Copenhagen

Arts4COP15.org: Join the network

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Our network Arts for COP15 is now up and functioning. Please come and join us there, especially if you are involved in an arts-based event in the lead up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. The site acts as a single portal for all the arts stuff that’s going on globally.

It’s a place where we can not only publicise what we’re doing around COP15, but where we can share experiences and resources and discuss whether we’re reaching audiences effectively. It also gives us a chance to measure how much is going on and work out how well it’s working.

There are already several events listed, and more to go up. You’re free to go and add your own. There’s also an open blog and a forum. Please go and get stuck in.

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Did #pm2un Tweet make Gordon to go to Copenhagen?

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I was blogging last week in response to green.tv’s suggestion that there were too many climate campaigns. My view was that it wasn’t that there were too many, but that maybe they weren’t reaching the right people.

Last week the website BeThatChange.com were pushing hard on a campaign on Twitter,#pm2un, trying to persuade Gordon Brown to commit to go to the COP15 Climate Conference in Copenhagen. At the time this seemed like a great example of a well-targeted campaign.

Though it’s not that unusual for leaders not to commit to attending this sort of conference until the last moment, BeThatChange had cleverly spotted an opportunity there. It looks rubbish for Brown to be claiming to be leading the agenda at Copenhagen when he’s not even committed to going himself. A couple of days after BeThatChange cranked up the heat with their #pm2un campaign, @EdMilibandMP tweeted a survey on his Ed’s Pledge site, asking visitors what their priorities for Copenhagen were. Miliband offered the following options to chose from:

1) the Prime Minister attending Copenhagen to help deliver a deal

2) doing more to provide home insulation in the UK

3) more government support to create green jobs

Whatever you think about the yeas and nays of deliberative democracy, when I looked on Friday, “the Prime Minster attending Copenhagen to help deliver a deal” had received 93% of the vote. How much of that was due to the BeThatChange.com campaign is hard to calculate, but I suspect that the question was even on Miliband’s poll suggests that the original #pm2un campaign was bang on.

If anything, I suppose it’s possible the Labour Party saw how potentially embarrassing such a campaign could be if it gained much more momentum, and instead turned it to their advantage. Either way the news came through late last night, less than 48 hours before BeThatChange’s next #pm2un twitterstorm:

Gordon Brown urges world leaders to attend climate change talk

Whatever did happen behind closed doors, it was nice work all round, really.

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PAID COP15 YOUTH LOGISTICS COORDINATOR Closing Date 17th Sept

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Now looking for a suitable person to fill this position ASAP as there are now less than 3 months until Copenhagen.

Please spread the word and recommend to anyone you know who may fit the criteria.

Specific Responsibilities will include:

  • Aid global youth initiatives with logistical support for their presence at COP
  • Support in helping plan a pre-COP Conference of Youth (COY)
  • Serve as a bottom-liner to several already-established projects in need of support (eg, such as the Global South Youth initiative).
  • Daily tasks would be office-based in Copenhagen consisting of logistical support and communication, greatly strengthening the International Youth Climate Movement.
  • Closure report and creation of the Standard Operations Procedures (SOP) of the YOUNGO for COP15

Commitment
The coordinator should commit to:

  • work for the movement as whole, not one organization or region
  • respect the procedures established and ensure transparency,
  • create a constructive and supportive environment
  • take consideration of geographic and gender representation in all decisions

Eligibility
The coordinator must meet all or most of the following criteria:

  • Past International Youth Climate Movement experience
  • Familiarity and experience with the UNFCCC process
  • An institutional endorsement from a relevant NGO or similar organization
  • Passion and undying organizing enthusiasm
  • Competency in reading, writing and speaking in English and one other UN language
  • Recommended: experience in organizing an event of 200+ people
  • Recommended: independence in living, travelling, and working
  • Recommended: English + One other language

Location
The position will be located in Copenhagen, sharing office space with the GCCA, though working independently and supported by the BottomLiners Team of the International Youth Climate Movement. The coordinator will be assisted in finding adequate accommodation.

Employment Duration
21st September 2009 to 20th January 2010

Salary
The coordinator will be paid 15,500 DKK per month for 4 months. This will cover the following during his/her stay in Copenhagen:

  • Personal Accommodation
  • Transportation (to and from Copenhagen to her/his own country of origin)
  • Meals

Visa / Work Permit
If coordinator is not a resident of the EU or Scandinavian countries, he or she will be granted a 3 month tourist’s visa upon entry to Denmark, and the position will be similar to a fellowship.

Applications:
Interested candidates should email Wilson (wilson.ang@eco-singapore.org), Deepa (deepa@iycn.in) AND Blaine (blaine.d.oneill@gmail.com) the following:

  • Resume/CV
  • A short (1 page max) description of why you are interested in being the coordinator including relevant experiences, motivations, and your plans for COP15

Interested applicants must be available for an online interview via skype on 22nd OR 23rd September 2009 at 3pm (GMT).

CLOSING DATE: 17TH SEPTEMBER 2009 @ 2359H (GMT)

Found at: http://climatecoolnetwork.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2546410%3ABlogPost%3A16725

What if women were in charge of cutting carbon?

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Caleb Klaces writes: In December this year representatives from 192 countries will meet in Copenhagen for the 15th UN Conference of the Parties (COP15) to discuss international targets for the reduction of CO2 emissions. The roughly 1,500 delegates will mostly be men, as they always have been. During the period …
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COP15 petition to heads of government

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To UNFCCC leaders / Heads of Government,

At the UNFCCC talks in Copenhagen in 2009, we urge you to reach a just and sufficient international agreement on climate change, which will secure our futures and those of generations to come. The agreement should recognise that rich countries have done the …
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Stern changes predictions: says now we have to contemplate six degrees

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At Copenhagen, Nicholas Stern admits his 2006 Stern Report underestimated the gravity of the problem – not so much the economics of it, or in terms of the more recent data coming in, but the stunning lack of political response:

“Do the politicians understand just how difficult it could be? Just how devastating 4, 5, 6 degrees centigrade would be? I think not yet. Looking back, the Stern review underestimated the risks and underestimated the damage from inaction.”

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COP15 – The countdown to Copenhagen 09

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COP15 – the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference is being billed as the last chance governments have to get their environment policy right. Over the next 12 months we will be running a series of features with people in politics, environment and the arts, as a countdown to Copenhagen 09. First, though, a brief word with the young design team from Denmark who created COP15’s new logo. Why does a logo matter when you’re trying to save the world?