This month more than 100 leaders and government officials are headed to New York for the UN climate summit. 1 Million Women will be keeping you up-to-date with all of the news and developments as they happen.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is hosting a Climate Summit to engage world leaders and advance climate action this September 23rd at the UN Headquarters in New York.
The Summit will serve as a public platform for leaders at the highest level – all UN Member States, as well as finance, business, civil society and local leaders from public and private sectors – to catalyze ambitious action to reduce emissions and strengthen climate resilience and mobilize political will for an ambitious global agreement at Paris in 2015 that limits the world to a less than 2-degree Celsius rise in global temperature.
It may come as no big surprise to you, that the Abbott-led Australian Government will not be attending at this most important event. What's even more scary, is that this is likely to be Australia's positioning for Paris too, where the world will decide on a new climate agreement and a new set of sustainable development goals.
Now is the time for leaders everywhere to join the race for transformative action that can drive economic competitiveness and sustainable prosperity for all, but where is our government?
It's embarrassing that Australia will be an empty chair at the negotiating table of this crucial summit, where countries must commit to strong targets in the lead up to Paris. The Abbott Government look to be destabilising the process now and for Paris, which is unthinkable and disgraceful.\
The UN Climate Summit 2014 will be focused on reducing emissions and strengthening resilience in big action areas – such as agriculture, cities, energy, financing, forests, pollutants, resilience and transportation.
To meet the full scale of the global climate challenge, domestic efforts must be scaled up and simultaneously leveraged through an international framework that provides incentives. Australia should be there, and attempts from our Government to sabotage our domestic efforts to reduce emissions should end now.
The benefits of taking action to address climate change have become ever more compelling. Many countries and businesses have recognized the opportunities related to decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening resilience.
There is still time for us to change the course we're on, and engaging world leaders is crucial.
The UN Climate Summit is taking place during New York Climate Week, where one of the major events taking place is the Peoples Climate March on the 21st of September. With many world leaders coming to the summit, the goal is to make this year People's Climate March the largest-ever demonstration demanding action on climate change.
HOW WILL 1 MILLION WOMEN BE INVOLVED?
In advance of the UN Climate Summit, 1 Million Women is partnering with The Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), to launch a major online effort to gather signatures in support of the WECAN Woman’s Climate Declaration.
All of the 1 Million Women signatures gathered before this important summit will be specially presented along with thousands of other signatures at the UN Climate Summit.
You can sign the declaration here.
By adding your signature, you are sending a powerful message to world leaders - that women around the world will act at any cost to stop a 4 degrees Celsius rise in global temperatures.
So please unite with us, and join thousands of women around the world calling for urgent action on climate change by signing.
If our Government won't be there, at least our collective voice will be!
Keep checking back for the latest news and developments around the New York Climate Summit.