Dear friends,

This is a special notice relating to the upcoming UN climate change meetings taking place in Bali, Indonesia from 3 – 14 December. Further, this is an invitation to join the global call for action against climate change on December 8. We encourage all GCAP national platforms to join this vital call.

Background

The 13th Conference of the Parties (COP) on climate change under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place alongside the 3rd Meeting of the Parties (MOP) on the Kyoto Protocol from 3rd – 14th December in Bali, Indonesia. This occasion has been identified by many civil society organisations as a key moment for lobbying and campaigning on climate change. Many GCAP partners as well as GCAP Indonesia are involved in activities - mainly through the specially established CSO Forum in Indonesia. Greater detail is available at the official website of these events: unfccc.int.

In consultation with members and other constituency groups, the IFT support team has setup a planning group to devise a plan of actions and draft a policy document on climate change. The plans and draft policy documents, once ready, will be shared with GCAP coalitions through the GCAP website – whiteband.org.

GCAP engagement

At the global GCAP meeting in Uruguay in May, it was agreed that GCAP would include climate change amongst it’s global demands.

GCAP members and partners are planning interventions at the local, regional and global levels. Though our focus will remain on strengthening actions and advocacy events planned by GCAP Indonesia, some strategic support from regional groups and global teams will also be offered.

GCAP Indonesia is allied to the Civil Society Forum in Indonesia which was established earlier this year purely to coordinate activities around these meetings. Some GCAP partners are also involved in local activities. GCAP Indonesia are currently hoping to be involved in a number of events. These events will include  a workshop involving farmers and CSOs in East Java; a meeting of Indigenous people’s in Bali; a long march from East Java to Bali; a people’s protocol on climate change to be submitted to the President of UNFCCC;  mass mobilizations and more .

The regional secretariat for South-East, North and Central Asia (SENCA) is sending representatives from the region to participate in peoples actions in Bali besides mobilizing GCAP coalitions to organized delegations to their respective ministers and present petitions.

At the global level we have constituted a planning and policy group that is helping GCAP Indonesia and SENCA members in planning and organizing events in Bali besides drafting a GCAP policy document that will be available for dissemination to political leaders and media by the end of November. IFT support team will also help in coordinating efforts and actions by GCAP coalitions around these dates.

Global Call for Action on Climate Change – 8 December

As part of our global mobilization and advocacy agenda we invite all GCAP coalitions to organize local events in their countries around those dates while COP and MOP meetings will take place from December 3-14, 2007 in Bali especially focusing on the global mobilization day of December 8th. Details of current plans can be found at globalclimatecampaign.org.

These actions may include:

• Public seminars on climate change and effects
• Delegations to head of state or concerned ministers with people petitions
• Public rallies to highlight the importance of favorable policies and actions around climate
• Media briefings, or press forums to highlight the issue
• Open hearings or peoples tribunals
• Letter campaign

All these and many more can be organized around these issues on those dates.

Information Sharing: In case you are already planning some activities, events, campaigns or your participation in Bali meetings or parallel forums please share your information with GCAP IFT support team. Please write your message to Ben Margolis and/or Irfan Mufti. You can also write to us for any further information or suggestions on GCAPs involvement on the issue and for our policy demands. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

We hope together all of us will be able to highlight the issue of climate crises that is already affecting lives and livelihood of millions on this planet.

Irfan Mufti
GCAP campaigns manager