Thursday, September 06, 2007

World to APEC - hope is not enough!

My target photo of the cabbage tree in full bloom outside my front door. On September 8-9, leaders of 21 nations - responsible for half the world's greenhouse gases - meet at the APEC summit in Sydney, Australia. Some leaders support binding global targets which experts agree are needed to avert climate catastrophe. Others are campaigning for a weak voluntary alternative: hot air and hope.

Avaaz has already put together the world's biggest global climate petition, but they need more signatures to win over waverers and save the next Kyoto Protocol - please, add your name today!

Over 400,000 people have already signed, and on Friday Avaaz is launching a massive 144-square metre floating canvas "target" at Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach where it will be taken out to sea by surfers. Next stop, Saturday, swimmers will float this banner over the Great Barrier Reef - which current predictions suggest will be killed off by climate change before 2030. Thousands of Avaaz members from every continent have joined in by uploading climate target pictures of their own. At the summit, Avaaz will present the petition and photos from around the world to leaders and negotiators. We will be heard.

Petition To World Leaders: Climate change is the greatest threat facing our world today - and we are almost out of time to stop it. You must tackle this problem now, decisively and together. Start working toward a new global agreement this year. Set binding global targets for emissions to avert catastrophic climate change. Take bold action immediately - and we will join our efforts with yours.

Sign the petition here
Upload your 'target' photo here

About Avaaz
As major new challenges like climate change and escalating religious conflict threaten our common future, people from around the world are coming together to take global politics into their own hands. Avaaz.org (Our name means "Voice" or "Song" in several languages including Hindi, Urdu, Farsi, Nepalese, Dari, Turkish, and Bosnian) is a community of global citizens who take action on the major issues facing the world today. Our aim is to ensure that the views and values of the world's people -- and not just political elites and unaccountable corporations -- shape global decisions. Avaaz.org members are taking action for a more just and peaceful world and a vision of globalization with a human face.

In our inter-connected world, the actions of political leaders and corporations are having a profound impact on all of us. To match the power and reach of global leaders and borderless corporations, Avaaz.org members are building a powerful movement of citizens without borders. As citizens without borders, we might not have the resources of governments, corporations or the media, but working together we can bring together millions of people around the world and make global public opinion really count on major global issues like poverty, climate change, human rights and global security.

Using the latest technology, Avaaz.org empowers ordinary people from every corner of the globe to directly contact key global decision-makers, corporations and the media. By signing up to receive updates from Avaaz.org, members receive emails and text messages alerting them to new campaigns and opportunities to act online and offline, and to make a real difference on pressing global issues.

Technorati tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

0 comments: