It’s roughly 100 days till the big, important climate meeting in Copenhagen that will start this December 7th, and many politicians and activists are already setting a somber mood. To us, this seems a bit premature – perhaps the greatest chance we have for an ambitious deal in Copenhagen is to increase political will through citizen action, so it’s no time to lose heart – it’s time to act. Gro Harlem Brundtland, special envoy of the U.N. secretary-general on climate change, agrees: "Political leaders must be guided by the best available scientific knowledge," she stressed. "We must mobilise political will at the highest level to act on what the science is telling us," she concluded. And "the science demands that we act boldly".
We at 350 see plenty of reason for optimism that we can mobilize political will – we are already seeing the stage set for strong grassroots mobilization around the world on October 24th – every day we hear of new cities and towns around the world signing on to organize for the big day – in Latin America, we now have events signed up in every country!
Additionally, last week saw the launch of the new and powerful tcktcktck coalition campaign, of which 350 is a partner – the launch included several high profile events organized by coalition partners around the world, from Southeast Asia to Brasil to the Swiss Alps. If these examples don’t lift your spirits yet, then count on Grist to get you educated, excited, and maybe even laughing about Copenhagen: "100 days before Copenhagen, here are 100 things you didn’t know about Copenhagen". Did you know that at least 65 percent of food at the conference will be organic or fair-trade?