It's New Years Day, and there's hardly a sound now in Amsterdam (last night's celebrations were fantastic). 750 km away, four Greenpeace activists are on their 12th day of preventive detention in a Danish prison.

The Red Carpet Four's supporters sent them thousands of cards, and tens of thousands more protest messages have been sent to the Danish government. They should be out by January 7, when they have a hearing. Though of course they shouldn't have been denied bail and locked up over the holidays like this at all!

Danish police not only let the real climate criminals get away by plane after the failed UN climate summit--they even let another Greenpeacer, Dima Litvinov, who was instrumental in the Red Carpet action, go home. It's all over the Danish press.

Meanwhile 3,000 km away, Egyptian authorities are refusing to allow a humanitarian aid convoy into Gaza, where a year ago an Israeli invasion left 1,400 Palestinians dead and thousands homeless. Human rights activists with the Viva Palestina convoy began a hunger strike in protest on Tuesday to draw attention to the deadlock.

Authorities often try to do their most rotten misdeeds when they think nobody is watching. That's why international solidarity -- even just letter writing and signing postcards -- is so important. Morgan Freeman explains it better than I can.

(Photo credit: © Kristian Buus / Greenpeace)

The Red Carpet Four are still locked up, awaiting a hearing on January 7th. You can support them from wherever you are by joining our climate campaign today.

Today four of my friends are in prison. Their crime? At the UN Climate Summit last month, they managed to get into a dinner party where world leaders were dining with the Queen of Denmark and held up banners demanding they take action against global warming.

Juan, Nora, Christian and Joris, known as the "Red Carpet Four" have remained in virtual isolation, without trial, over Christmas and New Year. I'm on my way to Copenhagen to tell the Danish authorities that these four activists did not act alone.

If the intention of the Danish police is to imprison climate activists to stop their acts of civil disobedience, they need to jail me and the millions of people who, like the Red Carpet Four, would be proud to take non-violent action to demand action against global warming. The restriction of peaceful protest against a problem as pressing as climate change is a serious threat to democracy.

The "Red Carpet Four" face a court hearing on Thursday and it's possible that the police will ask a judge to prolong the pre-trial detention for another week or even more. We need your help to ensure their freedom.

Climate Injustice - A night vigil held outside Vestre Fængsel (prison) in Copenhagen.

I am no stranger to preventive detention. It was one of the injustices I struggled against in South Africa during the days of Apartheid - in South Africa, we had a motto: "Charges or Freedom". The "Red Carpet Four" have been held for three weeks without trial, contrary to human rights standards. This is disproportionate, senseless and insensitive - especially over the Christmas period when they were not allowed any family visits.

Last week we asked you to write to the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Australia along with the President of the European Commission. Over 25,000 of you sent letters and I want to personally thank you for that. As four of our fellow climate activists await trial in a Danish jail I'm hoping you will take action once more to support them - and to support peaceful civil disobedience against the forces standing in the way of climate justice.

- Kumi

Executive Director of Greenpeace International

>>Take action. Send a letter today.
>>Read Kumi's blog about the Red Carpet Four in the Huffington Post
>>Get the latest news about the Red Carpet Four.

Dima, one of our climate activists, was arrested during the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen last month and held in prison under preventive detention. Here - he shares with us what it was like for him in jail.

At 7 o’clock the door bangs open and the first uniform of the day sticks his head into the cell – wake up call. I hurry to put my clothes on – 5 minutes later the breakfast cart will roll up, and if I’m not out of bed they won’t serve me. And you don’t want to miss the cart – the two teabags I am allowed per day are given out then.

The door opens again. I put my tray with the plate on top of the hot water maker. One of the two guards ladles cereal into the plate, the other places the tea bags onto the tray. I fill the thermos with hot water, grab a milk from the bottom of the cart. “put me on the list for a shower sir?” The fat guard nods and makes a note on a crumpled up bit of paper. The skinny one just scowls. “And may I call my lawyer please?” It’s important to ask that question at breakfast, if you don’t -- the call won’t be allowed. The skinny one scowls again “We’ll see if we can do, later -- later, we are very busy now”. So much for my inalienable rights.

The door bangs shut. I fold the bedding and the bed is transformed into a couch. The couch/bed takes up most of the space along one wall. The other wall is occupied by a fridge, and a long shelf with 4 cupboards. An old banged up radio and a small TV are sitting on top of the shelf. The barred up window is high up right underneath the vaulted ceiling. I stand on the chair to peer outside – the fenced and barbed wired yard is covered with snow. Going to be cold exercise hour today. The police have taken my gloves and hat as evidence, so I know I'll freeze.

The four Greenpeace activists who have been detained in jail for 20 days for staging a peaceful climate protest during the UN Climate Summit have now been granted their freedom by Danish authorities.

The "Red Carpet Four" from the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Switzerland, were arrested following a peaceful protest at the start of a State Banquet hosted by Queen Margrethe II for world leaders attending the Copenhagen climate summit:

Their release comes a day in advance of their detention being reviewed by a Danish judge and the four activists still face trial in the Danish courts, and possible prison sentences. Greenpeace consistently offered its full co-operation to Danish police and provided them with comprehensive details of the activity. A request from Greenpeace asking the Danish police to specify what additional information they needed to know in connection with the case was met with two weeks of silence on the part of the police.

Copenhagen ended a while ago already, and with the holidays that happened since, it feels like a lifetime already. However, I have no trouble remember the outrage I felt as I watched the acting President of the COP15 read out the final text: "The COP takes note of The Copenhagen Accord."

That was it - all this work, all these hopes, all these delegates, heads of states, for a one-line long agreement. Empty spreadsheets with no emission targets. I wanted to yell at the delegates through my computer screen to get back to work immediately, to not let down the world like they just had.

The video below reminds me today that I was not alone in feeling that way - angry, outraged, disappointed - and that I'm not alone now either. If world leaders think they have seen it all after COP 15, after 15 million people got together asking for a fair, ambitious and legally binding treaty, they are gravely mistaken. They have created a movement of citizens around the world who will not stand by while their planet is being destroyed. Maybe that's the one good thing that came out of this summit after all.

Did Danish authorities really hold our activists in prison for 20 days because they were diligently investigating how they got onto a red carpet at a state dinner during the Copenhagen climate conference? New evidence suggests not.

To non-violently paraphrase Michael Corleone, "If history teaches us anything, it's that you can get past security anywhere." But here's a fact: it really, really, pisses them off.

And that, it would appear, is the real reason that our Red Carpet Four activists were held without a trial in Denmark. Let's be clear: they had a message to deliver. It wasn't their intent to make monkeys of a security force that was set up to protect the 120 most powerful people on the planet, along with the Queen of Denmark. But yes, they did that when, with a few smart-looking cars in a "motorcade" marked with the Greenpeace logo, a Tuxedo, an off-the-rack evening dress and a flashing blue light bought on the internet, they managed to get into the Parliament and deploy, in full view of the world's leaders and the gathered press, banners demanding action on climate change.

In 24 hours, 15,000 of you sent messages to the Minister of Justice in Copenhagen and world leaders - calling for action on climate change - in support of the Red Carpet Four and civil disobedience for climate justice. It's thanks to you that our four climate heroes were released.

Over the new year - demonstrations were held in solidarity with the Red Carpet Four in 25 countries from Mexico to Switzerland.

Greenpeace activists at the Danish embassy in Mexico City, alongside members of another 5 NGOs, demanding freedom for the Red Carpet Four

Joris, Christian, Jauntxo and Nora appeared before a hoard of international media on the Rainbow Warrior yesterday in Copenhagen.

Ben Stewart, one of our climate campaigners writes about the press conference held on our flagship:

The hold of the Rainbow Warrior was an extraordinary sight as it filled with more TV cameras than any of us have ever seen before at a Greenpeace event. The Red Carpet Four performed brilliantly - especially when you consider what they have been through - answering the questions with great dignity and clarity.

Our four brave colleagues are now going their separate ways, but continue to attract a great deal of attention. Joris is rushing home to appear on Holland's main evening chatshow, Nora is besieged by journalists, Christian is looking forward to seeing the mountains of Switzerland once again and Juan is preparing to be met at the airport in Spain by a bank of TV cameras, as if he was Real Madrid's new signing. Though of course he's not, he's under contract to Greenpeace and they can't have him!

And here's a lovely message sent out from Mike Finken, Captain of the Rainbow Warrior:

It has been a tremendous honour for the crew of Rainbow Warrior and our lady herself to standby - prisoners of Copenhagen. We have held vigil here in the snow and ice following a most inspiring action that reminds us who we are and makes us all proud to be Warriors of the Rainbow. Nora, Juantxo, Christian and Joris - you have given us reason, thank you.

Rainbow Warrior departs Copenhagen at 14:00 hours today, see you around.

© Greenpeace/ Nick Cobbing
Pancake ice in the Arctic Ocean
It cannot be said too often that climate and weather are not the same thing. The first regulates the temperature and weather patterns on a long term basis, the other one is guilty for blocking the traffic with snow this morning, or making the heat today unbearable. NASA puts it better than I could:

Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time.

In early December, ads showed up in Copenhagen airport warning world leaders about what would happen if they failed in Copenhagen. Back then, we hoped these ads would prove to be completely false and that a great deal would be agreed on in Copenhagen.
We all know how that turned out, unfortunately.
Now, action is urgent, more than ever. Here's why:

Paul Horsman, one of our climate campaigners, comments on the current situation with the global climate deal - or lack thereof:

Much has already been written and said about the failure of the December 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit, and no doubt there will be plenty more commentary over the coming months and years. But one thing is certain and that is the Summit marks a point in history where millions of people made clear their demands to protect the climate and the World’s political leadership ignored them. But be sure – those voices will not be silent. They will gather in number and strength over the coming months.

Another key issue that has emerged is that the old power blocs are changing as fractures begin to appear and new alliances are form. Elsewhere on the political stage the G8 is being over-shadowed by the G20 and we have Major Emitters Forum – a legacy of the Bush era – or should that be error?

Developing countries have largely been represented by the G77+China bloc. This bloc has been a formidable and, hitherto, an almost unbreakable alliance, believing, as they do, that they must present unity in the face of the powerful industrialised countries. In the lead up to and during the Copenhagen summit, a powerful group of emerging country economies has surfaced. Brazil, China, India and South Africa - the BASIC group have shown themselves as key players in the political games at Copenhagen.