By: Diana Thébaud Nicholson

Diana Thébaud Nicholson — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 06:18:54 +0000

From: Ricken Patel - Avaaz.org
What happened at Bali
On Saturday, in desperate last-minute negotiations, the world faced down an effort by the US, Canada and Japan to wreck the crucial Bali Climate Change Summit. Over 600,000 of us from 192 nations mobilized to save the Bali talks, including 320,000 in the final 72 hours! Click to see photos and videos of the effort.
Arriving in Bali, most countries wanted to work towards a new global treaty on climate change as well as new targets for carbon emissions by rich countries. But late last week, the US and Canada teamed up to undermine the talks – the US blocked the whole Bali summit consensus, and when a smaller group of Kyoto treaty countries tried to move ahead without the US, they were blocked by Canada. The summit was in danger of deadlock.
The Avaaz community flew into action, signing and spreading petitions to each of the governments, supporting ad campaigns in Bali and Canada, marches around the world, and phoning and lobbying elected officials. At the summit, Avaaz members brought the storm of public criticism inside the conference walls with the only march allowed inside the venue, the largest climate petition delivery in history, daily press conferences and “fossil awards” for the worst countries in the negotiations, and constant lobbying of officials.
In the final hours of the summit, Canada backed down completely and allowed Kyoto countries to agree to strong 2020 targets on carbon emissions, and the US team, now entirely isolated and actually booed by the world’s diplomats, compromised and agreed to call for “deep cuts” and “reference” the 2020 targets. It was not a complete victory, but this paved the way for the summit to agree to sign a new global climate change treaty by 2009.
Usually these conferences are stuffy diplomatic affairs - but this time the world was watching, and speaking, each day. Together, we brought people-powered politics to the halls of power, and put our governments on notice: in the fight to save our environment, we will not be spectators. Click for report on this campaign with videos and pictures.
This is just the beginning. Every nation of the world has now agreed that they will enter into accelerated negotiations and, by 2009, sign a new treaty to confront global warming. We need this treaty to set binding global targets for carbon emissions, and a mechanism for meeting them, that keep the earth’s temperature from rising more than 2 degrees celsius - the amount that scientists say would be ‘catastrophic’. Such a treaty will change the world’s economy forever, weaning us off oil and fossil fuels to cleaner sources of energy. Some leaders, in the pocket of the oil industry, will fight it tooth and nail all the way. And we will too. A great struggle to save our environment has begun, and this weekend, we showed together that the people of the world aren’t intending to sit this one out.

By: Diana Thébaud Nicholson

Diana Thébaud Nicholson — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:37:22 +0000

From: Ricken Patel - Avaaz.org [mailto:avaaz@avaaz.org]
Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2007 3:54 PM
Subject: WE WON!!!
Wow -
This morning, in a massive U-turn in the 11th hour of extended negotiations, the Harper government finally dropped its opposition to 2020 emissions targets among Kyoto countries , and a climate change agreement was reached in Bali!
Over 110,000 of us came together over the last 4 days and added our voices to a wave of popular outrage - we supported the ads that ran in Canadian papers and at the conference in Bali, called Harper and our MPs, and built the strength of the petitions, events, banners, and marches at the summit. And it all worked!
Avaaz is a non-partisan group and the NDP and Green Party also deserve credit for opposing Harper, but [Liberal leader Stéphane] Dion had an impassioned comment for us:
Lots of factors helped make this happen, especially a strong resolve and pressure from other countries. In teaming up with people around the globe to save our climate - including over 600,000 other Avaaz members who pushed their governments - we’ve defended Canada’s proud tradition of doing the right thing in the world. The struggle is far from over, but this weekend is for celebrating!
With much joy and enormous respect for everyone who signed, forwarded, donated, called, lobbied and pitched in,
Ricken and the Avaaz team

Comments on: Canada & the Bali Climate Change Conference - Conclusion

By: Diana Thébaud Nicholson

By: Diana Thébaud Nicholson