ame:
Ali
Abbas
Age:
33
Job at Friends of the
Earth:
Joint-Coordinator,
Manchester
Friends of the Earth
and Lead Climate
Campaigner
Job outside Friends of the
Earth:
Business Analyst for a
software company
Qualifications:
PhD in
Organic Chemistry
Joined Friends of the Earth
because:
I wanted to do something
useful. I liked the interesting, enthusiastic
people I met at Friends of the Earth
“
One of
the attractions of Friends of the Earth is
that you're using different skills in this
work and it's so much more rewarding than
just sitting in front of a desk. As joint
coordinator of the Manchester Group, I spend
one day a week doing volunteer work here, in
addition to four days a week as a business
analyst for a software company. When you add
in all the evenings and weekends, though, it
actually works out as far more than that. I
once calculated that I do effectively four
days a week at work and five days a week at
Friends of the Earth - in other words, a nine
day week!
Right now, it's my job to help organise
meetings, keep contacts going with other
groups and support volunteers. Much of the
coordination role is management, which is
slightly ironic as I was a manager in a
previous job elsewhere and ended up opting
for a non-managerial position!
Ali (right) at the
Manchester launch the
Real Food
Guide
In many ways, it's more difficult than
normal management because you don't have the
same amount of time to get to know people and
you are all working together on a voluntary
basis. You have to scale back your
expectations. The distances and communication
issues can make it hard to keep the momentum
going sometimes. But it's also much more
rewarding than most other work. You're
supporting people in doing something they
enjoy and which is useful, rather than just
helping a company and its shareholders to
make money.
Can I count on your vote?
My other role at Manchester Friends of the
Earth is Lead Climate Campaigner, working to
promote Friends of the Earth's Climate Change
Campaign,
the BIG ASK
. The idea is to canvass as
much political and public support as possible
to push for new legislation to be introduced
in the UK requiring annual cuts in greenhouse
gases. An Early Day Motion (a form of
parliamentary poll) was introduced in the
House of Commons (the seat of Government in
the UK) last summer by three Members of
Parliament. We were aiming for 250 signatures
by the autumn and already have over 350 MPs
who have pledged their support - more than
half of all MPs. We're hoping to get a
legally-binding Bill through Parliament this
autumn, either as a Private Member's Bill
(where an individual MP proposes the new
legislation) or, preferably, as a
Government-supported Bill in the Queen's
Speech at the opening of Parliament.
We're actively lobbying around 30 MPs in
the Greater Manchester area, as well as
ensuring we have a strong presence at local
events, running stalls with postcards for
people to sign and send off as part of the
campaign. It's important to really get out
there and talk to people.
the big ask
The UK Government has set a target to cut
CO2 emissions by at least 60% by 2050 based
on 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions
and by 20% by 2010.
Friends of the Earth wants a
legally-binding annual target of at least 3%
each year, with penalties for non-compliance.
If targets are missed by a large margin, the
Prime Minister and responsible Ministers
would also have their pay docked.
Friends of the Earth is also suggesting
that the issue is centralised within one area
of Government and that an annual carbon
budget is introduced, as part of a formal
environmental reporting process.
My goal is to visit all our local MPs in
person in order to secure their support. I
get a mixture of responses, but most of them
have been positive.
the
highs...
"You realise that you can influence
decision-makers and really help to make a
difference"
and the lows...
"You have to scale back your expectations of
time scales and what people can do. Things
can take four or five times longer to be
achieved than they would in an office
job"
Influencing the decision-makers
Before 2005, I'd never done any kind of
lobbying work before. My first visit was to
my own local MP. It gives you a fascinating
insight because you get to see that MPs are
'real people' and that we know a lot more
about environmental issues than they do.
We're helping them to find out more about the
issues and they, as our elected
representatives, have a duty to listen. You
realise that you can make a real difference
by influencing them and their vote in
Parliament. That's very uplifting. I even had
the chance to lobby Prime Minister Tony Blair
in person at the annual Labour Party
Conference.
Politicians in power are often afraid of
being pinned down and held to account.
They're thinking about the next election,
when they should be thinking long term.
Climate change is a mainstream issue - people
know and care about it - but some radical
measures need to be taken. We're now on the
final push to persuade decision-makers that
introducing these changes are in the best
interests of themselves as politicians and
their constituents across the UK, as well as
the long-term future of the planet.
Support
the work of Friends of the Earth England
Wales & Northern Ireland by
making a donation
or joining a
group near you
Get involved with the work of
Manchester
Friends of the Earth
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