CEN News

Click here to read about Plan Z.E.D. - a project to model the path to have Australia reach Zero Emissions in a Decade.

Barack Obama speaks about his plan to combat climate change.

"Why march, what difference will it make?" The article "Sign of the Times", by Sue Jackson, will help answer this question. It will lift your spirits, and in the midst of all the "dire warning" articles on climate change, will give you hope that "people power" does work. Marching in a rally is time well spent!

Climate scientist, Ken Caldeira, of the Carnegie Institution, warns that the world needs a backup plan if emissions cuts are insufficient to stave off catastrophic warming. The full story is here . . . http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-11/ci-wnc110708.php

Our climate. Our future. Our summit.

From January 31st to February 3rd, community climate action groups from across the continent are joining together for Australia's Climate Action Summit in Canberra, the weekend before the first day of the 2009 Federal Parliament.

Australia's Climate Action Summit will have two distinct, simultaneous parts: a weekend strategy meeting on Saturday January 31st and Sunday February 1st for delegates from climate change action groups to build a unified national climate campaign, and a weekend public conference on the urgent climate crisis. On Monday February 2nd, there will be a day of dynamic training in climate campaigning skills for taking action, facilitating climate action groups, effective lobbying and more. On Tuesday February 3rd, the first day of the 2009 Federal Parliament, we will mobilise thousands of people in a high profile demonstration for real action on climate change.

We are inviting submissions for workshops, skillshares and forums for the weekend public conference of Australia's Climate Action Summit.

Workshops will be 90 minutes in length. We are looking for workshops on:

• Campaign skills: workshops on campaign strategy, media, lobbying, community engagement and outreach on climate change issues;
• Group skills: workshops on facilitation, building and maintaining a climate change group;
• Action skills: workshops on how to organise a variety of community action (non violent direct action on coal infrastructure, rally, human sign, etc).
• Informative and practical workshops on climate change myths (nuclear, "clean coal") and solutions (Transition Towns, solar technology, etc);
• Workshops that explore social and environmental justice issues and climate change;
• Workshops specifically for children; and
• Success stories and discussions on projects/campaigns that have been successful, strong climate action groups, and great workplace initiatives to show, learn from and celebrate what has already been achieved!

If you or your group have a workshop you would like to hold, please send a short description and your contact details to program[AT] climatesummit.org.au by December 30th, 2008.

If you haven't facilitated a workshop before and would like some support, get in touch! We can send you some resources, talk on the phone, pair you up with an experienced facilitator, or send you a variety of existing workshop plans to help you out: program[AT]climatesummit.org.au. Not all the workshops will fit on the published program, but there will also be "open space" time throughout the Summit where people can submit and create workshops without organising beforehand.

For more information about Australia's Climate Action Summit, flyers and posters for your group, or to get involved, please contact
info[AT]climatesummit.org.au or call 0417 682 541. http://www.climatesummit.org.au/