28 August 2009 - International
— There are 100 days remaining until the
UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen, where urgent
action is needed by world leaders
in order to save our climate.
We now have 100 days
until Copenhagen. Greenpeace China displayed
100 children carved from ice at the Temple
of Earth in Beijing today, to symbolise
the “disappearing future” for the 1.3 billion
people in Asia at risk of water shortage
as a result of climate change. This event,
matched in India with another ice sculpture,
marks the 100-day countdown before the UN
Climate Summit in Copenhagen - where we
are urging governments to take strong, effective
action to stop climate change.
The melting sculptures
of 100 children are made from Himalayan
glacier water from the source of Yangtse,
Yellow and Ganges rivers. The ice sculpture
in India is a huge “100” on a World Map
and was unveiled in New Delhi to show “the
world washed away” by glacial melts.
A climate tipping point
is unfolding in the Himalayas. The rapid
melting of glaciers caused by global warming
is jeopardising the water supply for 1.3
billion Asians who live in the watershed
of the 7 great rivers that originate in
the region. If we cannot stop runaway climate
change, babies born today – at this moment
– will face a very different reality when
they grow up, where water availability would
be a serious problem.
The Himalayan glaciers
are melting at a rate faster than recorded
for other glaciers anywhere in the world.
The IPCC suggests that glacier coverage
will fall by at least 43 percent and possibly
as much as 81 percent by the end of the
century - depending on how effectively we
act to restrain our greenhouse gas emissions.
China and India together
account for one-third of the world’s population
but both countries’ water resources (per
capita are far below the global average.
The two largest developing countries share
the challenge of balancing the goals of
development and environmental protection.
They must pursue a low-carbon development
path if we are to avert environmental and
humanitarian disaster.
Global countdown to
Copenhagen
In other parts of the world - our activists
staged public events to highlight the number
of days left for our leaders to take action.
In Brazil, we set up large clocks in eight
cities together with the tcktcktck campaign.
In Belgium, 10,000 people formed a giant
human banner in the shape of a big clock.
Our team in Switzerland placed a giant banner
on a retreating glacier saying 'Our Climate,
Your Decision' and there was bike riding
activity in the Philippines.
Tcktcktck...
We're proud to be part of the Tcktcktck
campaign this year. It's a global campaign
for climate action, which has launched 100
days ahead of the UN Climate Summit, and
brings together an unprecedented alliance
of faith groups, non-governmental organisations,
trade unions and individuals at this crucial
time. We're working with Tcktcktck to harness
the voices of people from around the world
- calling for an ambitious, fair and binding
international agreement that reflects the
latest science. As December’s meeting in
Copenhagen approaches, tcktcktck will organise
around major international meetings and
other relevant events to demonstrate the
support from citizens around the world in
having world leaders attend the negotiations
in Copenhagen and produce an ambitious,
fair and binding agreement. www.tcktcktck.org
Time to take responsibility
The latest scientific research shows catastrophic
climate impacts can be averted by reducing
global greenhouse gas emissions after 2015
in order to keep global temperature increase
below 2 degrees Celsius. We are urging developed
countries, as a group, to agree to cut emissions
by 40 percent below 11000 levels by 2020.
And developing countries must reduce their
projected emissions growth by 15-30 percent
by 2020.
With 100 days until
the most important meeting of our time,
we're working together with other organisations
as part of the global TckTckTck campaign
to show that the world is ready for bold
climate action. We're asking world leaders
to ensure a fair, ambitious, and binding
climate deal in Copenhagen this December.
A strong climate treaty
will not only reverse the march of dangerous
climate change - it will also help us tackle
the world’s largest challenges. We will
create millions of green jobs, reduce healthcare
costs, lift millions out of poverty, and
put renewable energy into the hands of everyday
citizens in the developing world.
The next opportunity
for world leaders to step up and show decisive
leadership on averting a climate catastrophe
will be at the UN General Assembly focusing
on Climate, on September 22nd. Sign up to
be a climate activist with us and find out
what you can do to add your voice to this
important process. We'll be keeping track
of what's happening in the lead up to Copenhagen
but here's a few online resources you might
want to bookmark:
Adopt a Negotiator:
a project to track and report on the activities
of countries and their representative negotiators
on the road to Copenhagen.
COP-15 (aka. Copenhagen
climate summit) website and blog: set up
by Denmark to bring the latest news and
insight.
Seal the Deal Newsroom:
provides information on recent actions around
the Copenhagen treaty summit.
It's Getting Hot in
Here: a youth movement blog heavily involved
in reporting on international climate treaty
issues.
350's treaty tracker:
planning actions and tracking Copenhagen
climate treaty news.
United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change: the official
United Nation's site for the Copenhagen
climate summit.
