2009: a year of climate action
WWF and our supporters have been part of a massive and growing movement – pushing for an urgent climate deal at a global level, and making a difference locally.
OK, so world leaders didn’t live up to the challenge at Copenhagen, but we know that the pressure from people like you and organisations like ourselves is having an impact on their thinking – and we need to step it up.
Taking action on climate change is one of the most important things any of us can do right now – and looking back on the last year of climate campaigning you can see just how inspiring it can be.
The Wave
Over 50,000 people – the most ever on the streets for action on climate change – joined us at The Wave on Saturday 5 December to demand a strong and fair global deal ahead of the UN climate talks in Copenhagen.
Organised by the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, The Wave marched through Glasgow, Belfast and London. We certainly got Gordon Brown’s attention – the Prime Minister invited WWF and other representatives from The Wave to 10 Downing Street after the event to hear our demands.
Were you at The Wave? Share your photos and see the others on Flickr
Stop Climate Chaos ‘flying pickets’
During the second week of the Copenhagen talks, WWF and members of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition targeted countries identified by the Climate Action Network (CAN) as the Fossil of the Day – the one blocking progress in the climate talks more than any other.
The picture here shows the Fossil of the Day award being delivered to the US Embassy to point out their inadequate emissions reduction targets.
Global Day of Action
“We have a chance… a real chance… here and now… to change the course of our history. The momentum is there. We see it from all sectors of our society. Business people… civic leaders… religious leaders… and young people.”
Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary General
On Saturday 12 December, 100,000 people took to the streets in Copenhagen, and thousands of people around the world gathered at climate vigils to send a clear message to world leaders: The World Wants a Real Deal!
The Day of Action, organised by the TckTckTck campaign, of which WWF is a member, involved nearly 3,000 events across the world, 220 in the UK, including candlelit vigils.
See more details and photos from the Day of Action
Vote Earth sign-ups handed in
Nearly 27,000 of you signed our petition for a strong global climate deal, which we handed to Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, just before he set off for the Copenhagen climate summit.
They also formed part of the Vote Earth global petition during the special Earth Hour Copenhagen event on 16 December.
Earth Hour
Hundreds of millions of people around the world switched off their lights for one hour on Saturday 28 March 2009 – sending a visually dramatic, symbolic signal to world leaders that they must take action to tackle climate change.
During Earth Hour, iconic international landmarks like Sydney Opera House, the Acropolis, the Bird’s Nest stadium in China, Eiffel Tower, pyramids of Giza, Empire State Building and Big Ben were all plunged into darkness for 60 minutes as part of the largest global action of its kind ever.
This year it’s even more important that we get together to reinforce the message – so take the chance to switch off and support Earth Hour on 27 March 2010.