From Hopenhagen to Nopenhagen | African Green Federation
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From Hopenhagen to Nopenhagen

In Copenhagen the over-riding impression was chaos! People queuing for hours outside in the freezing cold, and deadlocked talks inside.

The conference failed on several fronts. Negotiations to protect the climate under the formal UN framework produced no meaningful result. Talks will continue through 2010 to the next Conference of Parties (COP16) in December 2010 in Mexico. The last minute 'Copenhagen Accord' was negotiated mainly between the Heads of State of China and the US, with involvement from India and Brazil. It also falls well short of all expectations with no guarantees for avoiding dangerous climate change and no legally binding mechanisms.

Away from the formalities, Greens globally were part of the massive 12 December Day of Action. Over 100,000 people gathered in Copenhagen alone while hundreds of thousands more marched in countries around the world. The Global Greens also organised an information exchange forum for Greens in Copenhagen, and a public event featuring leading Green climate activists including Rebecca Harms, Marina Silva, Jose Bove, Christine Milne and Elizabeth May. Regrettably, at the last minute, Prof Wangari Maathai was unable to attend.

More information:

Beyond Copenhagen- where to for International climate policy: Green Group in the European Parliament, to be web-streamed live 4 February.

http://www.greens-efa.org/cms/defau...

Global Greens call for honest, scientifically sound climate agreement. Media release from Copenhagen http://www.globalgreens.org/stateme...

Commonwealth Greens push for democracy in Rwanda

The Rwanda Greens (Democratic Green Party of Rwanda) have tried numerous times in the last year to register formally as a political party. They have been blocked and their supporters harassed and intimidated by members of the ruling party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front. The Commonwealth Human Rights Commission was so concerned about the lack of human rights, including political freedom, that it recommended against Rwanda's admission to the Commonwealth. Greens from Commonwealth countries including Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Canada, Mauritius and England and Wales united in calling on the Commonwealth to block Rwanda's application. Rwanda was admitted, but now must improve its performance – the Greens will be watching!

Global Greens Secretary

The Global Greens Coordination, meeting in Copenhagen during the climate conference, agreed to appoint a secretary, based in Australia, to help with administration, communication and networking. This is a big step forward for the Global Greens, giving us for the first time resources to become more effective.

Global Young Greens – second congress in 2010

The GYG will hold their second Congress in August 2010 in Berlin, Germany. On the agenda, will be plans for restructuring, training, workshops and developing common positions on vital global issues. Join in with your ideas: www.globalyounggreens.org More dates

African Greens congress: April-May 2010 in Uganda (date to be confirmed). http://www.africangreens.org/

Asia Pacific Greens Network congress: 30 April—2 May, Taiwan. http://www.apgn2010.org/

Greens of the Americas: Next meeting September 2010, Colombia. http://www.fpva.org.mx/

European Greens. Meeting schedule and other news: http://europeangreens.eu/

About this newsletter

The Global Greens Coordination has representatives from each Green federation/network (Africa, Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe). It meets mostly by teleconference and occasionally face to face, most recently in Copenhagen in December 2009. It makes statements on current global issues, organises the Greens common presence at global events, and arranges Global Green conferences. Informal Global Greens news updates, like this one, will be published from time to time. Please circulate it to your Green-minded friends and colleagues.

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