By AVAAZ
With the biggest climate summit in history just weeks away, leaders are backing off their promises for a deal to stop catastrophic climate change. As leaders like Obama waver on global climate negotiations, the voices of the most vulnerable are needed in the climate debate. Avaaz has a chance to help small island states, whose very survival is at stake, make their voices heard in Copenhagen -- click https://secure.avaaz.org/en/their_voices_must_be_heard to help with a donation.
For families living in small, low-lying island states, a fair, ambitious and binding global climate treaty is necessary for their countries' very survival.
But small island nations often have trouble sending even one or two negotiators to UN climate summits. At the Copenhagen talks in December, we can't afford for voices of moral authority to go unheard.
If each of us chips in, we can help with airfare, food, and housing to help negotiators press for bold action -- and for advocates to amplify their voices.
If they fail, it won't just mean less snow on ski slopes. Millions of families in Africa will see their farms turn to dust as the desert advances, many in Asia will die in worsening floods and storms, and whole island nations will be threatened by rising seas -- all within 10-15 years.
The climate issue can get lost in statistics. But at critical moments, voices of moral authority can cut through the noise.
So Avaaz is launching a critical effort to build the capacity of negotiating teams from vulnerable islands like Nauru and Palau at the Copenhagen climate talks -- and gearing up to support their message with intensive on-the-ground advocacy for a strong treaty. Even a contribution of $50US/€33 can cover signs and photocopying for a press conference -- and more is needed for airfare, food, and training materials ... please chip in what you can.
We know the power of voices from the front lines of climate change. At the climate summit in Bali two years ago, a stunning speech by the negotiator from Papua New Guinea pushed the US to relent -- breaking a critical deadlock and rescuing the talks from collapse in the final hours. Island states continue to lead the world -- demanding bold action where others are timid.
The problem is that Europe, Canada, and the US typically send dozens of negotiators and support staff to these summits -- while most small island states have trouble sending more than two or three delegates. Multiple negotiations happen simultaneously. If a country has a tiny delegation, it literally has no seat at the table as decisions are made that will determine its survival.
What happens first to islands will one day happen to us all. We need the voices of island leaders in Copenhagen. And if each of us donates, even a small amount, we can help ensure that they will be heard -- at the climate talks and around the world.
The time has come to stand with our brothers and sisters at the front lines of climate change. Their fight, and their fate, is ours as well.
With hope,
Ben, Taren, Iain, Sam, Ricken, Alice, Milena, Paul, Luis, Julius, and the whole Avaaz team
PS: We've supported the island states before. Last year, over 150,000 of us signed a petition to support their UN resolution, which demanded that climate change at last be recognized as a threat to international peace and security. The island-state Ambassadors delivered the petition--and the UN passed the resolution. Now, we have a chance to help once more.
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Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in Ottawa, London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Buenos Aires, and Geneva. Click http://www.avaaz.org/en/report_back_1/ to learn more about our largest campaigns. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Myspace and Bebo pages! You can also follow Avaaz on Twitter!
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