Greetings from Trinidad, the larger island of the twin-island country of Trinidad and Tobago, which in a few short days will host the Fifth Summit of the Americas – a gathering bringing together the heads of state from countries throughout the Americas – President Obama, and PM Harper from Canada too.
Buried deep in the draft document from the Summit is an important call to action – “We commit to take the necessary steps to ensure the eventual stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will not incur a risk of serious changes in the Earth’s climate and weather systems.” We all know what that level is. But whether this statement, number 40 in a long list of commitments, will receive any air time over the drone of the economic crisis, depends on us.
Just a few days ago, we put out a call to action to our friends and allies throughout the region to tell our leaders why we want action on climate change – and we’ve been flooded with passionate, personal pleas. As Jose from Colombia wrote, “We believe that the consequences of the financial crisis will be nothing compared to the climate impacts in the event that we don’t heed any of the warnings we see now.”
I’m here with Mariama, Caribbean Field Coordinator with 350.org and our partner in the Caribbean, the Caribbean Youth Environment Network, and many passionate young people and students who are working locally to educate their peers and lobby their governments for change. We’ll be here all week to ensure that these messages are heard loud and clear by world leaders and the media. Send your message in today – and stay tuned!