Several thousand people attended Friends of the Earth Czech Republic/Hnutí Duha’s ‘Big Ask’ festival in a park in central Prague. It was the second year Friends of the Earth Czech Republic/Hnutí Duha organized such a festival to raise awareness of their campaign for a climate law.
The Big Ask campaign in the Czech Republic is gaining momentum with some businesses involved in heavy industry now showing support, including Czech machinery factory, CKD Blansko, and the Czech Green Building Council.
A majority of the Czech Parliament is supportive of a climate law, with two of the four governing parties, and all opposition parties on board, as well as the Greens and Christian Democrats.
Major trade unions from the building, public transport, teaching sectors are supporting a climate law, and Friends of the Earth Czech Republic/ Hnutí Duha has entered into official cooperation with Trade Unions Confederation to have a wide-ranging debate on content for the Climate Change Bill.
The political situation means the campaign still faces the big challenge of transforming formal support into real commitment to adopt the bill in 2013.
Friends of the Earth Czech Republic/Hnutí Duha remains optimistic that this can be done. More than 22,000 people have already called on MPs to adopt a Climate Change Act.
