). Meanwhile, the petition calls on them calls on them and Peel to take into account climate change in their investment policies and transfer from `dirty industry to clean, green energy'...
"We, the people, request Peel Holdings, Salford City Council and Trafford Council join the global divestment campaign to transfer from dirty industry to clean, green energy" the petition states "...We recognise Peels' position as pioneers of North-West business and believe that it is in the interests of corporations such as Peel who have business interests on coastal areas to limit sea-level rise. We request that Peel, Salford City Council and Trafford Council urgently review the Atlantic Gateway plans to incorporate Ecosystem Services and Climate Change into the business model..."
James Walsh, of the Manchester Ship Canal World Heritage Group, and the author of the petition, has written a statement which we reproduce below...
"On 30th May 2015 people all around the world are taking part in the Global Day Of Action For The Environment so it is a great time for the people of Salford to make a stand and make their feelings known to business leaders and politicians as to what kind of future we want to build
"Peel say that fracking is going to create a few dirty jobs but we can create many more green jobs than that and save the environment - are the politicians and `business leaders' even looking at the One Million Climate Jobs Now Campaign and the Zero Carbon Britain Report? We have had a glimpse of what the fracking industry looks like at Barton Moss and I think everyone involved in that process, including local residents, Peel, Council, the media and GMP might all agree that it is not pretty
"At Woolston, just west of Salford, there are people camping now to try to stop Coal Bed Methane mining happening within yards of a children's playground and an internationally important nature reserve. Extreme energy is just not the solution to our energy problems and the process of divestment, transferring money from dirty polluting industry such as fossil fuels to the green, sustainable industries of the 21st century is going large at a rapid pace - being green these days is big business
"Short-termism - capital gains at the expense of the environment - is a problem that blights many aspects of our lives and we ask all businesses and councils to start building long-term plans that can also begin to solve long-term problems such as unemployment. When we have groups of local people such as the Breathe Clean Air Group using citizen science to monitor the pollution levels of the Trafford/Salford area and making disturbing findings, you know it is time to start cleaning up!
"In the long-term cleaning and greening is good for business – who is going to want to live and work in a fracking/incinerator/dirty industry hell-hole? I think even the BBC might start to ship out if the health of their staff is being adversely affected by high pollution levels! Some of my family were dockers so I am aware of how polluted Salford used to be and, whilst it is very important to respect our heritage, I now believe it is time for Salford to move on from being a Dirty Old Town
"The petition is just a toe in the Ship Canal and during the summer I think you'll find that the likes of Peel and the Councils are going to be placed under ever greater scrutiny and pressure to clean their act up. Councils and businesses need to start working new science into their business models such as EcoSystem Services - when Salford City Council chop down trees, are there any calculations being made as to what they are actually taking out of the ecosystem?
"Yes, let's have a `Northern Powerhouse' but let's make it a clean and green Northern Powerhouse that respects the environment and takes fully into account climate change, possible sea-level rise, EcoSystem Services and the vital Paris Climate Talks of November/December 2015. Politicians and business people have family too, and it is time that everyone started working together for future generations..."
Sign the petition by clicking here
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