Thousands of Co-operative customers urged to join Wave climate rally

Company will bus supporters to Stop Climate Chaos Coalition protest in London on eve of Copenhagen
Press Association
guardian.co.uk, Monday 14 September 2009 10.40 BST
The Co-operative is chartering trains and coaches to take thousands of its customers to a march calling for action on climate change later this year, the company said today.
The Wave rally is being organised by the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition to mark the beginning of crucial UN climate change negotiations which aim to secure a new deal to cut global greenhouse gas emissions.
The coalition - representing 100 UK organisations ranging from the Women's Institute to Friends of the Earth and with a combined membership of 11 million people - hopes the event in London on December 5 will be the country's largest protest on climate change.
Organisers want tens of thousands of campaigners to "flow" through the streets of London to show their support for action to tackle climate change.
Paul Monaghan, head of social goals and sustainability at the Co-operative Group, said: "As a business with commercial interests in farming, food and finance, we are deeply concerned that an ambitious and fair deal be agreed in Copenhagen.
"Previously, our members have successfully lobbied governments for a meaningful Climate Change Act and targets for 2050. Now we are calling on the UK government to take this to the international stage."
Last week, the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, and his brother, the climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, warned that negotiations were "in the balance" and there was a danger they could fail.
UK government ministers are pushing the climate agenda on the world stage in a bid to secure a deal that will slash emissions enough to limit global temperature rises to 2C.