NEWSLETTER: “TOWARDS CANCUN 2010"

“TOWARDS CANCUN 2010"

NEWSLETTER COMMUNICATIONS TEAM, INTERNATIONAL COMMITEE

November 18, 2010

In this edition:

1) Introduction

2) Logistics

3) News and Activities in Mexico

4) International News and Activities

5) International Committee Member organizations

1) INTRODUCTION

The Communications Team of the International Committee is providing the third informative newsletter, named "Towards Cancun 2010".  In this new edition, we provide the logistical information that we have been able to collect from our Mexican colleagues, as well as general information about activities in Mexico and the rest of the world.

Friendly greetings, The Communications Team of the International Committee.

2) LOGISTICAL SECTION

To complement this section, the Communications Team of the International Committee has been in coordination with our partners in Mexico who are in charge of organizing all of the parallel activities in Cancun, and who are a part of Climate Dialogue-Mexican Space.  In accordance with the information they shared, there are a few points to stress.

-        Regarding transportation, most people who come to Cancun will be staying close to the Super Manzana 21, where the civil society activities will be centralized.  There will be transportation for these delegations.  However, the organizations in Mexico are more worried about how to facilitate transportation for the people who are staying in the more "elegant" hotel zone, which is closer to the official negotiations and far from the Super Manzana 21.  They are working to assure that those people will have transportation to the civil society activities.

-        In the Super Manzana 21 area there will be an Independent Media Center in the Cultural Center rooms, and technical facilities for journalists.  There will be wireless internet, an area for press conferences inside the Super Manzana, and a special area for community radios.

-        Interpretation and Translation in various languages for the open activities is confirmed, with professional and technical equipment.

-        It is expected that the Super Manzana 21 space for activities for organizations and social movements will be available from November 30th on.  If this is not the case, everything will be set up from December 2nd.  Those who want to hold activities before November 3oth must request Climate Dialogue-Mexican Space/

-        Climate Dialogue-Mexican Space members call on the member organizations, movements, and networks with members who need visas to enter Mexico that they sent formal requests, following the steps explained in the previous newsletter.

3) NEWS AND ACTIVITIES IN MEXICO

¡México awaits you in the Youth Climate Change Conference!

From November 26th to 28th In the University of the Caribbean in Cancun, the 6th Conference of Youth - COY on Climate Change will be held, in which hundreds of youth will meet to discuss strategies and solutions to slow down this crisis.  The COY is an annual conference that has been held for the past 5 years in the same city as the COP.

To register and participate.

List of workshops registered to date.
To register a workshop.
For solidarity housing.
Preliminary Program.
For more info COY 6.
Contact: Ricardo Ochoa.

Campesinos flood Cancun "by the thousands"

In the tentative program of activities of Via Campesina, towards the COP in Cancun, the international caravans that leave on November 25th from various parts of Mexico for the conference stand out.  On November 30th the caravans will unite in the country's capital, Mexico City, with the protest "for life, social and environmental justice".  They will all arrive in Cancun on December 3rd.  Also, La Via Campesina will hold a Global Alternative Forum from December 4th-10th, with various organizations, networks and social movements, and actions parallel to the UN conference.  December 7th will be the day for the most important mobilizations and actions in Cancun and different parts of the world, based on the slogans "The people construct thousands of solutions to climate change! Thousands of Cancuns for climate justice!

For more information: Via Campesina

For more information on the campaign Thousands of Cancuns for Climate Justice

4) INTERNATIONAL NEWS AND ACTIVITIES SECTION

Canadians with a clear position on the structural causes of climate change

A poll done with 1.000 people in Canada by Environics Research, from October 27th to November 1st, shows that the national population has very different priorities from those of the government regarding climate change.  More than 80 percent of the people consulted believe that the fundamental cause of climate change is an excessive emphasis on economic growth and consumerism.  The Canadians also think that industrialized countries, which have historically produced the majority of greenhouse gas emissions, must assume the greatest responsibilities to reduce polluting emissions

The questions used in the poll are based in the questions proposed by the Bolivian President Evo Morales for the world referendum on climate change.

For more information: www.commonfrontiers.ca

Contact: Rick Arnold, Coordinator, Common Borders (comfront@web.ca).

Central American Climate Change Forum pressures governments

Hundreds of people participated in the Regional Forum "Towards the COP16: Proposals for Adaptation from the interests and realities of Central America", held by the Mesoamerican Climate Justice Campaign the 10th and 11th of November in Guatemala City.

Civil society, academic, indigenous peoples and women's organizations represented in the campaign prepared their statements to regional governments.  "We demand recognition of the historical responsibility that the Global North has, and its obligation to guarantee the restitution and reparations of ecological debt, which includes the climate debt that it has with the Global South", said José Urbina, the person in charge of reading the report in the closing of the event.

For more information Climate Justice for Mesoamerica

Videos from the Mesoamerican Climate Justice Campaign

In celebration of the regional forum "Towards the COP16", the Mesoamerica Climate Justice Campaign shares the following audiovisual links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zss1UwjywbE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al7Y8zxWjXo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z-0UjONZnM

Debate on Energy and Climate Change in Uruguay

On November 15th the Energy Union Coordinator held an open activity on "Energy and Climate Change" in the Conference Room of the President of the Republic, in the country's capital Montevideo.  Government spokespeople, labor leader, and members of the environmentalist organization REDES-Friends of the Earth Uruguay participated.

For more information: José Elosegui – REDES – AT Uruguay.

Canada: The Government Should Have Listened

Representatives from the coalition Climate Justice Ottawa and other activists held a People's Assembly for Climate Justice on November 16th, outside of the Canadian Parliament.  They unfurled a banner with the message "It the politicians won't work for climate justice, we will."  The protesters think that the government should take real actions against climate change and a good start would be to listen to the demands and needs of the communities of diverse parts of the country.

For more information: Rick Arnold

Climate Change from the Lens of Argentina

On November 22 and 23 a meeting will be held in Buenos Aires of campaigners of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru about glaciers, climate change and mining, organized by Friends of the Earth Argentina and other entities.

For more information: Roque Pedace – Amigos de la Tierra Argentina (rqpedacear@yahoo.com.ar)

March of People Affected by Climate Change in El Salvador

On November 26th there will be a public protest in San Salvador with various demands by the people most affected by climate change.  The presence of 1, 500 representative of the Movement of Victims and People Affected by Climate Change (MOVIAC) is expected.  A letter will be turned into the President of the Republic Mauricio Funes, with demands and proposals by the affected communities.  The activity is organized by CESTA and Friends of the Earth El Salvador.

For more information: José Acosta – CESTA – Amigos de la Tierra El Salvador.

Brazil: Cities Present in the Climate Discussion

A conference on Climate Justice and Urban Inequality will be held from November 25th - 27th in San Pablo, Brazil, organized by the Sempreviva Feminist Organization and the World Women's March, amongst others, with the participation of NAT- Friends of the Earth Brazil

For more information: Nalú Farias – Sempreviva Organización Feminista – Marcha Mundial de las Mujeres.