By Laura Trevelyan | 20 June 2012
England’s Euro 2012 fate was not looking so rosy at half-time last night but I was already celebrating a big, big win.
As the pundits made excuses for England’s dismal first half (I would have started with Walcott, by the way), I got a call from our political team letting me know that we could expect some good news on mandatory carbon reporting for UK-listed businesses, something what we have been campaigning for five years!
The news was confirmed in today’s Guardian under the headline ‘New emissions policy will force biggest UK firms to reveal CO2 figures.’
What a result!
Christian Aid has been calling for mandatory reporting since we launched our climate change campaign in 2007.
Since then...
Christian Aid supporters have sent more than 60,000 actions to the UK government.
The 80-day Cut the Carbon March took our campaign message to the streets of Britain and Ireland.
We demanded and won from Westminster the world's first Climate Change Act...
...while in Scotland we got even more ambitious emissions targets.
And you have kept up the pressure on the coalition to keep its pledge to be the 'greenest government ever'.
Today's news is the icing on the cake
The world's poorest are paying the highest price for climate change. They need rich countries to meet their responsibilities when it comes to their carbon emissions - and that must start with knowing for sure how much businesses are contributing.
In 2007, Christian Aid estimated that, with businesses listed on the London Stock Exchange included, the UK is responsible for 12-15% of global carbon emissions.
As political leaders arrive at the Rio+20 Earth Summit in the middle of difficult negotiations, we hope Clegg uses his announcement to signal to the world that the UK is determined to show leadership and is prepared to seek a more ambitious outcome from the conference.
Thank you
In the end of course Wayne Rooney’s new haircut saved the day. But I think this morning’s announcement is something we will still be celebrating long after England’s inevitable penalty shootout heartbreak.
As the only international development agency to call for this we should rightly be very proud of our work - and we could not have done it without your support.
So what next?
This is a timely boost for our campaigning at a crucial time.
Colleagues and partners are strengthening a global movement for a sustainable future at the Rio+20 Earth Summit - find out more.
Meanwhile, back home we are putting the finishing touches to the next exciting stage for our tax justice campaign. Watch this space!
Thanks so much for your support!