Today I watched a presentation of a new climate change report, funded by the Swedish government. It shows that we´re now emitting almost nine billion tons of CO2 every year, 2,5 billion tons more then nine years ago.

This is much worst the the IPCC-report said in 2007. And they are now talking about that the climate system have flipped over to a new level. And when we´ve reached that point, then we have no idea of what´s going to happened.

This scares me, and I´m putting my hope the the meeting in Copenhagen in December. Maybe that´s our last opportunity.

It´s been called the worlds largest democracy. And today they have to proof themselves. During the elections in the last 20 years it´s been a close race between the Congress party, who lead the liberation from the British and the hindu nationalistic movement BJP. And for the last five years, the Congress party have ruled India with Manmohan Singh as prime minister.

But this year a third alliance have joined the race from the left. With a social welfare agenda they could be a good choice for a India with huge social injustice.

I will follow the election that will last until May 13, and then we can see who´s going to lead one of the great nations of the world.

During this week I´ve been launching my new lecture “Rethink The Future”. It´s an inspirational lecture about what a sustainable world could look like and how we could reach it.

If you know Swedish, please read more at www.rethinkthefuture.net. I will add some English information soon.

Dear friends,

EU leaders meet this weekend to discuss the economic crisis. It’s a huge opportunity to create jobs and save the planet — click below to urge them to embrace a bold green recovery plan:

Send A Message Now
In the face of the global economic downturn and the climate crisis, a brilliant new idea is taking hold: green recovery. From China’s Hu Jintao to Obama in the U.S., leaders are realizing that a green recovery — investing in renewable fuels, efficiency, and new technology — is the best way to create jobs and save the planet at the same time.

But at a summit this weekend, European leaders may miss their chance — unless enough of us speak up now.

Some European politicians, influenced by special interests, are stuck in the discarded view that helping the economy must hurt the climate, and vice versa. If this mindset wins out, vast sums will be spent on ruinously dirty growth, putting the entire world in peril. But if we raise our voices now, we can help tip the balance towards a cleaner, greener economy that works for us all.

Click below to send a message to European leaders, urging them to commit to a green recovery plan:

http://cdn.avaaz.org/en/europe_green_recovery

Green recovery isn’t a dream — it’s already begun. The U.S. has committed to invest almost 1% of its economic output in sustainable recovery programmes. China is racing ahead, putting over a third of its big stimulus package into green investments, while South Korea investing two-thirds of its package in energy efficiency, green jobs, public transport and renewable energy.

The global race to a greener, cleaner future could begin here. But if we fail to switch to clean energy now, any economic recovery risks ending up being crippled by a new oil price spike in a couple of years.

Much more than Europe is at stake. Next April, the 20 biggest economies will gather in London to hash global plans for a coordinated response to the economic downturn. By taking action now, we can put sustainable recovery at the heart of their economic agenda, and set world leaders on the road to a climate deal this December in Copenhagen.

If enough of us write to our leaders now, we can show them that the public rejects the false choice between today’s economy and tomorrow’s climate. Follow this link now to urge Europe to embrace a green New Deal that creates the jobs of the future, ends our addiction to climate-poisoning fossil fuels, and lays the foundations of a sustainable economic recovery:

http://cdn.avaaz.org/en/europe_green_recovery

With hope,

Ben, Luis, Iain, Ricken, Paul, Alice, Brett, Paula, Graziela, Milena, Pascal, Veronique — and the rest of the Avaaz team

I just got a message from One.org about some good news.
Over the last month, 51,000 ONE members signed our petition to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, letting him know that people around the world think it is important that the world’s poorest countries have a say in reshaping the global financial system.
While we were working with [...]

I live in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden and have followed the process to elect a winner to the European Green Capital price 2010. And Stockholm won in a hard race with Amsterdam, Hamburg, Bristol, Copenhagen, Oslo, Münster and Freiburg in Breisgau.

I think it´s great.

During the last weeks have hundreds of people dies on fires around Australia. Heat waves and strong winds have made it impossible to beat the fires and many towns are gone. And during the last days the amount of rain coming down in the southern part of the country have been more then the normal rain for a year.

The weather in Australia are a glimpse of the future for the rest of the world if we let the climate system break down. It´s going to be out of control.

Some good news for the struggle against the climate change. A new report from the European Union talks about the newest research and are mentioning the goal of 350 ppm CO2 in the atmosphere. They are also mentioning a cost, 175 billion euros per year until 2020.

This is a good sign, that a major part in the COP15-meeting are talking about the changes we need to make. And I hope more parts will follow.

The Guardian published some really strong images showing the effects of climate change around the world. You can find the images at;

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2009/feb/05/global-drought?picture=342842970.

They say that a picture says more then a thousand words. And sometimes they are right.

I just got a message from One.org about some good news.

Over the last month, 51,000 ONE members signed our petition to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, letting him know that people around the world think it is important that the world’s poorest countries have a say in reshaping the global financial system.

While we were working with 10 Downing Street to deliver our petition, the British Government extended an invitation to African Union leaders to send a representative to the G20 Summit. We know there is much more to do but this is an important first step.

Click here to add your name to our note saying, “Thank you for including African representation in the G20 Summit. Under your stewardship please continue to fight for the representation of the developing world.” We will deliver this alongside the original petition:

http://www.one.org/international/thankbrown/o.pl?id=836-3352959-kyPPGzx&t=2

This is really good news at a challenging time. While an invitation to a meeting doesn’t have the immediate impact of funding development programs or cancelling debt, it is a vital step. The whole world is suffering because of the economic crisis, but the world’s poorest people are the hardest hit. As the new international finance rules and structures start to take shape, it is critical that their voices are heard.

Though the invitation has already been given, we’ll still be delivering our petition. But rather than saying ‘please’ when we hand it over, we’ll be saying thank you and now please listen to what the African delegation has to say.

Click here to add your name to our thank you note we’ll hand over with the petition:
http://www.one.org/international/thankbrown/o.pl?id=836-3352959-kyPPGzx&t=4

Congratulations on helping to make this happen.

Thank you,
David Lane, ONE.org