The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has launched a new campaign called “Parliaments for the Planet” with the aim of motivating parliaments and parliamentarians to take action on the climate emergency. The campaign was introduced during the 146th IPU Assembly held in Manama, Bahrain and was attended by parliamentarians from around 130 countries. The campaign has two parts. The first part emphasises the importance of parliaments and parliamentarians leading by example and reducing their carbon footprint. The IPU has created a guide called “10 Actions for Greener Parliaments (and those who work in them)” to support them in this effort. The guide includes measures such as tracking the parliament’s emissions and establishing targets to reduce them, transitioning to renewable energy, implementing green procurement practices, and adopting digitalisation. Parliamentarians are also encouraged to become climate champions by raising awareness about the issue among their constituents and working across party lines to speed up the implementation of green policies, both within and outside parliament. The second part of the campaign is focused on empowering parliaments and parliamentarians to create effective climate change legislation, vote on necessary budgets, and scrutinize government action, particularly in the area of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to carry out the Paris Agreement and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The NDCs detail the actions each country is taking to decrease national emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change. The Parliaments for the Planet campaign aims to encourage parliaments to participate more actively in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change procedures, particularly leading up to COP28 in the United Arab Emirates in December 2023. Concurrently with the campaign, the IPU will function as a platform for exchanging best parliamentary practices on climate action by showcasing initiatives undertaken by parliaments and parliamentarians to become more environmentally friendly, as well as examples of effective climate change legislation. To date, more than 3,000 examples of climate laws and policies have been consolidated in the Climate Change Laws of the World database, which was produced in collaboration with the IPU by the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics. The IPU works closely with UN organizations and technical partners to ensure that parliamentarians have access to the most up-to-date scientific knowledge and climate change solutions. The Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University supports the campaign as well. The 2023 Cremer-Passy Prize will be awarded to an MP or group of MPs who have made exceptional contributions to climate action in connection with the campaign. The prize honors the visionary parliamentarians from Great Britain and France, William Randall Cremer and Frederic Passy, who convened the inaugural meeting of the IPU in Paris in 1889.
Source: Emirates News Agency