This week Tony Lloyd, currently interim Mayor for Greater Manchester, has been at the Vatican, alongside mayors from all over the world, to discuss global issues like climate change and slavery and to make a declaration to work to combat these.
"This conference echoed the voice of millions of people around the world that climate change threatens to undermine our ways of life in ways we cannot predict" says Lloyd "The impacts of rising food prices, rising sea levels, dangerous weather change and refugees on a huge scale and more will hit people hard right across the globe.
"Here in Greater Manchester we can't stand idly by and wait for this to happen – we must take action" he adds "When religious leaders join climate change scientists to raise their concern, both morality and common sense demand determined action."
However, when anti-climate change campaigners did take `determined action' at Barton Moss in Salford during the winter of 2014, Tony Lloyd, as Greater Manchester Police Commissioner, did absolutely nothing as local people asked him to investigate almost daily brutality and arrests by the Greater Manchester Police Tactical Aid Unit (see here and see here and see here and see here). The vast majority of charges for those arrested at Barton Moss have since been dropped or thrown out by the courts (see here and see here and see here).
Meanwhile, Pope Francis has been photographed with an anti-fracking t-shirt, while his two page declaration, signed by the mayors from all over the world, including those from Brazil, Nigeria, the USA and, er Greater Manchester, states amongst other things...
"Climate-change mitigation will require a rapid transformation to a world powered by renewable and other low-carbon energy and the sustainable management of ecosystems....As mayors we commit ourselves to building, in our cities and urban settlements, the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reducing their exposure to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters, which foster human trafficking and dangerous forced migration..."
Great words – but many of those present at the anti-fracking protests in Salford might say to Lloyd, `Where were you at Barton Moss?'
• Next week, Manchester Magistrates Court will be hearing the adjourned case featuring revelations of contamination at Barton Moss – see previous Salford Star article – click here
• To read the full declaration and see all the mayors' signatures– click here
• For details of fracking and its effect on climate change – click here
• To see the Pope with his anti-fracking t-shirt – click here
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