WWF urges public to "Vote Earth" ahead of conference

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Pretoria - The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has urged individuals, businesses and community groups to "Vote Earth" ahead of the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

The Vote Earth Campaign is about urging world leaders to deliver a new climate deal which is fair and effective in keeping global warming as far below 2 Degrees Celsius as possible. The Heads of State will gather in Copenhagen on 7 December.

"WWF is calling on South Africans to join the global community in Voting Earth by visiting www.wwf.org.za and committing to take steps to reduce their own environmental impact," explains WWF South Africa's CEO, Dr Morne du Plessis.

These "votes" will be delivered to world leaders in December when they gather in Copenhagen to decide how the global community deals with climate change.

"We simply cannot do too much to impress the gravity of the situation of global warming upon our leaders and our peers," said du Plessis in a statement on Wednesday.

The Vote Earth campaign calls on citizens to make changes in their own lives that will contribute towards a collective effort to reduce climate change and influence the outcomes of the meeting in Copenhagen.

"We are on the cusp of one of the most significant moments of our time," says WWF Climate Champion, Valli Moosa.

"The outcome of these negotiations will have a profound impact on the way countries around the world collectively tackle the all important issue of climate change."

The Vote Earth Campaign follows on from WWF's award winning Earth Hour campaign which aimed to raise international awareness on climate change.

The final round of negotiations ahead of the United Nations Climate Summit came to a close this week in Barcelona.