This week, Avaaz has been running an advertisement on Washington DC television spoofing ExxonMobil's hypnotically disingenuous ad campaign—you know, the ones where friendly, nerdy people tell you how their work at ExxonMobil will help the environment.

The message of our ad was simple: while ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel companies now talk a good game on climate change, they're still lobbying full-force to prevent a strong global climate treaty. The kind of treaty Obama can help create—if the rest of us give him the political support to do it.

Well, yesterday, ExxonMobil responded to the ad. Apparently, they were mystified.

"They seem to be critical of our desire to communicate our positions on climate change, which we don't understand," said Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers.

Mr. Jeffers, sorry for confusing you! Perhaps we could be more clear. We have no problem with ExxonMobil's "desire to communicate." It's ExxonMobil's positions on climate change that we're critical of... and the fact that the communications in question don't actually communicate them.

In fact, if ExxonMobil is really eager to communicate their positions on climate change, then they should be welcoming our ad! Take a look:

The truth is, Exxon spent at least $29 million on lobbying in the US last year alone—and is on track to spend even more on a lobbying and advertising blitz this year. While ExxonMobil might not be funding climate denialists to distort science any longer (it lost that battle), it hasn't switched sides in the climate wars. Now, they're just wearing the other side's uniforms. ExxonMobil's strategy is to divert the growing momentum for effective global and national policies by greenwashing itself—and lobbying hard behind the scenes.

Most of their ads showcase research projects or promote the virtues of personal energy efficiency. Unmentioned by the $400-billion-plus company is the fact that their entire business model relies on continually increasing the burning of carbon-based fuels. Watching the ads, a conscientious consumer could conclude that ExxonMobil is to clean energy what the Gates Foundation is to global health. The more appropriate analogy would be Phillip Morris.

(Sometimes the ads are misleading—not just in their underlying message—but also in their particulars: Last year, Britain's Advertising Standards Authority banned an ExxonMobil ad for claiming, falsely, that liquefied natural gas was "one of the world's cleanest fuels.")

ExxonMobil's feel-good ads showcasing hydrogen fuel cells, lithium-ion batteries, and tire technology aren't about "communicating their positions on climate change." They're about calming down a public that has become rightly infuriated by fossil-fuel industry obstructionism of real climate action. And they're about distracting attention from ExxonMobil's own lobbying against the cap-and-trade legislation and binding global treaty that the world urgently needs.

We suspect that, in fact, Mr. Jeffers understands this all too well.

Today, Coldy 3000 took one step closer towards existence.

In just 4 days, over 123,000 Avaaz members from around the world answered Coldy's call and signed a petition urging the European Union to adopt strong efficiency standards for energy-using products. Today, Avaaz Campaign Director, Luis Morago, along with partners from Friends of the Earth Europe, Natuur en Milieu and some penguins delivered the petition straight to European decision makers -- specifically the Head of Unit of Transparency and Relations with Stakeholders, Gerard Legris, on behalf of President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso. The delivery was a great success with plenty of interest from the press and many bystanders stayed, charmed by the penguins' music and dance. In the coming days, we will also be delivering the petition to high representatives of the Czech Presidency of the EU in Brussels.

But above all else, we're having an impact! Sources tell us that the debate is getting hotter and much more political, thanks largely to increased pressure from campaigning organisations. Stay tuned to the Avaaz blog for more info!

Here is a video of today's event, and check out the photos beneath!

Dear friends,

Delegates from every country in the world have launched marathon negotiations to decide humanity's response to climate change, culminating in a landmark treaty this December. These negotiations will affect billions of lives -- they are simply too important to leave to bureaucrats and diplomats.

We need to build a public consensus for a strong, fair climate deal, and we’ll need strong allies to help us do that. This weekend, a group of international moral leaders, including Kofi Annan, Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson, Wangari Maathai and Rajendra Pachauri, are meeting to discuss the ethics of climate justice -- they've asked Avaaz members to send them questions to start this conversation.

These leaders have agreed to consider and discuss at least five of our questions -- follow this link now to propose your own question, or vote for your favourites which other Avaaz members have posted. We've only contacted a small group of active Avaaz members, so please do join in the discussion:

http://cdn.avaaz.org/en/climate_justice_forum/

You'll be able to watch the event, webcast live from South Africa, at the same link on Saturday, 28th February from [Noon GMT] -- or see a video of it thereafter. The principles discussed at this event could help to inform our climate campaigning over the next year, as well as the efforts of Kofi Annan and his fellow leaders.

Citizens around the world need to draw a line in the sand for our leaders before it’s too late -- ensuring that the world's response to climate change is grounded in basic principles which are strong and fair. There’s already a great debate gathering about climate justice: how rights and responsibilities can be fairly shared, whether and how poorer countries must reduce their emissions, what finance and technology the richer countries should provide, and how we can minimise the growing risk of catastrophe and ensure that everyone does their part.

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, former Irish President Mary Robinson, Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai, and Rajendra Pachauri (chair of the scientists’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) are globally respected voices and ambassadors for change. By engaging in debate with them, we can start to build a public consensus on the deal we need. Let’s ask our questions now at this link:

http://cdn.avaaz.org/en/climate_justice_forum/

Thanks for being part of the global climate conversation!

With warm regards,

Ben, Ricken, Luis, Iain, Milena, Paul, Veronique, Graziela, Pascal, Paula, Alice, Brett -- and the entire Avaaz team

More information about the forum can be found here:
www.ghf-geneva.org/index.cfm?uNewsID=151

------------------------------------

During the closing days of a two-week critical UN climate change conference in Poland, the world was in danger of losing momentum towards a new global climate treaty. Simultaneous climate discussions at the European Union in Brussels had seen Germany attempt to block progress and seek concessions for its heavily polluting industries -- a move that divided Europe and undermined European leadership at the UN talks.

Former climate hero, German Chancellor Merkel, appeared to have turned climate villain. The reason: a combination of the economic crisis and a 2009 election year meant that Merkel was seriously feeling the pressure to cut spending on environmental programs. With the voice of German industry growing louder in Merkel's ear, it was clear that German public opinion needed as say as well. Avaaz commissioned independent national polls in Germany (as well as in Poland and Italy, two other countries blocking progress). The polls asked a simple question, do voters think there is a compromise between environmental protection and climate action. On the final day of the UN talks in the Poland, Avaaz published the polling results and a message to Merkel as a 3-page series of ads in the official conference newspaper the Gazeta Wyborcza. You can see the ads below, and then click here to read more about our climate campaigning during these December meetings.

Big news out of Germany--last week, 200,000 of us succeeded in shifting the position of Europe's biggest polluter, and helped salvage the climate talks!

It's far from a total victory--the European Union's climate package is still riddled with loopholes, and the UN negotiators put off the biggest decisions to next year. But because of a massive wave of global people power, things are much better than they would have been.

Here's what happened. After years of climate leadership, German chancellor Angela Merkel sharply reversed course in recent weeks--threatening to derail the entire European climate plan if German coal plants and heavy industries weren't granted free pollution permits. If Germany, Europe's biggest climate polluter, had had its way, the EU agreement would have been toothless--and European leadership in the global talks would have collapsed.

Avaaz learned about the threat--and swung into action. Look at what we did in ten days:

Photo credits: Robert VanWaarden, David Wargert

• More than 175,000 of us from over 192 countries signed a climate petition to Merkel and other European leaders that was hand-delivered to German and EU diplomats in Brussels, to key Members of the European Parliament in Poznan--and to an Avaaz member in a Merkel costume in front of a sea of German TV cameras in Warsaw as Merkel was discussing climate change behind closed doors a few metres away!
  

• Small donations by more than 450 Avaaz members paid for independent opinion polls in Germany, Italy, and Poland--and uncovered that huge majorities in each country believed their governments should take strong climate action despite the economic downturn. Moreover, far more citizens in each country believed that fighting climate would help the economy than thought it would hurt. The polls were circulated publicly--and privately, in meetings with key German ministers.
  

• Avaaz co-hosted ten daily "Fossil of the Day Award" ceremonies during the UN climate talks, presenting a mock prize to the countries who did the most to obstruct progress. Awarded based on a vote of international green groups--and made possible by a team of local Avaaz volunteers in Poznan, Poland and the international youth delegation--the prize sparked bursts of press coverage in Germany, Italy, and Poland when each country won... not to mention outrage and perhaps some soul-searching from those countries' negotiators.
  

• In the closing days of the EU talks, more than 40,000 Avaaz members sent personal messages about climate change through the public-comment page on Chancellor Merkel's own website, a flood of impassioned appeals from citizens across the planet.
  

• Last Friday, Avaaz took out a four-page advertisement in the Polish newspaper distributed at the UN talks. Facilitated by local Avaaz volunteers and paid for by member donations, the ad used a parody of Star Wars to ask if "Angie Skywalker" was being tempted by the Dark Side to become a climate "Darth Merkel"--and delivered our petition and poll results in a spectacular fashion that was covered on multiple German television networks and around the world.
  
  

We learned that the Darth Merkel ad was waved at the German delegation's morning meeting at the UN talks--and when an Avaaz staffer tried to hand a copy of it to Germany's environment minister, he said he already had one.

The German campaign was an Avaaz-style surge of people-powered political pressure: rapid, targeted, global, and, we now know, effective. Sources close to the Chancellor's office tell us that the German leadership were stunned by the intensity of global reaction to their attempt to backtrack on climate policy. They hadn't anticipated anything close to it. Throughout, Avaaz worked closely with partner groups in Germany, who organized protests and launched ad campaigns throughout Germany--creating a "pressure sandwich" of international and domestic outcry. When the final EU deal was struck, Germany backed down on one of its most damaging demands--the free pollution permits and subsidies for new coal plants.

It wouldn't have happened without us--all of us around the world, whether we waved signs in freezing Warsaw or clicked an online petition from home.

In one sense, it's a small victory in a huge fight. The EU climate package is deeply flawed, and will have to be radically strengthened if Europe is to do its part. And Europe is just one component of the global agreement that will have to be struck in Copenhagen next year--at the end of a process full of pitfalls and obstacles.

But in another sense--as with our climate victories a year ago with Canada and Japan--it's a reminder to all of us that these enormous global problems aren't really so far out of our reach. That political leaders need to be led by regular people. That when enough of us join together, we can change the world.

For the last two years, the Harper government has done everything it could to wreck the world's efforts to fix climate change. At UN negotiations, Canada has been voted the WORST country in the world on climate change 3 times! Now, it's election time, and we have to make sure that Harper pays the price at the polls for his reckless and un-Canadian climate policy.

Avaaz is targeting 3 of Harper's top lieutenants (including Environment Minister John Baird) where it will hurt them the most -- at the grass roots. Together, we will try to stop their re-election with ad campaigns telling their constituents just how irresponsible they've been in the name of all Canadians. We'll beat them not by supporting any one party, but by appealing to all voters to help save the planet by voting for the candidate most likely to beat the Conservatives. Below, are the first two of a series of ads we will be running. To help launch the campaign and run the ads, please click here to donate!

This ad ran in glorious full-page colour in all editions of today's Financial Times -- sponsored and endorsed by Avaaz members in 166 countries. (Click here for a print-ready huge PDF.)

Here are some links to learn more about the Bali and Australia stories:

BALI

...and the Asahi Shimbun article about its impact:

AUSTRALIA

...and also have a look at GetUp's "Be Climate Clever-Er" ad, broadcast in a huge nationwide push:

...all of which sets the stage for the new Avaaz "Hello Kiddies" ad!

*** Sent by Avaaz supporter and volunteer Duncan Maru ***

Climate change will certainly be one of the top agenda items at the G8 summit during the first week of July, but the real question is whether the G8 leaders will actually take decisive action to stop global warming. Leaders from each of the G8 countries have frittered away most of the momentum gained in 2007 and continue to avoid the pressing need to make binding, national targets to decrease carbon emissions. All the important innovations and ideas aimed at reducing global warming--from wind energy to fuel efficiency to changes in consumer behavior --can not be effective unless countries make the firm, immediate, political commitment to reduce carbon emissions. This meeting, a prelude to the broader G8 summit next month, marks a critical juncture at which the world's most powerful-- and polluting-- countries can start to take leadership on the issue.

Host country Japan plays a particularly central role here, and there is some reason for optimism. A recent Pew global attitudes poll showed that the 66% of Japanese citizens are concerned "a great deal" about global warming--the highest total among the countries surveyed (the same figure was 19% in the United States and 26% in Britain) [1]. Within the government, the Environment Ministry supports mandatory, national caps on carbon emissions. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, however, opposes these critical policy changes [2]. Japan's Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda, is the key to shaping his administration's ultimate stance on it, and it looks presently as if he is leaning the wrong way -- on the side of the Trade Ministry [3]. Avaaz members need to show Mr. Fukuda that the global community supports the Japanese public and his colleagues in the Environment Ministry in trying to achieve aggressive policy action in Japan.

Why is this important? Most Avaaz members are well aware of the pressing need for action on climate change, but let's briefly recap. To avoid a greater than 2 degrees Celsius increase in global temperatures over pre-industrial levels, the scientific consensus is that greenhouse gases must be limited to 450 parts per million carbon dioxide over the next century [4]-- though some argue that even this figure may be too high and it should be as low as 350 ppm [5]. To achieve this and avoid environmental catastrophe, action must be taken swiftly [6,7]. Countries would need to reach a 60-80% reduction in carbon emissions over 1990 levels by 2050 [4]. An important graphic from the journal Science, showing clearly that if we continue to fail to act (blue line), the rate of carbon emissions we will need to achieve the desired greenhouse gas level may be out of reach [4]:

References

1. Pew Global Attitudes Project. "America's Image Slips, But Allies Share U.S. Concerns Over Iran, Hamas. No Global Warming Alarm in the U.S., China." http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=252.

2. "Voluntary, then mandatory path for CO2 scheme-Japan." Reuters, October 5, 2007. http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKT14136220071005.

3. Arita, Eriko. "Are Japan's leaders merely readers on climate change?." Japan Times, March 20, 2008. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fe20080320a1.html.

4. Doniger, David D., Antonia V. Herzog, and Daniel A. Lashof. "CLIMATE CHANGE: An Ambitious, Centrist Approach to Global Warming Legislation." Science 314, no. 5800 (November 3, 2006): 764-765. doi:10.1126/science.1131558. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/314/5800/764.

5. Hansen, J., M. Sato, P. Kharecha, D. Beerling, V. Masson-Delmotte, M. Pagani, et al. "Target atmospheric CO2: Where should humanity aim?." 0804.1126 (April 7, 2008). http://arxiv.org/abs/0804.1126.

6. O'Neill, Brian C., and Michael Oppenheimer. "CLIMATE CHANGE: Dangerous Climate Impacts and the Kyoto Protocol." Science 296, no. 5575 (June 14, 2002): 1971-1972. doi:10.1126/science.1071238. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/296/5575/1971?ijkey=jVqsttm/anqYc&keytype=ref&siteid=sci.

7. Wigley, T. M. L. "The Climate Change Commitment." Science 307, no. 5716 (March 18, 2005): 1766-1769. doi:10.1126/science.1103934. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/307/5716/1766.

8. "The Bali Roadmap: main points." http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22932645-2,00.html.

9. Griscom, Amanda. "Involuntarism: Study finds mandatory caps work better than voluntary programs to limit pollution." Grist.org, April 21, 2008. http://www.grist.org/news/muck/2004/04/21/griscom-emissions/.

10. Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies, Natural Resources Defense Council, Public Service Enterprise Group. "Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Generation Owners in the U.S.." http://www.ceres.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=595&srcid=592.

11. Rivers, Nic, and Mark Jaccard. " Canada's efforts towards greenhouse gas emission reduction: a case study on the limits of voluntary action and subsidies." International Journal of Global Energy Issues 23, no. 4: 307-23.

12. Chris Fujioka, "Japan puts off interim C02 goal," Reuters, June 9, 2009, http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUST31826220080609?sp=true.

As part of our climate campaigning around the Bali climate meeting, Canada's position at negotiations was also targeted with a national ad campaign. The campaign was accompanied by one of the largest online actions in Canadian history -- 113,000 signers in 3 days! After Prime Minister Harper reversed his position on emissions targets, opposition leader Stephane Dion filmed a message to Avaaz exclaiming: "Avaaz members, reversing the bad policy of a government, this is great... join Avaaz, because it works!"






Here's a scan of the ad appearing in the paper:

During major UN climate negotiations in December 2007, more than 180,000 Avaaz members added their name to a global emergency petition calling on Bush, Harper, and Fukuda to get on the right side of history and support emissions cuts. We delivered these signatures in a full page ad in the special conference section of the Jakarta Post which was distributed to every delegate in Bali. The ad caused a stir at the conference and was widely reported in the media - it told the rest of the world to stand firm against the climate wreckers.

Every minute counts -

It is 1:19 am in Bali, Indonesia. There are only a few hours left in these historic climate negotiations but Canada is blocking an emerging agreement. We can't let it happen. We need to call the Prime Minister's Office before 6pm EST - the sooner the better.

The problem:

The talks here are stalled. In an ad-hoc working group of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, only one country is holding out against citing the 25-40% reductions (from 1990 levels) in greenhouse gases that industrialized countries need to make before 2020. That country is Canada. They are preventing inclusion of the targets that the science demands for the survival of the planet. They are watering down this potentially historic pact.

How we solve it:

The situation is critical, and it's literally a matter of hours. The Bali agreement could be a step towards stopping dangerous climate change. But if Canada prevents strong targets from being included in the negotiations, we'll have few concrete results from the work we have been agonizing over for two weeks. Help us get Canada to stop blocking the talks!

If we can put enough pressure on the Canadian Government Delegation here in Bali, they may just change their behaviour. They cannot get away with their tactics if they know their citizens are paying attention.

Call. It will make a real difference. It will make real action on climate change a priority for this government. We can turn the tide in Bali.

What you do:

If you can afford it, call the direct cell phone of the Prime Minister's representative here in Bali. His name is Dimitri Soudas, and you can reach him on 011 62 85 857 032 037. He needs to hear what Canadians really think.

Or, if the long distances charges are a bit much, call the Prime Minister's Office at 613 992 4211, and ask to be connected to Mr. Soudas, or the Prime Minister himself.

What you say:

Canada needs to stop blocking the negotiations, so the world can make real progress in Bali!

For more background information, go to www.climateactionnetwork.ca

This request is brought to you by people sitting at their computers at 2 am in Bali - mostly members of the Canadian Youth Delegation (www.cydbali.org), a project of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, working alongside the Climate Action Network Canada. Please distribute widely.

On Sunday, Avaaz members and an international coalition of youth, along with local and national NGOs, coordinated a striking aerial art project on Kuta Beach in Bali. Artist John Quigley organized the crowd of over a 500 people to arrange their bodies to form an image of the world being washed away by the rising tide. Above this image, more people spelled the words "Act Now," a message designed to target the UN Climate Negotiations at the beginning of their critical second week.

It was an extraordinary day in a beautiful location that is under tremendous threat from climate change impacts. When photographed from above, the image depicts half of the world awash in rising ocean waters, symbolizing how the nations representing the Global South will suffer the most severe impacts of climate change. The activists sponsoring the event are calling for a Bali breakthrough that would trigger the momentum needed for resolving the climate crisis. A successful Bali Mandate from this year's UN Conference would ensure there is no gap between commitment periods and that actionable items and processes are defined in Bali to work towards a 2009 consensus focused on strong and binding global emissions targets.

The action is another example of how Avaaz members around the planet are making sure that the governments meeting in Bali know that the world is watching and waiting for action to prevent a climate crisis. Below, is a photo of the event courtesy of our friends Step it Up.

Click here to see an enlarged version of the photo.

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//071208/ids_photos_wl/r1693503550.jpg/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7134060.stm

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//071208/ids_photos_wl/r1693503550.jpg/

Well over half a million people have now signed up to the virtual march on Bali. But there's so much more we can do to send message to the UN climate negotiations!

On December 8th, Avaaz and the partners of the Global Climate Campaign will be attending marches around the world to demand bold action on climate change. It's a great opportunity to get out of the house and meet other people who care about the climate. To get involved check out this site, where you can use the map sign up to attend an climate march or, event host one of your own!

As Avaaz members around the world push their own governments on climate change, there's good news from the US: a powerful climate movement is sweeping across the United States.

Last April, our friends at Step It Up helped ordinary Americans arrange 1400 rallies urging the government to step up their responses to climate change. Now, Step it Up are back, building the US climate movement even further by pushing for politicians to turn words into action. On November 3, a year before the next election, they are asking people to organize or attend rallies in their communities. This time, they will invite US lawmakers to attend events and see for themselves what the polls are already saying: 86% of US citizens want action on climate change.

This video gives a sense of what happened in April. We're hoping the push this weekend will be even more powerful!

Avaaz members will be adding their global voice to the movement on Monday, as Step It Up culminates in a youth-led conference in Washington DC called PowerShift . On Monday, thousands of US youth climate activists will meet members of Congress on the steps of the Capitol--and they've invited Avaaz to present our global climate petition to Congressional leaders. Then the activists will fan out to lobby their members of Congress one-on-one--and to hand-deliver messages from Avaaz members around the world urging US action on climate change.

Let's hear it for Step It Up and PowerShift!

We've received a number of messages asking for more details about Bush's climate plan--the one he is rallying polluters around the world to support. The core of the issue is that Bush opposes the most critical and effective element of a global treaty: emissions targets that actually count. That's why Bush has mounted a push for a process outside of the UN negotiations. In fact, he's just invited the world's most polluting countries to a summit this September to discuss his toothless approach to climate change:

The Bush administration unveiled plans on Friday for global warming talks next month that will bring together the world's biggest polluters to seek agreement on reducing greenhouse gases. ... But a senior U.S. official said the administration stood by its opposition to mandatory economy-wide caps. Many climate experts say that without binding U.S. emissions targets, the chance for significant progress is limited.

His push for a voluntary, optional system has been reported on for some time, as here:

The United States, one of the world's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, made no statement at Tuesday's sessions, and has repeatedly rejected firm targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, maintaining this would hurt the US economy.

Instead, Washington has called for voluntary rather than mandatory emissions cuts.

and here:

G8: Bush Proposes Talks on Voluntary Global Goal for Greenhouse Gases

But the thing that really got Avaaz moving on this was word from high-level government officials outside the US that they'd been targeted by the Bush administration, and that Bush and Howard have begun an intense pressure campaign to stop a binding post-Kyoto treaty from going through. Unfortunately, these officials spoke to us on the condition that we not give their names, due to their sensitive role in negotiations. We're working to try to get the full story out through the media. As soon as we do so, rest assured that we'll let our members know about it!

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Music by/Música por/Musique par: HEPNOVA

Whoopee - the party planning kits are here!

You can download and print your kits (recycled paper please...) by clicking the PDF link below:

http://www.avaaz.org/media/AvaazLiveEarthPartyKit_EN.pdf

By Thursday, Galit and Graziela should have Spanish, Portuguese and French versions ready, we will post those here as well so check back then if you'd prefer that. Major thanks to our friends at Icount for their help (and handy climate diagram).

All that remains to be said is good luck on Saturday, I hope all our events are a roaring success and that, together, we truly take the first step towards building a massive global movement to stop the climate crisis!

We've just been looking through the list of Avaaz Live Earth parties and it's unbelievably exciting! We're got over 2500 events taking place in 114 countries around the world. It's a fantastic response, and it keeps on growing!

When July 7th comes, we'll all be part of the biggest de-centralised global event ever organized. Live Earth is connecting 2 billion people around the world in a message of solidarity that will join us together to stop a climate catastrophe before its too late. It's serious stuff, but the parties are going to be fun! There will be actions to take, a special message from Al Gore and lots more.

Just browsing through the venues for Avaaz's first global virtual party is really exciting...the most common place is "our house", but see below - everyone, from the President of Sierra Leone to Bosnian clubbers, is going to be involved! Here's a snapshot of some of the events taking place:

* Iligan City, Philippines - Uling & Ice Restaurant - Be a part to Combat Climate Crisis

* Freetown, Sierra Leone - Young Leaders of Sierra Leone Avaaz Live Earth party at China Friendship House, with the President of Sierra Leone, youth groups and diplomats in attendance

* San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico - Centro Cultural Alternativo "La Fuente" - Amigos del Planeto Vivo ("bike ride, organic buffet, talks, live concert and meditation")

* Prnjavor, Bosnia-Herzegovina - "Little Europe for Big Earth" at the Absolut Club, hosted by Opti Myst

* Ohio, USA - "The World is One Country" at the Dayton International Peace Museum, "join with other earthlings, exhibits, workshops and food"

* Cotonou, Benin - Salle des fetes - "Pour le Salut de notre planete", with projections, games for children and adults, and theatre

* Toronto, Canada - Cabbagetown Community Party at the Union Yoga Center - "Together, we'll make 7/7/07 a turning point in solving the climate crisis!"

We're hearing from people arranging some incredible events for Avaaz's Live Earth parties, all around the world. Before July 7th, however, we've got lots of preparation and planning to do. We've got a few suggestions for getting ready over the next few days - you can get started on some now and Avaaz will be in touch with more details about other elements of the party next week.

One thing you can certainly get started on straight away is inviting your friends - more people means more people power, and more fun! You could Live Earth's invite tool here: http://www.joinliveearth.org/page/event/myevents

or just send people an ordinary e-mail from your usual address, if you think they'd prefer that.

Second, on Monday morning, please download (and if you print it, use recycled paper!) the official Avaaz party planning kit. I'm going to be putting it together over the weekend, so there's only a few days to wait until it will be available on the website!

Thirdly, on Tuesday or Wednesday next week, get your party shopping done - hats, balloons, party food - to make sure you've got plenty to keep people feeling festive on the day.

After that, it's party time! Many people have been asking what time the events start. Live Earth series will kick off in Sydney, at 11am on Saturday July 7th. The last show to begin will be New York, at 1pm. Pick the event closest to you and plan your party around that - allowing for local time differences. The official page detailing how to view or listen to the concerts is constantly being updated, you can view it here: http://www.liveearth.org/event.php#broadcast

Most importantly, don't forget that you can e-mail the Avaaz team at any time to find out more about the parties or to get help with any problems, at liveearth@avaaz.org

"Climate train departed Heiligendamm. Next stop: Live Earth." (thanks to Inel!)

Two billion people will watch the Live Earth concerts for a climate in crisis next Saturday, 07.07.2007. It's an opportunity too big to miss.

Nothing this big is ever perfect. A lot of us were asking whether it would lead to anything, would it just be a flash in the pan, a missed opportunity - or could it give impetus to the sustainable global movement we need, not just for a day but for the years and decades to come?

You don't know until you try. So Avaaz started talking to Al Gore and other Live Earth organizers. And it turned out the answer is YES -- this could really help. But only if we seize the opportunity, and ground all that energy and attention into relationships and action.

Here, for starters, is the invitation Al Gore has sent us - all of us in Avaaz. He says our G8 organising amazed and inspired him.

If we take this invitation up, we can make next Saturday a day that belongs first and foremost to us - not to the corporations or the politicians, but the people of the world. What do you think?

Dear friends,

On July 7, more than 2 billion people will join together to watch the Live Earth concerts and demonstrate to our leaders that the time has come to solve the climate crisis.

Wherever you are that day, you can be part of the action. At events around the world, we are going to convert the potential energy of Live Earth into a global campaign. In thousands of homes, people will invite their friends and neighbors to watch the concerts and join the movement.

In order to make these parties truly global, I've decided to partner with Avaaz. The 385,000 Avaaz members from every corner of the world, who mobilized to pressure the G8, amazed me. Avaaz's work to give ordinary people around the world a powerful voice in global decision-making is inspiring, and your organizing around the G8 Summit made a significant difference. Now we have the opportunity to expand on that great effort.

Will you commit to organize a Live Earth house party on July 7th? The parties will be fun--and they'll make a difference. If you've got a few friends and a TV, you've got everything you need.

7.7.07 will be the one opportunity we have to bring millions of new people into our campaign. We cannot let it slip by.

If you host a Live Earth Party, you'll have access to a special video I've made to urge people to take action. Together, I know we can convince everyone attending these parties to get involved. In a few short hours, you and your friends can watch the concert, take action -- and, at the end, upload a photo from your event that will be accessible to others taking part throughout the world. Through these parties, we can reach more people than ever before and build a truly global movement to solve the climate crisis.

Holding a Live Earth party is easy. All you need is a television and a few friends. We will provide you with all the tools you need - Sign up as a party host here.

Live Earth will be a unique moment when the uninterrupted and undivided attention of the world will be focused on the climate crisis. I need your help to make it count.

Thank you,

Al Gore

I'm having a meet-up next Saturday. Are you?

(our comments system is currently broken, but email comments@avaaz.org and we'll try to put them up for you!)

365,000 of us stood together at the G8 summit to save our planet. 200,000 of us added our voices to the global chorus in the last 10 days alone.

Gazing out on the Baltic, amazed, tired and humbled, taking a deep breath. You're here too.

Overhead, the police helicopters still circle. Down on the beach, the media are getting massages. Beyond the fence, clowns and water cannons. It's a circus, but the power is only too real.

We can't stop now. The coming weeks and months are crucial. In the summit chambers, the G8+5 polluters have agreed on the global climate talks we demanded - but the kind of deal is still up for grabs. Will it be enough, fast enough?

Just in the last few days, Europe, Japan and Canada started to converge on a global goal of 50% or greater emissions cuts by 2050. In the end the US was the only G7 dissenter, Russia standing on the sidelines. So the summit's tortured language speaks of "substantial emissions cuts" and goals without numbers. But the process we demanded - UN talks in Bali this December - looks strengthened.

President Bush only conceded global warming might be real in January. But this week his government felt compelled to shift, even if it's trying wrecking tactics too.

That sabotage can't succeed if we the people stand up for the right path, all around the globe. Bush is increasingly isolated even in his own country - the American public and the US Congress are coming behind bold action on climate change.

And he's isolated in the world - he can't rely on other big polluters like China and Brazil, now moving faster than expected toward the climate savers' camp. The "plus 5" big developing countries said they wanted a stronger statement from the G8. A big international poll just showed 65% of Chinese people and 62% of Indians support requiring their governments to act as well.

It's more than watch this space. Let's fill this space. To stop climate catastrophe, we need a massive global effort from every corner of the world over the coming weeks, months and years.

Let's become unstoppable. We won't stop now - let's grow our petition even further before December's summit.

365,000 and counting...

You can hear Ricken Patel talking about Avaaz's G8 climate campaign on the global affairs magazine openDemocracy's podcast here.

Next climate stop: Live Earth. 7th July, 2007.

(it was lovely to meet face-to-face Avaaz members who made it to Rostock from Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, France, China, New Zealand, the UK and the US! I can't wait to meet more of us...)

Hi everyone.
I'm blogging to you from the German town of Kuhlungsborn, on this the first day of the G8 Summit. I'm sitting on the upper deck of the G8 media center staring out towards the Baltic Sea. It's really quite pleasant, if you can shut out the noise of the G8 leaders arriving in their helicopters. (The Japanese PM just arrived about 20 mins ago!)

It's been an odd couple of weeks. The media speculation of the Bush vs. Merkel climate stand off - where will the other leaders fall? - was exhausting to say the least. Nevertheless we stayed the course and it seems to have paid off. It currently seems that Bush will either be isolated, or converted when the G8 leaders discuss climate change tomorrow afternoon. Let us pray that the official G8 magazine is no indication of what's to follow. On the first page there is a welcome letter from Merkel where she says that the key question for the G8 is "how can we sustainably preserve the natural resources of out planet?": i.e. how can we insure climate change doesn't ruin us. This leaves me with a warm fuzzy feeling. But then SHOCK HORROR, I turn the page to find an article that begins: "At a glance it would be easy to dismiss the private jet industry as nothing more than a supplier of decadent conceits for the benefit of the rich and famous." I couldn't agree more by the way. However, the article continues: "it would be a big mistake to see it that way. The industry is far larger than it's glitzy fringe, and far more essential to the global economy." Ummm......anyone else see the hypocrisy here?

Whatever the outcome of tomorrow, one amazing feat has taken place in the past two weeks: the creation of the biggest global climate petition in the world. I'd like to thank each and everyone of the 333,333 of you for supporting Avaaz on this critical issue. This is not the end, it is merely the beginning - lets see just how big we can make this. Please keep spreading the word about our climate campaign! From Kuhlungsborn, Tschuess!!

It's crunch time: the G8+5 meet this week in Heiligendamm. The energy in Germany is electric. Every few hours, new reports come in as governments manoeuvre.

The good news about Bush's proposals? He's up for a new deal and a global goal. But all the details are a step back. Is it a wrecking tactic? At first there was confusion. But when we met with top G8 negotiator Bernd Pfaffenbach last week, he defined Germany's negotiating "red lines" in a way which left no doubt they support our campaign demands, and promised to take our petition into the summit.

Over the weekend, Angela Merkel followed through on Pfaffenbach's promise and the Brits followed suit. Now we're in touch with top officials from several G8+5 countries, who are following our campaign as they decide on a strong stand. We're shooting for a third of a million signatures, to make summit leaders think twice before they decide on Friday.

It's not just the Europeans - President Lula of Brazil just rejected any process outside the UN, saying, "We cannot let voluntarism override multilateralism... for God's sake, let's take care of planet earth." Bravo Lula!

China too supported the UN, and started to move in the right direction. While saying it expects the previously-industrialised countries to shoulder the burden of their previous emissions (and many would agree), there are some signs it'll do its part after Kyoto.

The US too looks set to come onboard in 2009, the deadline for the new climate talks to reach agreement - there's a sea-change there, and Congress and the US people are way ahead of Bush. Even if he's left on the sidelines, it won't be the end.

But other leaders need to stiffen their nerve - and they need to hear our voices rising and ringing in their ears! So if you haven't already, click here to sign and tell all your friends...

(For more background, visit the FT's coverage here.)

Wonderful - that's how I would describe our day! I know most of you will have been following the events in the media, picturing scenes of chaos. But it was nothing of the sort. Close to 100,000 people of all shapes, sizes, ages, nationalities and political inclinations showed up to march in Rostock. A very small minority can't wreck that hugely positive and peaceful vibe we found.

The immediate build up to these events is always a frantic time. With team members coming from New York and London, supporters from Poland, Spain and Denmark, banners from Switzerland and t-shirts from Hamburg there were a lot of things that could have gone wrong. Fortunately it all came together, despite Galit and me suffering from severe jet lag, our photographer being rushed to hospital and Hannah standing on a shard of glass!

On the morning of the march we met with our banner and T-shirt men Pascal, Miguel and Tino. We were delighted - the banners and t-shirts came out perfectly. Joined by Paul, straight from his petition delivery in Berlin, we moseyed over to the rendezvous place. We successfully rendezvoused with our volunteers, including Mike from New Zealand! Galit then used her amazing charm to recruit a few more: two German teenagers and their parents; Germans of all ages and others from France, Bulgaria, Denmark, Norway, Peru, Switzerland and China. So we were truly a global gathering: 100 Avaaz T-shirts went like hotcakes, to old and young alike:

Thanks to Greenpeace Germany we had a fantastic position right at the head of the climate march, that gave photographers plenty of room to keep dashing in and taking pictures of our multi-lingual banners. The banners looked incredible - having them handmade by Pascal and Miguel's Swiss art collective was really good and we were one of the only organisations with banners in more languages than German and English.

With the Avaaz march ready to set off the only thing left to do was to pray that it wouldn't rain. The weather in Rostock was grey, windy and miserable, but that would not deter us! We set off. The march route was 5km we completed the whole route making lots of noise along the way. At the end, we got to the rally in time to hear the speeches and enjoy a peaceful few hours down by Rostock harbour. Much fun was had by all.

There is a lot riding on the events of the coming week, but I'm feeling good about it. Together we've created the biggest global climate change petition ever, with hundreds of thousands of us coming together from 193 countries. We've been heard and seen by the politicians. If they choose to ignore us they do so at their own peril! Thank you to all of you who have supported the petition. And an extra-special thanks to those that braved the wind and cold to march with us in Rostock!

Over 265,000 of us are being heard at the G8+5 summit. Here's a picture of German Avaaz member Ayla handing a box of petition signatures to Dr Bernd Pfaffenbach (German state minister, top G8 negotiator, Angela Merkel's special representative) -

That's me, Bernd Pfaffenbach, Ayla and Hans Verolme (WWF's global climate director - and Avaaz member!)

More photos below, or check out our Flickr account for hi-res.

The news came in a last-minute phone call - Germany's top negotiator wanted to PERSONALLY receive our climate petition before the summit begins. The Germans are hosting the G8, so they set the agenda - it was a golden opportunity to bring our challenge straight to the heart of the summit and make sure everyone knows the strength of global public opinion.

So we scrambled. The indomitable Ayla found a little Turkish copy shop in Kreuzberg, persuaded them to spend half the day finding 3200 sheets of recycled paper to print out the petition. We overloaded their computers. She picked up the last 90,000 signatures at midnight. I was up till 3am working on letters and briefing packs.

So we carted our three big boxes of signatures off to the ministry, and walked along the high empty halls, and through the strangely revolving doors - and if it had just been us, maybe we'd have started to feel small. But we were bringing the rest of you with us into those corridors of power, all 265,000 of us, filling the place up, and so we walked into Bernd's office feeling sure and unafraid.

A big guy, friendlier than he looks in these photos, but tough in a corner I reckon, with the head of his office Ulrich Benterbusch looking worried but pleased. Negotiator Bernd welcomed us warmly, saying

"Thank you for this important effort by your global community - we will make sure it is brought into our discussions at the summit."

Hmmm. Did he really mean it, or was he soft-soaping us? I challenged, "We bring the voices of 265,000 people from every country in the world - three in five of us coming from outside the G8 countries. Climate change isn't just an issue for the most industrialised countries - this is a global problem we all share - the poorest are set to suffer most, and it demands a global solution. You have to start negotiating this year, and to set binding emissions targets. But will our voices be heard at this summit? Can it bring us closer to the global deal we need?"

And do you know what? He sang our tune.

"Our red lines are that we will not abandon the UN process: we must have a firm mandate to start talks at the Bali summit in December, targeted on a post-Kyoto agreement in 2009, and we will not accept any attempts to weaken the scientific basis. We need to work toward concrete, binding goals."

Decoded, that's very good. He pounced on the boxes - three of them, full of over 3000 pages of signatures to the Avaaz climate petition. He wouldn't let go of them. He said, "Come and sit down. We have to talk."

So for twenty minutes, we talked very frankly about what is going on right now, and some of the dilemmas. The stakes are high. The politics are intense. A lot of what we discussed has to stay out of print for now. There's too much at stake. But you can probably guess most of it.

Luckily, we'd asked a couple of friends at WWF (the World Wildlife Fund) to come in with us. Between us we had a few important things to tell the negotiators. WWF really know their stuff on the policy, they're talking to the Chinese, the Japanese - but things are so tense in the run-up to this summit they hadn't got hold of the German negotiators for days, so we were glad to have them with us. (The WWF guys are Avaaz members too of course...)

I can tell you, the Avaaz team and NGOs like WWF are unimpressed by Bush's "plan". More delay, no sign of binding targets, the risk of an endrun round the global multilateral process, the poison pills lurking in the detail. In public, Herr Doktor Pfaffenbach would only say "We must see how the US proposals could be incorporated into this framework." Good: the world needs diplomats.

But we got a clear impression that Germany will stand firm against any poor compromise - and we urged them not to bend: the world stands with them. If they start this year, a deal in 2009 is possible... Courage is of the essence.

We talked about poverty and Africa too - he said, "Bob Geldof was on the phone yesterday. We know: we have to do something." Good: let's make it more than something. We weren't kidding with our G8 poverty campaign last month with Desmond Tutu and the Global Call to Action Against Poverty: the G8 are failing to meet their promises there, and thousands are dying by the day.

As we left the office, the boxes sat squarely on the minister's desk. Ready for Angela Merkel to bang them down on the table at a crucial moment in the discussions? Let's hope so. From the inside to the outside. Onward to Rostock. Our banners in eight languages have been handmade by Pascal's Swiss art collective. They're on a train right now.

I need some sleep - and a needle and thread. I tore my trousers outside the ministry and I didn't even notice.

I hope we're making a difference. We're doing everything we can with all of you to make this global voice heard... operation rescue earth, before it's too late.

And there's yet more to do. Have you signed the petition? Have you told everyone you know? As I'm posting this evening - 270,705 and counting. See you in Rostock - whether in the flesh, or on the net. We're bringing all 270,705 of us to the streets there too.

Hi folks,
I'm writing to you from a cold, hard, stone floor in Terminal 3 at JFK to let you know about the details for our march in Rostock. If you are intending to come to Rostock and make some noise for climate change you'll want to read this!

Saturday, June 2nd, Rostock, Germany:
12.00 Gathering
13.00 Start of the rally as march to the city center
16.00 Manifest with speeches
18.00 End with well known national and international bands / musicians

From 12pm Avaaz staff, members and volunteers will meet at "Schutower Kreuz" - click here for a map, [we thought it was "Schlutuper Kreuz" but latest info suggests Schutower is actually the name!], an intersection toward the edge of Rostock. You will be able to tell us apart by our Avaaz t-shirts and huge Avaaz banner. We will also be standing next to Greenpeace, so if you cannot find us look for them.

For those of you needing accommodation there is a campsite called Grenzschlachthof where most of the global movement are staying. There will be special tickets, valid for the protest days. Price for camping is € 5,- per person & night. For more information click here.

We're trying to collect volunteers' mobile /cell phone numbers, so that we can let people know by SMS if there has been a change of plan. Please email your number to g8@avaaz.org and we will reply with our staff numbers should you have to contact them directly for any reason.

As we've said before it's an open event, so feel free to bring your friends and family. I do hope to see you there.

For more information on the events of the G8 Summit check these links:
http://www.g8-germany.info/english/rally.htm.
http://www.wombles.org.uk/

The G8 starts next week. The media spotlight focuses on the battle of wills between Merkel and Bush. But something remarkable is happening.

Between Sunday and today, we sent out our email announcing the impending G8 Summit, stating the need for a massive global public outcry on climate change. The result has been phenomenal - Our petition has already grown from 167,000 to 220,000 as I write. That means that every hour, a thousand people are signing up to tell the G8 that the time for action is now! If we keep this up - and it's solely down to each of us signing and spreading the word to your friends - when Saturday comes and dozens of Avaaz members join Galit, Hannah and me in Rostock for our march we will be carrying banners on behalf of over a quarter of a million people from around the world.

The time is ripe for a G8 to lead a new agreement on climate change, preferably one that commits these countries - collectively responsible for over 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions - to binding emissions reductions and identifies the crucial role the will need to play in post-Kyoto discussions. A number of factors have brought us to this point:

The science is unanimous - climate change is real and will have devastating impacts

Corporations and economist agree - the cost of inaction far outweighs the cost of action

The public are more concerned than ever - in a recent poll 8 out of 10 Americans agreed with the need fo urgent action

We need to start post Kyoto negotiations this year - Kyoto expires in 2012, if we are to avoid a gap in commitment periods we need to start these complicated talks now.

The G8 are teetering on the brink of climate action. Sure, Bush is still resisting, but in the U.S. he's isolated and out of touch. Avaaz has long said that global public opinion is the new superpower. We launched our climate petition with the view that a massive global outcry will tip the balance. We're on the brink of finding out, but in the meantime we are truly in the middle of building the biggest global climate change petition, and I for one feel honoured to be part of it! Have you signed yet? Just click here...

Hi everyone,
On Saturday, June 2nd, Galit, Hannah and I will marching under the Avaaz banner at a massive global G8 demonstration in Rostock, Germany. In the eyes of the world's media, thousands of activist will be marching, each with a different message. We want to make sure that our message - G8 leader: Climate Action Now - is the loudest one there. That's why we're asking you - Avaaz supporters - to join us in Rostock.
At the moment the plan is pretty loose: assemble in Rostock, Germany at 12.30pm on Saturday, June 2nd. I will post more details as they come up. In the meantime, feel free to use the blog to share information!!!
Cheers!

May 4th saw the release of the third and final instalment of the 4th Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (PHEW! I'll just stick with IPCC from now on!).

The IPCC was established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations, the WMO and the UNEP. Every 5-6 years it brings together 1000s of scientists from different scientific backgrounds and hundreds of countries. Their role is to evaluate our knowledge and understanding of climate change in three working groups: Science; Adaptation; and Mitigation. Over several years they gather, assimilate and consolidate all our global climate data. Each group must then reach a consensus in the form of a 1000 page report on their topic. For those of you who ever experimented with a chemistry set, I'm sure a paper of this scale gives you the heebie jeebies. However, our brave scientists have an even more daunting hurdle to overcome before their results are aired.

A week before the publication date scientists meet with bureaucrats, technocrats and members of delegations from almost every country on earth. The frenzied debate begins and the 1000 page report is condensed into a 22 page summary that suits the individual economic, environmental and foreign policies of these countries, and can be understood by the likes of GWB.

2007 marks the first report in 6 years and boy is it significant. In the past, the IPCC has produced what some describe as spineless reports. Now, the IPCC have grown some teeth, and remember they are scientists discouraged from forays into politics. In the first two reports the IPCC laid our some disturbing findings:

Evidence of climate change is unequivocal
There is a less than 5% chance that current climate change is natural
There is a 90% chance that climate change is induced by man-made emissions from fossil fuels
If we continue as normal in the future (and by future they mean as soon as 2050) we will live in a significantly different world; increased diseases, droughts, famine and the displacement of tens of millions of people.

But it's not all doom and gloom, in true Disney style there's a happy ending. The 3rd paper on Mitigation concludes that: we can stop this problem without incurring any economic damage; all we need is political will. The IPCC are not the first to suggest this. Remember the Stern Review?

The real devastating aspect of climate change is that those of us alive in 50-80 years will be asked the question: why didn't you do anything? What will be your answer? I know I can claim that I took the easy steps: offset my flights, changed light bulbs and wrote letters to my politician. I've even gone a little further than most and given up beef. But I know that this isn't enough. So I look for other things I can do, recognizing that I don't want to spend the closing years of my life living under a blanket of guilt.

Fortunately, Avaaz gives us an opportunity to avoid the guilt complex by uniting people from around the world to tell our leaders to act. Our leaders work for us, why should we sit back and watch them pursue short term gains at the expense of our future? The IPCC is right. We have the technology NOW, what we need is a political framework that rewards climate friendly actions and punishes/discourages bad ones. We need to take politics back to the populous. And what better time to give politicians a clear message than at the G8 Summit, a meeting on June 6th between the leaders of the 8 richest countries in the world who also represent 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

In the build up to the G8 we'll be doing lots of campaigning on climate change, I hope you will continue to support us and spread the word! The more people we get on board the greater our chances of getting our politicians to act. I for one can't sit back any longer.

With the exception of a few die-hard non-believers, the real victory of the IPCC has been ending the scientific debate. Of course we still have a lot of discussion surrounding the intricacies of exact amounts (rate of change, concentrations etc.) and the best way to proceed. There are strong arguments to suggest that the IPCC has taken a rather conservative stance in their calculations. However, the future debates pale in insignificance when you consider that we've just been through 20 years of debating the very existence of climate change. The message emerging is clear: Climate change is real and the effects will be devastating unless our politicians act now. Who's down with IPCC? I am.

On April 14th, we had thousands of activists rallying across the U.S. for Step It Up 2007. Following this was the release of a report identifying climate change impacts as a threat to global security. Amazingly, this report came from the most unlikeliest of sources: 11 former U.S Generals! Then at the end of the week Knut, whose friends and family are already severely threatened by climate change, received a death threat!

There was also another event that occurred last week. Normally an event such as this would be at the top of media reporting. However, this was no normal week - the tragic events at Virginia Tech left a black cloud in the minds of people all around the globe, overshadowing any positive signs that we humans can create better world for ourselves. Yet out of the darkness comes a beacon of light: the first ever debate on climate change at the United Nations Security Council . The UNSC, is charged with maintaining peace and security amongst the world's nations. If the UNSC discuss climate change it means that climate change is no joke. This discussion means that we are in the process of re-framing climate change, shifting it from a 'green issue' to an issue of security and prosperity. The world is waking up to the true nature of the threat from climate - this isn't about polar bears and disappearing glaciers (bad as that is), it's about our security and prosperity - last week the world took a big step to getting real about the problem - we now need to get real about the solution.

Never one to miss a moment, Avaaz sent our director Ricken Patel, along with yours truly, to the UN headquarters to present our petition. We succeeded!! Below, is a photo of Ricken handing our petition to Mr. John Ashton the UK foreign Office's Climate Ambassador. The UK currently holds the presidency of the UNSC, and Mr Ashton was in attendance as part of a UK foreign office diplomatic team there to support the chair of the debate, Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett, chair of the debate.

We still have a long way to go before we get the global political response required to solve this critical problem. But the tide is turning, with your support we will continue to push politicians for action on climate change, enjoying small victories along the way.

In just over a month the G8 will be meeting, and Avaaz will be there to once again deliver your voices. Stand by it's going to be BIG!

I'm back, and with my return I bring good news from Germany: Merkel has said that she aims to get the G8 to adopt an ambitious climate protection agreement when the G8 leaders meet in June.

I arrived in Berlin at 7am on the morning of March 15th, getting stopped at German customs and asked if I wanted to declare the 100,000 signatures I was carrying- boy were they heavy! I explained to the customs man what was in the box, and he politely let me pass. I head outside, enjoying my first breathe of fresh air after 8 hours of recycled air. I manage to flag a cab, in broken German I say "Potsdam bitte" the cabbie replies: "kein problem" we're off!

I check into my hotel, have some breakie, take a shower and get ready for the big event. The meeting is taking place at Hotel Schwielowsee a grand hotel that sits on the shores of a lake (no idea what it's called). I arrive at 2.30pm to talk to the other NGOs there ahead of the main event at 4pm. Everyone is very impressed by our petition: "how did you get so many names in 3 days?" I humbly reply: "Avaaz members are immense."

The delegates arrived just before 4pm. China, Russia, USA, Brazil, France, and India were absent, which was very annoying as we had petitions to give them!! The only Minister there was Sigmar Gabriel, another annoyance as it would have been nice to present all the Ministers with the petition. The reps there were: senior negotiators from the UK, Japan, Mexico, South Africa (who was a seriously cool guy); the director of the UNEP (Mr. Steiner); and a representative from the EU commission.

I speak with the organisers who tell me the meeting was divided into 3 parts: Climate, Biodiversity, and Africa. I'm scheduled for 1-2 minutes at the end of climate, with 3 other speakers before me. The meeting started. Gabriel welcomed everyone and gave a quick talk about climate change being the biggest challenge facing humankind, rapturous applause!! He then opened the floor to open questions. Soon enough it's my turn: "Dear Minister, Chairmen Steiner, ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Iain Keith and I'm here on behalf of the 1 Million members of Avaaz.org. Avaaz.org is a new online community where global citizens can take action on the biggest issues facing our world. I have here, in my hands, a petition from our members who would like to tell you that they are scared of climate change, inparticular the lack of action being taken by world leaders. The countries represented in this room are responsible for the majority of global greenhouse gas emissions. As ministers of the environment you are in an excellent position to persuade your leaders to make tackling climate change the number one priority for the next G8 summit. Our members humbly request that you accept this petition as a reminder of your responsibilities, and to help persuade your leaders." I hand him the petition. HOORAY!!

I sit down, immediately regretting that I forgot to tell him how many signatures we had, and the countries they were from. I put it down to a combination of jet lag and nerves and try to forget about it. As the meeting draws to a close Minister Gabriel says "Thanks to increased pressure from people around the world the tide is turning. When an international NGO can gather 1 million (DOH!) signatures (and holds up our petition (I know you can't see it but it's there!)) we cannot ignore this problem anymore. I bet they could even get 5-10 times this amount. As Environmental ministers, we have a responsibility both to the environment, and our voters to make sure our heads of state act!" He then hands over to Mr. Steiner from the UNEP who gives an amazing speech. The meeting ends. I manage to corner Japan, Mexico and South Africa to present the petition. They assure me they will pass it onto their ministers- smile for the camera, CLICK.

I then get approach by BBC world news, and do a 1 minute radio interview. It's rushed, but I get all the talking points in. The kicker of the meeting was that there really wasn't a lot of press there, because the ministers were absent. On the way out the door I bump into Mr Steiner from the UNEP. I decide to hand him a petition, he thanks me and then says: I'm very interested in Avaaz.org. I've been following your work since I read about you in the Economist! Great! I thank him.

So the verdict overall verdict is one of success. Collectively we managed to get over 100,000 signatures, delivered the petition to Minister Gabriel, and generated a lot of interest in Avaaz. However, we should not be complacent. At the main meetings that followed this event the U.S made life difficult by refusing to form a consensus with the other 12 countries. This will be a major hurdle for any future negotiations. Our plan, therefore, is to keep this petition going, in order to remind Merkel of her commitment, and to show the U.S. that they owe it to the world to act. We want to use the various meetings and events over the coming months to get as many signatures as we can in the build up to the G8. Provisionally, we've set the target at 250,000. However, I'm sure we can get 1 million- that's each of the 100,000 signers telling 10 friends to sign up!

Thanks so much for all your help. I hope you will continue to support our cause. I look forward to seeing just how big we can make this thing.

That's right. That's the equivalent of over 2/3 of the entire population of Potsdam.

As I write this, my favorite climate-change-stopping-polar-bear-loving Scotsman in the whole world (known to you all as Iain, Avaaz's own climate guru) is delivering our petition to Germany's Environment Minister, who will in turn meet with the Environment Ministers of the world's most polluting countries.

In a short time we've managed to mobilize over a 100,000 people, get the attention of major media outlets, and score an important meeting with key decision makers. Imagine what we can accomplish before the G8 meeting in June...

We'll post photos and updates from the meeting soon.

Thank you all so much for making this possible!

Galit

Ok so I accept that this is a fairly dramatic title, but I really had to get your attention. Most of you will have seen that I'm flying (don't worry i'll offset!!) to Germany on Wednesday night to meet with Sigmar Gabriel on Thursday morning so I can hand deliver our petition to him. This is a massive deal. Sigmar Gabriel is German minister for the Environment, not only is he chairing the G8 Environment Ministers meeting in Potsdam, a meeting that will influence the G8 Summit Agenda, but he is in a prime position to influence German Chancellor Merkel who, as G8 president, has the ultimate say over the status of climate change discussions at the June G8 summit.
This is SO important, please take a minute to tell your friends about this, the more people we can add to this petition, the more likely the G8 will be to listen to us. Trust me, I'm a big Scotsman, if I go in there with the support of 100,000 people they will be unable to ignore me!!
Right there's a tonne of things to do before Thursday so I've got to run. However, I should say that I'm writing this a 12.15 am from the AVAAZ.org team retreat in the Catskills, New York. It's the first time the entire team has been together, so on behalf of all of AVAAZ.org

Wakey-wakey

Feb 15th 2007
From The Economist print edition
Electronic activism is stirring a lot of citizens into life, whatever leaders think

WHATEVER might unite or divide them, George Bush, Vladimir Putin and the other leaders of the G8 nations will have a fresh topic for small talk, and perhaps serious talk, when they meet in Germany this summer.

They and their underlings will all have been bombarded with e-mails from every country in the world urging them to take faster action over climate change--in a campaign mounted by Avaaz.org, a new web-based protest movement which aspires to be the biggest and broadest such organisation in a crowded field.

Read the entire article here

As you know our campaign has been emphasising that the debate is over-- we need Climate Change Action NOW!! Well, our message appears to be getting through!!

Today our call was echoed by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. At a meeting in Berlin, the pair described climate change as the biggest challenge facing mankind, stating that this summer's meeting of G8 leaders presents a "tremendous opportunity" to put in place a framework for fighting global warming after the Kyoto Protocol runs out in 2012.

They have laid out three priorities for a Post-Kyoto Agreement:
1. A CO2 emission reduction goal designed to limit rises in global temperatures to no more than 2C
2. An international system of carbon pricing to provide incentives for the development and adoption of technology and procedures which limit the emission of greenhouse gases
3. A system of technology transfer to ensure that emerging economies like China and India, as well as the developing world, have access to cleaner technologies.

We stand on the brink of a crucial time in the history of the human race. The science is in; public opinion is wildly in favour of action; however, the political process is frustratingly slow. WE CANNOT TAKE OUR FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR.

In the build up to the G8 Summit, there are a number of key meetings taking place. With your help Avaaz will continue to push for action on climate change, by first making climate change a priority at the G8 Summit. Our efforts targeted at the G8 are essential: any result from this Summit will create a ripple effect, speeding up the political process of the UNFCCC-- the body responsible for a Post-Kyoto Agreement.

Find out how you can help here.

Together we can make 2007 the year when our leaders united to take assertive action on climate change.

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I'd also like to thank the blogging community who continue to champion our cause!!
Nick Galvin at the Sydney Morning Herald
Anthraxxxx
Frank Uncle
Sunshine Ray at Care 2 News Network
Duncan's Tv Ad Land

Since my last post we've jumped up the youtube charts to no. 17. Keep pushing folks, lets make the top 10!! Want to know how you can help do this? Go here.
I'm also pleased to anounce that we have 2 more blogging friends!!
The excellent treehugger.com (thanks Jessica Root)
and the outstanding Guerrilla News Network (thanks Latin Hacker)
Thanks for all your help. Keep spreading the word and I'll keep telling you as it happens........

On behalf of the Avaaz crew, I just wanted to say thanks to REM for putting our button on their official Web site! I'm sure they're happy to learn that Out of Time was the first CD I ever bought...Two weeks of allowance money. Umm, I mean, the love is reciprocal.

Folks,
Our Tv Ad is the 20th most viewed video on youtube. We really need your help to get it into the top 10! If we can do this the exposure would be phenomenal!! Here's what you can do:
Watch it here on youtube
Tell your friends
Share it with your friends on facebook
Post it on myspace
And you can copy the following code to embed the video on your favourite blog!
<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4vSeJnUAScQ"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4vSeJnUAScQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

Together we can make our Tv Ad the most viewed video on the net!!

Today Avaaz has got mentions in the following:
Bruce Sterling's Viridian Design see it here
A change in the Wind, see it here
Heli's Heaven and Hell radio here

As always, more as they happen!

Thanks to Global Warming Awareness for sharing this logo with us.

You can display it on your blog by copying and pasting the following code:
<object width="425" height="350"><a href="http://www.globalwarming.org.in" title="Global Warming"><br /> <img src="http://www.globalwarming.org.in/fightglobalwarming.jpg"></a>

Wow this is really getting big. Today we were featured in the Independent, one of the UK's top selling newspapers. See it here.

Avaaz has also enjoyed major mentions here in the grist and here in global-cool!!

You can also find mentions of our climate campaign at:
Care2 News Network (thanks Ani Ta)
Oil Change International (thanks to Andy Rowell)#
Independence'05 (thanks Lilianne)
and Sustainability in Hawaii: SusHihttp://kauaian.net/blog/?p=400

Don't forget to check our comments out as well. There's some interesting discussions forming!
Thanks again for all your support! More updates as they happen.

The word keeps spreading-- Avaaz and the TV Ad are a top three story at The Nation's website. See it here

Avaaz is entering the blogosphere. You can find us at our friends
Wally's Diary
ReBelle Nation
Xinty at Vox
Maria at Opera Community
and menj at critical thoughts

Keep spreading the word!

Folks,
The world leaders have to know that the time for climate change action is upon us. We really need YOUR help to make our Ad create a big splash- here's some of the ways you can help us to turn up the heat:
Tell your family and friends about us
View our ad on youtube or googlevideo
Add us as a friend and post our links on: myspace, facebook, or Friendster.
You can vote for our blurb on technorati
You can digg us
And last but by no means least- embed our video onto your blog or website by copy and pasting the snippet of code below:
<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4vSeJnUAScQ"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4vSeJnUAScQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

Together we can make this thing HUGE!

We told you "Stop the Escalation" was just the beginning! So it gives us great pleasure to announce the launch of AVAAZ's new campaign: "Climate Wake up Call": a campaign in response to the impending global climate crisis.

As if there wasn't already enough evidence around us, last week the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) released its latest report. The message is simple and scary: climate change is real; it's caused by humans; it's occurring quicker than predicted; it's more severe than we previously thought; and if we don't do something fast it's going to have potentially catastrophic effects.

While there are some good things that each of us can do to reduce our carbon footprint to really solve this problem we need serious political action. Unfortunately the Kyoto Protocol does not go nearly far enough and the current commitment period ends very soon. If we are to avoid catastrophic climate change we desperately need world leaders to hammer out a new international agreement that commits all countries to major emissions reductions. This can only come about if the world leaders make climate change their number 1 priority.

This is why we've produced this TV ad. Our leaders are sleeping through climate change and we have to send them a wake up call. We are going to run the ad in key world capitals this month starting with Washington DC, Paris, Berlin and Delhi. Hopefully if people get excited about it will be able to run it in other major cities too.

Now is the time to send this message because the leaders of the world's biggest polluting countries will be meeting in June. The priorities for this summit are currently being decided and we need to make sure that tackling climate is at the top of the agenda. There is no more time to lose. Our leaders need to start figuring out the details of a new Kyoto Protocol ASAP. This is not some minor issue that can be dealt with by low-level bureaucrats - Presidents and Prime Ministers need to sort out a serious new agreement fast.

Climate change is a great example of a truly global problem that requires a truly global solution. People around the world have to push hard for climate leadership. And this is where AVAAZ comes in, uniting voices to influence major world decisions. Ultimately the future of our planet is in our hands, there's a lot you can do: sign our petition, watch our ad, post our link, and tell your family and friends about us.

Tell us what you think, send us suggestions, ideas, comments, anything- we need to do this together!

2007 is already predicted by scientists to be the hottest year on record. Together we can turn up the heat on the world leaders and really wake them up!