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Copenhagen 3: From left, Megan Orpwood-Russell, Janine Woodward and Rosanne White
Three Bristol-based Oxfam activists are preparing to travel to Copenhagen to show that people power can make a difference at the upcoming climate change conference.
Described as the Copenhagen 3, the volunteers will join thousands of campaigners from across the world in the Danish capital next month as world leaders gather to try to agree on binding plans to fight global warming.
Megan Orpwood-Russell, Rosanne White and Janine Woodward – all volunteers for Oxfam – will be reporting from the city on the weekend of December 12 and 13 via blogs, Facebook and Twitter.
For Megan, it is a chance to for her to show that action on the ground can help influence the talks.
“I want to go to Copenhagen because apathy upsets me so much – when I hear my friends say ‘what’s the point?’ and insist that ‘one person can’t make a difference’.
“I want to show people that if one person can encourage five others, then five more, we can soon change things. It worries me that politics could affect our climate future simply because of the fact that some countries think other countries won’t act. I want to show these leaders that a lot of people across the world have invested in this.”
In the run up to their journey, the trio will be giving talks in schools and meeting with local MPs to spread Oxfam’s message that global carbon dioxide emissions need to be cut by 50% on current levels by 2020.
This aim is unlikely to be reached however, despite two major announcements today.
US president Barack Obama will attend the opening of the summit on December 9, a pit stop en route to pick up his Nobel prize in Oslo the following day. There, he plans to tell delegates that the US will commit to cutting emissions to 17% below 2005 levels by 2020.
Meanwhile, China for the first time set targets to slow emissions growth by up to 45% of 2005 levels. Chinese prime minister, Wen Jiabao, will attend the climate talks – and the move to set targets finally brings the most populous nation on earth more closely into line with international efforts.
China is expected to say it will adopt renewable energy, replace old power stations with more efficient plants, and possibly capture and store more carbon in an effort to match its pledge.
But the move is unlikely to satisfy European negotiators and campaigners, who have stated that anything below 50% would not be enough to limit global temperature rise by 2C – seen as the limit before which climate change will start to impact severely on the poorest countries.
In the run-up to the Copenhagen summit, tens of thousands of people are expected to descend on London for The Wave march.
Organised by the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition, and part of a global series of public actions, The Wave will call on world leaders to secure a fair international deal to stop global warming exceeding the danger threshold of 2C.
Four coach-loads of activists from Bristol have already signed up for Oxfam’s coach service to London on December 5 – with many more expected to travel independently.
Bristol24-7 will be at The Wave march, travelling with the Oxfam contingent, providing pictures and reports from the day. Oxfam representatives will also be blogging exlusively for Bristol24-7 from Copenhagen – check back here for more details…
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