We waved. It was great fun. Felt like a lot of people marching from Grosvenor Square, through Berkeley Square (no nightingales) along Piccadilly, and down Whitehall to Parliament Square.
At least 50,000 people on the streets of London (and a reported 15,000 in Glasgow and some more in Belfast too).
The RSPB's own Ruth Davis made a wonderful speech at the beginning of the march (and I know she was terrified just before hand!), we had our faces painted, shouldered our banners and started off.
All shapes and sorts of people, from lots of organisations and no organisation, and we marched through central London to the slight bemusement of Christmas shoppers. The biggest climate change rally ever.
And as my boss, Graham Wynne was talking to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change a colleague and I went into 10 Downing Street, with other organisations, to talk to Gordon Brown. He gave us a cup of tea - very welcome thank you!
The Prime Minister sketched out how he saw the landscape before Copenhagen - and he demonstrated a good understanding and engagement with the issues. It can't be easy being PM - you can't know everything and be interested in everything, but Gordon Brown is clearly engaged with climate change and the task ahead in Copenhagen. He said he wanted to get a good legal agreement within months of the Copenhagen meeting and that Copenhagen should mean that countries who have offered nothing should come up with something and those that have offered something should offer more. He was speaking to other Prime Ministers and trying to get agreements before the Copenhagen conference.
You can't disagree with the analysis - and I said so. But I asked the Prime Minister to realise that he wasn't going to Denmark to help get a deal - but help get a solution to a real physical problem. Agreement would be good - but a good agreement is needed. And I said that we could currently be proud of what the UK has done, and the leadership that the UK has shown - please do your best Prime Minister to come back from Copenhagen with more reasons for us to feel proud of the UK leadership.
Need country's such as USA,Russia,China,India to seriously come on board,chances of that,zero but you all did a great job and deserve some reward.Feel sure the biggest savings could come from all country's having less weapons but again no chance.Perhaps one day best chance might be if China is the most powerful then their leader might be confident to pull everyone together.Doesn't seem as if Presidents of USA are interested in cutting emissions,don't think it is much of a vote winner.Afraid no chance of Brown making a success of anything,sold our gold at giveaway price ,as chancellor landed this country with a debt that most experts think that at the best will take 20 years to clear,other country's about clear of recession and we are still seriously in one.Surely not many people going to take notice of anyone with that record.
Indeed Mark, world governments together must find a solution to the problem of climate change and the UK must continue to lead the way. If this does not happen then future generations will face much tougher choices than we do today.
Quote - " The Prime Minister sketched out how he saw the landscape before Copenhagen - and he demonstrated a good understanding and engagement with the issues. It can't be easy being PM - you can't know everything and be interested in everything, but Gordon Brown is clearly engaged with climate change and the task ahead in Copenhagen."
mmmmmmmmm, - PR , as ever he's just well briefed by some - probably underpaid - Civil Servant/
Cynical? yep, indeed I am.
Yes, I think you are cynical.
I know its not fashionable to say anything good about Gordon Brown, but the truth is he has a very strong record on trying to make the world a better place for all of us, not just UK voters. He played a leading role, and was clearly personally committed to 3rd world debt reduction & clearly has an understanding of how we all survive or fail together. But its neither a big news story - all that slow, painful negotiation, nor an instant vote winner at home where people are more concerned with next years council tax.
Despite what you read in the media, there's no one silver bullet for climate change nor will the world be doomed if the much heralded 'failure' of Copenhagen comes about: this is a game of many, many different players, each one contributing something whether its slowing rainforest destruction or insulating your own home. The small actions we can all take and the support we can give RSPB & our Government in thinking internationally and for the whole human race really does matter.
Well Nightjar you might try and find things good about Brown but how disgusting to go on about Cameron being educated at Eton.That is just as bad as racial discrimination and I am really surprised no one has criticised him for it but perhaps if he had not been in the house of commons he would have been in trouble,I did hope that UK was above this class thing and certainly anyone who has a chance to get Eton education should not turn it down but one of Browns quotes was along the lines of Blair was his best political friend so suggest no one takes too much notice of what he says.One thing is certain even if he cons a few UK residents the rest of the world have a low opinion of him even not inviting UK to latest agricultural talks.History will consign Blair and Brown as our worst ever leaders,which ironically I find really sad because it was a time we needed competent leaders.
Nightjar, now at the end of the it all. do you still think I;m cynical. Do you really think anything was accomplised- I;d like to know how will they offset carbon footprint of all the mince and hot air that went on. It was appauling