Posted on 04 December
2009 - Sydney, Australia: A message for
world leaders on the urgency for decisive
action on climate changte is on its way
to Copenhagen - in the form of The People’s
Orb - a shimmering 20cm silver sphere containing
a 350 gigabyte mosaic of stories, voices,
images and action on climate change collected
from around the world .
An initiative of WWF's
Earth Hour that has been embraced by all
major community climate campaigns, the orb
was unveiled in Sydney by the first joint
honorary custodians, Sydney Lord Mayor,
Clover Moore MP and 14 year old “Climate
Girl” Parrys Raines
The People’s Orb is
to be presented to a representative of world
leaders during a dedicated Earth Hour Copenhagen
when the lights of the city will be turned
off for one hour from 7pm on Wednesday 16
December - a highly timely reminder of Earth
Hour earlier this year when hundreds of
millions globally demonstrated their wish
for a fair, ambitious and binding agreement
on climate change to emerge from the crucial
Copenhagen summit which kicks off Monday.
During its journey,
The Orb will be entrusted to a sequence
of honorary custodians, including Professor
Tim Flannery, WWF International Director
General, Mr Jim Leape and United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director,
Mr Achim Steiner..
The Orb will arrive in the city on Saturday
5 December via The Climate Express - a train
which left the previous treaty deal city
of Kyoto, Japan, last month.
Earth Hour Executive
Director, Andy Ridley, says that the huge
numbers of people who took part in Earth
Hour 2009 – when hundreds of millions of
people in over 4000 cities and towns in
88 countries throughout the world voted
for Earth over global warming by turning
off their lights - is evidence that the
planet’s population is calling for definitive
action on climate change.
“The People’s Orb represents
the spirit of collaboration across the globe.
It gives the world’s citizens a voice to
make a difference in the global battle against
climate change,” Ridley says.
The People’s Orb will
retain sufficient memory for world leaders
to include the final piece - a binding agreement
for the future of the planet.
Campaigns supporting
the orb include Vote Earth, tcktcktck, 350.org,
UNEP, Raise Your Voice, Hopenhagen, the
Copenhagen Climate Council and the Earth
Journalism Awards.
A global appeal for
suggestions of material to be included in
The People’s Orb has sparked conversation
across the world. Social media networks
facebook and twitter are already a buzz
with suggestions and comments from the planets
citizens.
Michael Jackson’s Earth
Song has been the number one suggestion
via online forums. Further suggestions being
suggested on blogs, twitter and facebook,
inspirational quotes from throughout the
ages ( “We do not inherit the world from
our ancestors; we borrow it from our children”)
and a copy of The Girl Who Silenced The
World For 5 Minutes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQmz6Rbpnu0).
Along with suggestions
from individuals, The People’s Orb will
also contain key climate change reports
from the world’s most eminent scientists;
representation from the world’s great thinkers
on the need for action on climate change
and representation from the leaders of the
world’s cities calling for action on climate
change.
Suggestions for what
should be included in The People’s Orb are
being collected via Twitter (www.twitter/earthhour),
Facebook (www.facebook.com/earthhour) and
the Earth Hour blog - earthhourblog.posterous.com.
Notes to Editors
Businesses, community
groups and individuals are encouraged to
host a Vote Earth ballot box on their website.
For more information, go to http://www.earthhour.org/HowCanIShowSupport.aspx.
About Earth Hour’s Vote
Earth
Earth Hour’s Vote Earth campaign builds
on the call for action on climate change
provided by millions of people, companies
and communities during Earth Hour. The campaign
aims to provide a platform for the people
of the world to deliver world leaders a
mandate for the right decision to be made
at the United Nations Climate Summit in
Copenhagen in December 2009. Find out more
about the campaign at www.earthhour.org
Earth Hour’s Vote Earth is organised by
WWF.
About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most
respected independent conservation organizations,
with almost 5 million supporters and a global
network active in over 100 countries. WWF's
mission is to stop the degradation of the
earth's natural environment and to build
a future in which humans live in harmony
with nature, by conserving the world's biological
diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable
natural resources is sustainable, and promoting
the reduction of pollution and wasteful
consumption.
Kirsten Hodgon
Earth Hour Global
+ More
Prospects of lower carbon
India welcomed by WWF
Posted on 04 December
2009 - New Dehli, India: India's eve of
the Copenhagen climate conference announcement
of voluntary measures to reduce the country's
carbon intensity have been welcomed by WWF-India.
Prime MinisterDr Manmoham Singh said the
intention was to reduce India's carbon intensity
by 20-25 percent of 2005 levels by 2020.
“We welcome the declaration
made by the Honourable Minister for Environment
and Forest, Mr Jairam Ramesh and hope that
this will be a strong step in moving towards
a low-carbon sustainable model of development
since the targets will be met through the
use of better and more efficient technology,"
said Mr. Ravi Singh, CEO of WWF-India .
In effect, India’s current
declaration at the backdrop of the projected
economic growth will ensure that the country
moves towards a sustainable path to low-carbon
economic development, and at the same time
move towards attaining the Millennium Development
Goals.
A 20-25 percent reduction
in the carbon intensity of 2005 levels,
by 2020, will ensure that India stays low
in terms of it’s emission intensity while
its economy continues to grow.
“We strongly support
this declaration which included an outline
of a low carbon path for our Indian economy
and in knowledge of the fact that it will
make for a better future for the country,
we request all Indians and leaders from
all sectors of society, business and economy
to see that these targets are actually exceeded”
Singh said.
The announcement also
provides areas where India can take leadership
- legislating a mandatory fuel efficiency
standards for vehicles in the transportation
sector, mandatory building codes implemented
across states, amending the Energy Conservation
Act 2001 to bring in mechanisms for energy
savings certificates, and maintaining forests
as carbon sinks.
With the move showing
India’s ambition to help advance the talks
for a fair and ambitious global climate
treaty, WWF has urges the Indian government
to come up with more voluntary actions related
to greening of the economy in the coming
years.
"India can emerge as a true leader
among its peers," Singh said.
