When an online petition on climate change garners more than 3.1 million signatories, world leaders should at least stop and think. But will they? Kurt Sansone spoke to Avaaz campaign director Iain Keith.
When the UN climate talks in Copenhagen six years ago failed to deliver an agreement, many felt leaders did not care enough about climate change.
But for global citizen movement Avaaz, which runs an online campaigning site, the story was far from over.
Iain Keith says the organisation had to show that it was not true that people did not care any longer after Copenhagen.
In early 2014, Avaaz decided on what it described as “one crazy goal the largest march on climate change in history.
It managed and in September last year more than 400,000 people marched through New York calling for leaders to act and commit to build a world powered by 100 per cent clean energy by 2050.
Since then an online petition has collected more than three million signatories and Avaaz is at the forefront in mobilising rallies in cities across the world tomorrow ahead of the Paris UN climate talks that start on Monday.
But Mr Keith says Avaaz has also delivered its petition to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in time for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which has climate change on the agenda.
“We hope CHOGM will provide a platform for debate on climate change away from the rigours of strict negotiations and get countries across the north-south divide, so evident in the run-up to Paris, talking,” Mr Keith says. He says bridging the north-south divide is possible within the Commonwealth, which he describes as a “club of countries rooted in common values”.
Developed countries had promised to create a fund of $100 billion by 2020 to enable the poorer nations adapt to climate change and shift to clean energy. The pot, however, was short by $40 billion, Mr Keith said.
It is within this context that he argues CHOGM has a role to play. This alliance of 53 countries stretching over six continents brings together big countries like India, the UK, Canada and Australia and small nations like Kiribati that risk being wiped out by rising sea levels caused by global warming.
“CHOGM can provide the space for big Western players to talk to India and bring more money to the table ahead of the Paris summit,” Mr Keith says.
kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com