I have signed Avaaz petitions before but will not sign this one because of
the misleading information they supply.
They seem to assume that all politicians are corrupt and in the pockets
of lobbyists and the industries they represent. As you know, I was a lobbyist in Brussels for
an environmental NGO and can assure you that this caricature is wrong. There are many hard-working and honest people
in the European institutions. In
addition, Avaaz either does not understand EU decision-making or chooses to
misrepresent it. The decisions they
describe are in the hands of the European Parliament elected by you and me and
the Council of Ministers representing national governments. The European Commission can only make proposals. By so describing what happens in Brussels,
Avaaz are feeding the widespread deception about the EU which is responsible
for public attitudes in Britain today.
They completely fail to point out the role the EU has played in pushing
member-states to act on climate change and its crucial role in global
negotiations in the UNFCCC. They are thus
playing UKIP's and the Tory Eurosceptics' game, which may well lead to the UK
leaving the EU. How the hell do they
expect to get international co-operation to fight climate change if they undermine
the one supranational, democratic body trying to tackle it ?
Misinformation from the Murdoch press and the Daily Mail I am
used to but I expect better from environmental campaigners.
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