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December 2008 - Poznan, Poland — It has
been a year since governments in Bali pledged
to nail down an agreement to save the climate
by December 2009. That means they have one
year left to agree on how to stop the climate
crisis. This year’s UN meeting on Climate
Change has just started in Poznan, Poland
and we think it is about time for government
leaders to stop the talking, get serious
and start real negotiations.
Forest destruction costs
the world economy at least 2 trillion dollars
annually. Ocean fish stocks are collapsing,
putting a basic source of food for 3 billion
people at risk. Droughts and forest fires
are destroying our planet’s most precious
resources and rising sea levels are threatening
to displace hundreds of millions of people
before the end of the century. But it isn’t
all bad news, the good news is that the
solution is pretty simple: to avoid runaway
climate change, the world needs to quit
its addiction to coal and stop destroying
forests - and that work has to start in
Poznan. Let’s start investing in a future
we can all believe in. We need investments
in clean, renewable energy and an end to
subsidies for dirty and dangerous energy
like coal and nuclear.
Get the basics
Climate Rescue Team
Some government leaders have proven that
they cannot be trusted to take swift action
on climate change based on the facts. From
the coal mines of Konin, to the meeting
rooms at the UN meetings in Poznan, we are
taking action to make sure that government
leaders know it is time to get serious about
climate change and quit coal. Our Quit Coal
Tour has set up a Climate Rescue Station
in Konin, Poland- one hour form the UN meeting
- to highlight the true cost of coal in
the lead up to crucial UN climate negotiations.
The Rescue Station is currently set up on
the edge of an open pit coal mine where
activists have been demanding an end to
our addiction to coal in a series of direct
actions. On 8 December, a week into the
talks, the dome will be moved to Poznan
town square.
To make sure that the
truth is heard at the UN meetings, we’ve
also sent a team of climate experts to Poznan.
We are there to pressure governments to
quit coal and work towards a meaningful
deal to save the climate. Our message to
delegates is simple – it’s time to get serious
about tackling climate change.
Not just another meeting
One year doesn’t seem like a lot of time
to most of us, considering the scope of
the problem. After two decades of climate
negotiations, governments are still tip-toeing
around each other when it comes to real
solutions to climate change. This year the
world is watching the UN negotiations and
demanding that governments make good on
their promise to come up with an action
plan in Copenhagen next year. Be a part
of the action and upload your photo to be
projected at the UN meeting in Poznan, Poland.
Now here's what we need
from our leaders in Poznan:
• a “climate vision”
that will address what the science requires:
global emissions peaking by 2015.
• a draft negotiating
text on the table and a detailed workplan
to get this completed by Copenhagen in December
2009
• Developed countries
must agree greenhouse gas emission reduction
targets at the upper end of 25-40%, as identified
by the IPCC
