Our Action-Pact virtual march on Copenhagen has been going for less than two weeks, and we already have 10,000+ 11,000 entries! These Virtual Cardboard Care Packages are being sent from all around the world with clever messages demanding polticians deliver a pact to act on climate change. Here are just a few of my favourites:

The best slogan is going to be put on a banner and displayed, Greenpeace-style (wink wink wink), at the Copenhagen summit -- you can vote for your faves in the gallery. Many of these characters are going to be marching across a jumbo video screen as well, reminding delegates that the whole world is watching. Got something to say? Don't contain yourself, tell the world’s polluters to PACK IT IN!

Posted by Brian at 9:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Suzette, communications coordinator at the Climate Defenders Camp in Indonesia
It almost feels like a home coming. Landing back in Indonesia and then travelling into the back-blocks of Sumatra. In the last few years I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time here working for Greenpeace on climate and forest issues.

I can’t boast any command of the local language but I definitely feel a connection to this land. Coming from New Zealand, I know I have a lot to learn about the history and life in general here in Indonesia, but there’s a common understanding I share with the people I meet in Indonesia; the desire and will to save the remaining forests.

As such, I’ve been angered by some of the comments from certain think-tanks that have recently been reported in the media.

One of these was a comment pretty much accusing NGO’s – like Greenpeace – of ruining local people’s economic ‘wealth’. I wish these so called ‘concerned interests’ could be present here at the Greenpeace climate defenders camp and witness the shared passion from Greenpeace volunteers and the local community in preserving the real wealth that they own – their forest home.

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Posted by Gillo at 3:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s the last day of the climate negotiations in Barcelona, I’m sitting in my hotel lobby after attending the final session at the negotiations in Barcelona and reflecting on all that has happened - and failed to happen - this week.

For all of the climate experts out there, please forgive me for oversimplifying what has happened behind closed doors between politicians but I’m just tryin’ to keep it real here.

• Industrialised countries have to stop pointing the finger and blaming developing countries. The issue of climate change is too important to be dealt with through political promises. We need a legally binding agreement that governments cannot ignore.
• The countries lowering expectations for Copenhagen are, not surprisingly, the same ones refusing to act – not to name names but… the United States, EU, Australia, Canada and Japan.
• There is enough time. All the pieces are in place. What we are actually missing is political will and leadership from developed countries.

There has been a lot of talk the last couple of days about a fair, ambitious, legally binding deal being impossible by December. But consider this - they also said we wouldn’t get the Climate Convention in 1992 - we did, they said Bush Sr. wouldn’t sign it – but he did; they said we couldn’t get Kyoto - but we did.

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Posted by Jess at 8:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s the last day of the climate negotiations in Barcelona and while I sit in the Fira center waiting to see what happens next - activists are taking action and calling the US out for being history’s largest polluter and failing to act on climate change. Banners were deployed at Barcelona’s statue of Christopher Columbus (which points towards the U.S.) reading"Climate Chaos, who is to blame?".

There are a few hours left here in Barcelona for negotiators to make sure the stage is set for a fair, ambitious and legally binding deal to be struck in Copenhagen. Let’s see if they can discover the will to do it.

If you read Spanish (or can hit a translate button) you can follow the action in real time.

Posted by Jess at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This morning as the delegates strolled into the conference for another day of business as usual, the sky darkened, lightening struck, winds began to swirl and the rain started coming down sideways.Usually sunny Barcelona saw the makings of a pretty serious mock storm (courtesy of Greenpeace activists) to give delegates here a taste of what the future could look like if a fair, ambitious and binding climate deal is not delivered as promised.

Posted by Jess at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's the latest from Hikmat -- at the Climate Defender's Camp

I am now on the peatland area of Semenanjung Kampar, half an hour away by boat from our camp.

As far as I can see are bushes, grasses, several trees, and bushes again. Man, this is not the rainforest. Semenanjung Kampar has more than 700, 000 hectares of forest, storing more than 2 billion carbon in it. But the latest data shows that almost half of this forest, approximately 300, 000 hectares is already destroyed for plantations.

I'm in the part that's been destroyed.

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Posted by Lisa at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Selamat Sore...my name is Laura, I am a German Greenpeace-activist, writing to you out of one of the last ancient forests - the Paradise forest of Sumatra (I'm in the photo above at the back on the left).

Just over two weeks ago I was given the opportunity to go, for four weeks, to the "Climate Defenders Camp" in Indonesia. I had no idea what I should expect and I had no idea what I would do there, I was just told it would be a lot of hard work. But of course - I said yes.

It was quite a strange feeling to go to a country or even a continent I'd never been to before. But without any ideas, what would happen and without knowing anybody I would meet, I had a good feeling because I knew, that I would meet people from all over the world, who have one thing in common:

The intention of saving the last parts of the Paradise Forest from destruction for palm and acacia plantations. And most importantly - to save the climate, which is changing partly as a result of deforestation.

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Posted by Lisa at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)