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Global climate wake up calls send message to world leaders that time is running out for climate action

From Beijing to New York, Mumbai, Mexico City and Ottawa – over 2578 ‘Wake Up Call’ events are happening today in 130 countries urging their leaders to reignite stalled climate talks.

A broad coalition of environmental and anti-poverty organisations as well as faith, civic and youth groups – called the TCKTCKTCK campaign for the ticking-clock urgency of climate change – is leading the campaign effort.

The campaign effort is timed alongside a gathering that will bring 100 world leaders together in New York this Tuesday for the highest level summit meeting on climate change ever convened.

As reported in The New York Times ‘No Climate Change Leader as Nations Meet,’

“While virtually all of the largest developed and developing nations have made domestic commitments toward creating more efficient, renewable sources of energy to cut emissions, none want to take the lead in fighting for significant international emissions reduction targets, lest they be accused at home of selling out future jobs and economic growth.

The negotiations for a new climate change agreement to be signed in Copenhagen in December are badly stalled. With the agreement running more than 200 pages — including what negotiators estimate are a couple of thousand brackets denoting points of differences — diplomats and negotiators fear that the document is too unwieldy to garner a consensus in the coming months.

In convening the meeting, the United Nations is hoping that collectively the leaders can summon the will to overcome narrow national interests and give the negotiators the marching orders needed to cut at least the outline of a deal.”

TCKTCKTCK’s press release on today’s wake up call events describes,

“The first call came from Beijing where a group gathered outside a temple in Ditan Park to sound their alarm. This was soon followed by thousands of people who formed a human hour glass in New York’s Central Park signifying that time is running out to reach a global climate deal.

Australian Environment Minister, Penny Wong has been inundated with calls, one lucky caller who managed to speak in person to the minister said “I don’t think I was the only person to ring her as she seemed to understand what this was about and said okay she’d pass on the message, she sounded weary”.

For a full map of events: http://www.avaaz.org/en/tcktcktck_map/

Celebrities Peter Gabriel, Annie Lennox, Alanis Morissette, Michael Stipe, Stephen Fry, Harry Belafonte, Emiliana Torrini, Lila Downs, Groove Armada, Zap Mama and more are also joining in on the global day of action, urging their fans to make calls.”

Photos and footage of the Wake-Up Call events are flooding in and are available for download at http://www.avaaz.org/wakeupmedia or http://avaaz.org/en/sept21_hub/ or www.tcktcktck.org/wakeupmedia

The Council of Canadian’s launched a new climate justice webpage where you can find information about the upcoming October 24 International day of Climate Action and a new climate justice fact sheet and handbill and other useful resources. The webpage will be updated in the lead-up to COP15 – when leaders meet in Copenhagen to decide on a new climate change agreement.

The Council of Canadians calls for climate justice – the only solution to climate change is a just solution. In Canada, our governments must commit to a plan that transitions us to a low carbon future. This includes committing to science-based targets for emission reductions, improving energy conservation and efficiency, providing the rapid expansion of public transit and renewable power, and creating Just Transition programs for workers and impacted communities. This means rejecting the vision of becoming an “energy super power” which commits our resources to an unsustainable export-oriented trade model at the expense of needed climate action, the environment and people.

The world needs decisive, tough action on climate change coming out of Copenhagen this December. Canada needs to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. We need a global deal that leads to real emission reductions. It must be fair and equitable, including stronger commitments and actions by the Global North.