Day 1: Highlights from Poznan - Countdown to Copenhagen

1 December 2008

Today 11,000 people representing governments, the scientific community and academia, environmental and indigenous non-government organisations descended on freezing Poznan, Poland in what is the most important meeting ever to reach agreement on how to reduce and adapt to climate change.

In Poznan, The Wilderness Society delegation will be urging world leaders to take strong action to reduce logging and land clearing - as part of the global plan to tackle climate change.

With the Kyoto agreement period coming to an end, the global community has given itself until December next year in Copenhagen to reach a new agreement on how to tackle climate from 2012 and beyond.

By the end of this two-week meeting, there must be a clear understanding of the key elements of a climate change action plan, and a framework for negotiations for the next 12 months about how to reduce CO₂ emissions and avoid dangerous climate change to rescue the earth's future.

The world is watching. The Poznan meeting must send a clear signal that 2009 will be the year that the world gets serious about tackling climate change.

So The Wilderness Society has sent 5 members of its campaign team to Poznan;
- Gavan McFadzean (Victorian Campaigns Manager)
- Peg Putt (International Green Carbon Consultant)
- Virginia Young (National Strategic Campaigns Coordinator)
- Sean Cadman (National Forest Campaigner)
- Gemma Tillack (Community Campaigner Tasmania)

The Wilderness Society delegation will be pushing that the protection of the world's native forests are critical to a climate change solution. Old-growth native forests are the biggest and best carbon stores and continue to sequest (suck in) dangerous CO₂ for as long as they are alive.

Logging forests destroys carbon banks, releases massive amounts of CO₂ into the atmosphere. With deforestation (tree clearing for agriculture or some other use) and forest degradation (logging) contributing over one quarter of global emissions, forest protection around the world must be a key part of any international agreement to reduce climate change.

Check out our regular 'Postcards from Poznan' for updates and progress on the climate change negotiations.

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