STOP THE CLOCK

Today, I had the pleasure of attending the International Parliamentary Union's Climate Change plenaries - where MPs and related stakeholders delivered plenaries and discussed their role in representing the peoples of their nations at COP17.

Sir Alan Meale (UK) from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe delivered an impassioned speech during this meeting of parliamentarians from across the globe, that elicited a thundering applause.

Sir Meale spat disgust at the US and Canada for trying to run away with their spoils, like naughty schoolboys who cleaned out nature's pantry, spoiling the environment and refusing to pay the dues that their riches have elicited on the billions left destitute thanks to their treatment of our environment.

Sir Meale asked us to "Stop the Clock" - an antiquated yet perhaps much-needed habit from ere European inter-governmental negotiation processes, whereby: should the parties not have reached agreement by the time any session was to end, they'd reach consensus to STOP THE CLOCK and continue negotiating until a consensus was reached! (DURBAN COULD BENEFIT FROM SUBSTANTIAL HOST CITY BENEFITS THROUGH THIS - BUT EARTH COULD BENEFIT MOST: a case of your parents saying: "You kids are not leaving the room until you come up with a plan of how you're going to fix the mess you lot have made!"

Sir Meale reminded the Parliamentarians present that theirs was the responsibility to represent their people here at COP17 by making their Governments hear the voices of their people and lobbying for social justice .

I've uploaded his impassioned speech on Youtube - enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGI4n0LYpg8