Copenhagen

The People's Orb has arrived in Copenhagen.

On December 16 in Copenhagen there will be a one city Earth Hour. A digital orb – The People’s Orb carrying 350 gigabytes of memory containing voices, images, key climate change reports and actions of people from around the globe will be presented to a representative of world leaders at a special ceremony in Copenhagen.

An identical copy of the orb will be held in trust by the National Museum of Denmark as a time capsule for future generations. The outcome of the conference will also be included in the orb.

The orb is a great opportunity for people young and old from around the world to express their wants for action on climate change to world leaders.

The People’s Orb provides an opportunity for intergenerational communication so children and youth will have a voice at the conference. Children and youth around the world are expecting an agreement to ensure that we save plant and animal species, reduce sea level rise, and reduce extreme weather patterns, deforestation, and damage of delicate ecosystems and the protection of human health.

The Lord Mayor of Sydney Ms Clover Moore and I were the first custodians of the orb and together we unveiled it in Sydney last week. Ms Moore spoke about the importance of the orb and how she will be part of the official handing over of the orb in Copenhagen. I spoke about climate change from my perspective. I spoke about how I have seen the symptoms of a warming planet. I have seen melting glaciers, deforestation, I have seen the top soil from central Australia blown away and I have seen extreme bush fires and flooding.

The Orb left Sydney at the end of last week and headed for Brussels where it was put onto the Climate Express. The climate express was a train carrying delegates to the conference. A UNEP Ambassador took custody of it until the train arrived in Copenhagen where it was met by representatives of the Danish Government and the UN.

Included in the orb is my DVD “Children of the World and Climate Change”. It is a collection of statements from different children from around the world who I have interviewed on my travels for my environment work. The children state their thoughts on climate change.

My wish for Christmas is a climate change agreement for the planet.

Remember ‘Habits made today will help life tomorrow’.