Lots of action for Climate Change on December 8

From Albania to Uruguay and 84 countries in between, people came together to on December 8, to take part in the International Day of Action for Climate Change. Events ranged from big rallies in capital cities, to student campus actions, to local community events, festivals and public meetings.

Despite coming from many different cultures, languages and backgrounds, the message was clear from those who part in the International Day of Action. They want; world leaders and decisions makers to take urgent action to reduce emissions, for rich countries to support developing countries and communities cope with problems caused by climate change; and plan for a sustainable future for humans, animals and environment alike.

Bali, (the location for the United Nations Climate Change Conference) also saw people taking action on Climate Change. There was a rally and festival by Climate Change campaigners in the capital Denpasar, and inside the conference itself, online campaigning group Avaaz, marched with the 545,000 names of people who participated in a virtual march for climate change.

Oxfam supporters have also taken part in rallies and activities across the world. We will update photos on our Flickr profile as soon as they come in.

It is not to late to take action. Add your name to our Climate Change Pledge and find out how you can get involved more in our campaigns on Climate Change and other issues at your nearest Oxfam.

To get a taste of what happened in Bali on the day of action, watch the video below.

Oxfam International joins Climate Action Network

Oxfam International became an official member of the Climate Action Network on December 8, which is also the International Day of Action for Climate Change.

The Climate Action Network (CAN) is a worldwide network, of over 430 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels.

Oxfam International is excited to be a member of CAN, and we look forward to working with the members here in Bali and in the future, to ensure that the interests of people living in poverty are at the heart of any decisions made to tackle climate change.

CAN, have a daily newsletter, “ECO”, whichs reports on the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Take a look, as it has articles, updates and news from CAN members who are at the conference.

Oxfam’s photos and videos Bali

We thought you might like to see some of the things we have been doing over the last few days at the conference.

Take a look at our photos on Flikr or watch our videos on YouTube, to get a sense of what it is like to be at an United Nations Conference, and of course updates from the team in Bali.

Don’t forget to keep coming back to visit us here or subscribe to our blog, as we add new photos, stories and video every day.

Why is Oxfam at the UN Climate Change Conference?

Oxfam’s goal is to see and end to poverty and suffering, so how does that link to Climate Change? Developing countries and people living in poverty are being hit first and worst, by the impacts of climate change. They are losing their livelihoods and land to more frequent and severe floods, droughts and rising sea levels.

Find out more from Kate Raworth, Oxfam GB’s Senior Climate Change Researcher and Ursula Rakova, whose community in the Carteret Islands, have already had to make plans to leave due to rising sea levels.

What does Adaptation Finance have to do with Climate Change?

Today, we launched a new briefing note (see all the photos here) at the UN Climate Change Conference that is being held in Bali, Indonesia. The note called “Financing adaptation: why the UN’s Bali Climate Conference must mandate the search for new funds”. received a lot of coverage in the media, so I was lucky to grab the lead author, Oxfam’s Charlotte Sterett, for a chat between interviews.

Karina – What was your day like at the conference today?

Charlotte – The second day of the Bali conference started with a flurry of activity, as
Oxfam gave its first press conference that we will be doing here on adaptation financing. The note we launched focuses on the costs of adaptation in developing countries, and our panel included Oxfam staff, as well as conference delegates from developing countries. The delegates joined us in putting rich countries on notice, to live up their obligations as agreed under the UN and Kyoto Protocol, to assist poor developing countries adapt to climate change.

Why is adaptation financing needed to support people who are or will be in the future, affected by climate change?

Financing for adaptation is critical for poor women and men in vulnerable communities because their lives and livelihoods depend on it. Without this funding these countries will struggle to adapt to the changes in time and it will be the poorest who have to deal with the impacts.

What needs to happen to ensure that developing countries are able to cope with Climate Change?

Oxfam estimates that the costs of adaptation in all developing countries is at least $50bn(US) per year, and it will increase if emissions are not cut fast enough. The majority of the funds should come from rich, industrialized countries with the United States and the European Union providing the lion’s share of over 70%.

That’s a lot of money?

$50bn per year is a lot of money, but it’s the amount that poor countries require to cope and adapt to the worst impacts of climate change. It’s also within the range that the UN has stated is required. It’s not only possible, it’s what rich countries have a moral responsibility to pay, given they are largely responsible for climate change. These funds can be raised if we have the political will to make real changes.

What would a good result from this conference look like for Oxfam?

Along with significant political action to affect real progress in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, Oxfam also wants to see the following achieved in terms of adaptation;

1. We want all rich countries to deliver on their promises to assist developing countries adapt to climate change
2. We want to see agreement on an equitable ‘road-map’ for post-2012 that includes explicit discussion of potential fair and equitable funding sources for the adaptation fund
3. We want funds for adaptation to be managed and disbursed in ways that put the needs of those worst affected by climate change first and central.

Finally, what does Climate Change mean to you on a personal level?

Climate change is affecting people around the world. At home in Australia we have been experiencing severe drought for many years which is reducing the amount of water we have available. However, Australia has the resources to manage this and as a result we do not suffer to the extent that poor women and men do in developing countries.

For them the impacts are much more severe, and at times, life threatening. And when you hear stories from people in the Pacific , like the those from Ursula Rakova, from the Carteret Islands who are already making plans to leave because it is being swallowed by the sea, Climate Change becomes much more than a debate about facts and figures.

Thanks Charlotte. You can watch the press conference at the United Nations Climate Change Conference website or see a slide show of photos from event.

Charlotte Sterett – is the Climate Change Campaign Manager for Oxfam Australia and lead author of

Karina Brisby – is Interactive Campaigns Mananger for Oxfam Great Britain