Climate Conference is officially open

Today, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, officially started in Bali. The opening session – which is normally guided by a strict protocol and reading of official statements – was brought to life with the performance of the song “Dunia Berbagilah (World Let’s Share)”, by the United Voices of Indonesia, a group of popular Indonesian pop singers led by songwriter Nugie.

Take a look at the highlights of the first hour of the conference with our slideshow of photos taken by Ng Swan Ti.

“Open your eyes and ears, and begin to share…The world is calling all of us to make a change”, are just some of the words sung by Nugie and United Voices of Indonesia. You can listen to the full version of Dunia Berbagilah as a MP3 or watch a interview we did with Nugie, straight after the performance at the opening of the conference, on our Youtube channel

Nugie’s words, underlined and echoed statements of Yvo De Boer, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, who in his opening address said, “Nobody can hide from climate change. The poorest of the poor will suffer most – in every case.”

Also speaking was outgoing COP (Conference of Parties) chair who also observed that impact of climate change is already happening, and that action to date are out of step with the urgency of action that are required.

Indeed, the world is expecting rich countries – responsible for the majority of historical greenhouse gas emissions that caused global warming – to make a quantum leap forward and commit to rapidly and drastically reducing greenhouse gases, and agree on resources and practical action to support adaptation.

My colleagues will be blogging everyday with news, updates and events from the Bali Conference. So keep coming back help us Fight Climate Poverty together.

Bert Marten is heading up Oxfam’s presence at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali.