04
June 2009 - Cracow, Poland — You asked and
Poland answered. More than 16,000 of you
have taken action and demanded that world
leaders personally attend the UN Climate
Summit in December. Today, Polish Prime
Minister Donald Tusk became the first Head
of State to respond directly to our call
for world leaders to attend the meeting
in Copenhagen by agreeing to attend the
summit himself.
Activists took the demand
of world leaders to the Central and Eastern
Europe Heads of States meeting in Cracow,
demanding a “Time for Solidarity for climate
now” on the 20th anniversary of the first
free election in Poland. Solidarity was
an independent labour union at the center
of the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union
and considered to be primary catalyst of
Poland’s move away from communism and towards
its EU membership and democracy. Activists
in Poland called on governments to step
up and now show solidarity with developing
countries who are already suffering the
most from climate change impacts. They called
on him to take personal responsibility and
agree to attend the UN Climate Summit.
US lets Poland take
the lead?
Prime Minister Tusk responded directly to
the call by coming right out and accepting
a copy of our Copenhagen Demands, shaking
hands with our Climate campaigner Julia
Michalak, and agreeing to show up for the
UN meeting in December.
Next up? President Obama
and Chancellor Merkel, who are set to meet
tomorrow in Germany to discuss climate change.
This is the perfect opportunity for the
US and Germany to show they are serious
about climate change solutions, to take
personal responsibility for ensuring a good
deal at the UN Climate Summit in December
by committing to be there..
The climate deal negotiated
in December must ensure developed countries
take the necessary steps to cut emissions,
tackle climate change as well as ensure
that developing countries can continue to
grow their economies in a sustainable way.
To avoid the worst impacts of climate change,
science tells us that developed nations
must collectively achieve emissions cuts
of at least 25-40 percent below 11000 levels
by 2020 and 80-95 percent by 2050. Greenpeace
is calling for governments of developed
countries to provide USD 140 billion a year
to tackle the climate crisis and to fund
both mitigation and adaptation measures
in developing countries. Approximately USD
40 billion a year of this should be designated
to forest protection.
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Greenpeace t-shirts:
a retrospective in a whaling town
10 June 2009 - Aomori,
Japan — A new exhibit in Aomori, Japan,
gives a glimpse of Greenpeace history through
one of our iconic communication tools: the
t-shirt.
Over the years, our
campaigns have spawned many, many tees --
from the funny to the shrill, the plain
and functional to the artistic.
They have been used
as action tools, as when activists aboard
the Greenpeace ship Sirius were being escorted
out of the Soviet Union, and in front of
whirring cameras revealed the message "Stop
Nuclear Testing" in Russian on the
t-shirts beneath their sweatshirts. Or when
activists in the high-security zone around
a Star Wars missile test wore "Don't
Shoot" tees -- messaging both the missile
masters and the gun-toting guards.
They have been used
as barter items with border guards, coveted
and swapped among ships' crew, and sought
after by collectors looking to create a
complete timeline of the organisation in
organic cotton.
When our Japanese office
put out the call to Greenpeacers around
the world to empty their closets, they got
nearly 200 examples of the art of the body
billboard from every corner of the globe.
Organiser Mai Suzuki,
activist and Greenpeace t-shirt collector,
hopes to tell the public about environmental
risks and Greenpeace’s efforts to tackle
them in a simple and interesting way.
“Many of us wear T-shirts
every day. When you wear a Greenpeace T-Shirt,
everyone can look at you on the street.
It is a potent and direct way of communicating
information,” said Suzuki.
The exhibition also
highlights the global support behind the
Aomori communications centre, which was
set up earlier this year to bring Greenpeace
messages directly to people of the port
city. Aomori is where Greenpeace activists
Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki are currently
on trial for intercepting a box of embezzled
whale meat, with the aim of exposing a long-standing
culture of embezzlement within the government-sponsored
whaling programme.
This is not a t-shirt.
It's a campaign to change the world. Buy
it. Wear it. Tell your friends.
They succeeded in exposing
the scandal, but are now on trial themselves
for “theft”, despite having given the whale
meat to the public prosecutor as evidence
for an investigation into the embezzlement.
The exhibition showcases
a new t-shirt from Greenpeace UK, which
was recently worn by activists during activities
supporting Junichi and Tory, known as the
“Tokyo Two”, in London. (Nudge, nudge --
you can buy a version of that t-shirt at
our online shop.)
Suzuki hopes that the
T-Shirts will show the Japanese public the
passion Greenpeace has for its campaigns,
and that it inspires them to take action
themselves to right environmental wrongs.
“It is my wish that
the public come and take a look at the T-Shirts,
and realise that they have the power to
change the world,” said Suzuki.
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New leadership at Greenpeace
International
11 June 2009 - Amsterdam,
Netherlands — Greenpeace will soon have
a new leader. Kumi Naidoo will take up the
role of Executive Director of Greenpeace
International in November 2009, when Gerd
Leipold steps down after nearly nine years
as our activist-in-chief.
Kumi was part of the
successful struggle against apartheid in
his native South Africa. He is an activist
and a Rhodes Scholar. For ten years he was
the General Secretary of CIVICUS: World
Alliance for Citizen Participation. Today
he sits on the board of Greenpeace Africa
and chairs the Global Campaign for Climate
Action (GCCA).
He was one of the founders
of Global Call to Action Against Poverty,
which has grown since 2005 into a coalition
of anti-poverty campaigners from over 100
countries. They apply public pressure on
leaders to fulfil promises on aid, trade,
debt, climate change and gender equality.
Kumi brings with him
a passion for activism, for non-violence
and clear ideas for shaping the future of
Greenpeace. His experiences in campaigning,
fundraising, advocacy, policy work, networked
organisations and leading through change
will all be called upon.
"The way Greenpeace
works on all levels from confrontation to
cooperation with governments and corporations
is an inspiration. The mix of pragmatism
and passion really gets things done and
effects real change in the world. I believe
that Greenpeace is one of the most precious
assets the global community posses as a
critical part in reversing the current fatal
trajectory of our planet," says Kumi.
"History teaches
us that real change only comes when good
men and women are prepared to put their
lives and personal safety on the line to
advance the cause of justice, equity and
peace. I believe today that Greenpeace is
the leading organization in embracing that
approach." Currently Chair of the Global
Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA), of which
Greenpeace is a member, for the coming months
he will focus his attention on generating
civil society pressure and cooperation to
demand a strong deal at the UN Climate Summit
to be held in Copenhagen this December:
one which gets CO2 emissions under control,
protects tropical rainforests, and replaces
dirty fossil fuel energy with renewables
and energy efficiency.
Gerd Leipold will remain
at the helm until November, and has this
to say about the successor he has already
worked closely with:
"Kumi has all of
the qualities needed to take Greenpeace
forward and lead it in the greatest challenge
it and the world has ever faced: climate
change."
Greenpeace International
(Stichting Greenpeace Council), is the body
that coordinates global Greenpeace policy
and strategy, and is based in Amsterdam.
The best way to welcome
Kumi? Take action, of course! Demand world
leaders personally attend the Copenhagen
summit, and take personal responsibility
for sealing the right deal to save our planet
from runaway climate change.
