Registration is first come, first served, starting half an hour before the event. Time is limited to around 50 minutes, so please ensure questions are focussed and to the point.

Date: Thursday, 1 December 2011

Time: 10:00, GMT Time (London, GMT), 12:00 South Africa time, this is 9pm Sydney/Melbourne time.

Included below are the joining instructions for the event. Please ensure you start to log in early, at least 15 minutes before the event as it can often take up to 10 minutes to log in, and preferably around 30 minutes before. Registration will open at 9.30am GMT (8.30pm Sydney/Melbourne time). Once you are logged on successfully then you can leave the screen (or your room) and do other things, and come back when it is time to start. you will not ‘time out’. Hopefully this will ensure we get a prompt start to the session and make the most of the limited time available.

We would also welcome questions in advance, so if you have any questions you’re keen to put forward, please email them to: Christopher.palmer@sa.britishcouncil.org and we’ll try to start the session with a few of them.

INVITATION

British Council invites you to participate as an attendee in the following online training session:

Topic: In Conversation with Christiana Figueres UNFCCC Executive Secretary

Host: British Council

Date: Thursday, 1 December 2011

Time: 10:00, GMT Time (London, GMT)

Session number: 738 397 523

Session password: 1234

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To join the training session

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1. Go to https://climategeneration.webex.com/climategeneration/k2/j.php?ED=161945702&UID=1013494802&HMAC=cea309a85f1ad1526bd529cdc9bc95a9b3569cab&RT=MTgjMjE%3D .

2. Enter your name and email address (or registration ID).

3. Enter the session password: 1234

4. Click “Join Now”.

5. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

To view in other time zones or languages, please click the link

https://climategeneration.webex.com/climategeneration/k2/j.php?ED=161945702&UID=1013494802&ORT=MTgjMjE%3D&HMAC=cea309a85f1ad1526bd529cdc9bc95a9b3569cab  
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To join the session by phone only

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Use VoIP only

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For assistance

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You can contact British Council at:

bcclimatechampions@gmail.com

To update this session to your calendar program (for example Microsoft Outlook), click this link:

https://climategeneration.webex.com/climategeneration/k2/j.php?AT=down&ED=161945702&EF=EMA&UUID=1013494802&SHA2=O89bek6mXq2nYmX-1kDkK%2FLH8CbQUkmV7yxE2HCRJiU%3D&RT=MTgjMjE%3D

http://www.webex.com

I’m writing this from a hostel room in Durban, where the AYCC International team has just landed for the UN climate talks. There are hundreds of young people here, all for the same reason – action on climate change is increasingly urgent, and it will only be successful with a strong global effort.

In Australia we’ve made some great steps in the right direction this year, with a price on carbon being passed and a commitment to greater investment in renewable energy. But this progress can’t be left at home in Australia. We need our Government to show ambition and leadership here in Durban, and help inject momentum into the negotiations.

When we meet with Greg Combet in the next two weeks, we want to show him that Australia’s actions in Durban are under scrutiny. That’s why we’re asking you to write a quick message, letting our Government know that you’re watching – and you want to see Australia lead, not sit back and watch.

Leave a comment at the bottom of this blog telling our Government what you’d like to see them do in Durban.

Your message will help us keep up the pressure on two key issues:

1. The second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol

The first phase of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. That means Durban is our last chance to make sure countries commit to a second phase. A second phase of the Kyoto Protocol is a crucial element of a global deal, and developing countries aren’t likely to take on binding commitments if developed countries don’t first commit to a second phase of Kyoto.

Last year in Cancun, Australia said they would commit to a second phase, but if we don’t hold them accountable, there’s a chance they won’t formalise that commitment under the UN Convention here in Durban. We also need to make sure Australia is putting pressure on our allies, such as the USA and Japan, to also commit to a second phase of Kyoto.

2. Limiting global temperature rise to no more than 2 degrees

If we want to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we need to keep global temperature rise well below a 2 degree increase on pre-industrial levels. In Cancun last year, Australia signed the pledge to limit global temperature rise to no more than 2 degrees. But Australia’s current target is to reduce emissions 5% by 2020 – and that’s far too low to help the world reach the goal of 2 degrees.

It’s inconsistencies like these that hold up global progress. Right now, with the Government on the international stage, it’s time to shine the spotlight on their lack of ambition.

If you were negotiating on behalf of the Australian Government in Durban, what would you do? Add your message to this blog now, so we can show that Australia’s youth are watching!

We’ll be sending through another update soon, including a video summary of the Conference of Youth. In the meantime, you can follow @aycc on Twitter for all the news from Durban.

With hope,
Gemma, on behalf of the whole AYCC International team.

http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/politics/im-an-actor-and-im-worried-about-climate-change-20111013-1lmnd.html

My name’s Jess Tovey, I’m an actor, and I’m here to write an article about climate change.

I know what you’re thinking: here’s another bloody actor trying to get attention for their opinion. It’s been only five months since Cate Blanchett’s name was splashed across the front page of the Daily Telegraph for “sparking outrage in the community” for supporting action on climate change. She was dubbed “Carbon Cate” and copped a lashing on talkback radio for her decision to appear in a “Say Yes” ad in support of pricing pollution.

Yet here I am, another actor, not even 24 years old, weighing into the same subject. I can only imagine what some journalists might be thinking. I tried to imagine what catchy headline they could use to ridicule me, but the letter J is hard to alliterate with. Judgmental, Jerk and Juvenile were the best I could come up with.
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So why am I writing this? I am not a scientist, nor a politician, I haven’t even got a degree. I’m just an actor. I went straight from school to working on Home and Away. I was there for three years, and since then have done a bunch of other Aussie shows, including Paper Giants earlier this year. Like Cate Blanchett and Michael Caton I am prepared to cop flack from those who think I have no right to weigh in on the subject of climate change.

On first glance I may not look like I have had any experience with the effects that global warming and climate change are inflicting on this earth. But do you have any idea what it is like to live in Summer Bay, where Home and Away is set?

Every week, we’d have a fire, a cyclone, a storm, my character died from a cancer caused by toxic chemicals being buried in the caravan park. Life in Summer Bay is one environmental disaster after another, not to mention the daily emotional crises!

Putting jokes aside, if the sea rises to its predicted level, 50 years from now there will be no surf club and no Summer Bay.

You don’t have to be a climate scientist to gain knowledge and form an opinion on this issue. You just have to be a human being listening to the warnings that the professionals keep telling us over and over again.

I write this as a young person, as an actor, as a beach lover, as an earth lover, and as an informed adult who truly believes that the majority of scientists are correct in saying that climate change is the single most important issue of our time.

I grew up with scientist for a father. He works in respiratory medicine, not climate science, but he was still someone who taught me the importance of inquisitive behaviour. From an early age we would do experiments in the kitchen and my dad instilled in my two sisters and I a respect for science and the facts.

Therefore, I get quite frustrated at people’s refusal to look at the evidence. Not just evidence that there is a dramatic shift in climate patterns, but the evidence around us. The number of natural diasters that have occurred in the past decade, rising temperatures, the severe droughts seen in both this country and the devastating one occurring in Africa now. The coral bleaching in the the Great Barrier Reef, glaciers and ice caps melting, sea levels rising. The fact I got a tan in August. (Sorry, bad joke).

It doesn’t take a genius to start putting the pieces together.

The other lesson that was instilled in me from a young age was to stand up for what I believe in. I was that kid who went to protests with their parents. When I was really little I fell asleep under trees and got bribed with ice cream to hold the sign a little bit higher.

I come from a generation that was taught that it was our responsibility to save the planet. Thanks to Sesame Street, from as soon as my generation could talk we could also sing the “Don’t waste water” song. Most Australians in their 20s can still recite all the lyrics to the Captain Planet theme song.

As I grew up, I realised for myself just how important it was to be an active member of the community; that when you see some kind of injustice, it is important to find your voice and make a stand.

So while acting serves my creativity and my livelihood, I have more than enough room for another passion. And I will use whatever power, whatever avenue I have, to make the slightest bit of change.

I’ve been very much outraged by the misinformation and scare campaigns that have been propagated by certain politicians and tabloid media in the recent months.

I’ve heard Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop and 2GB presenter Chris Smith talk about the anti-carbon tax protesters as “grassroots”, “the little people” and “the people who will be most affected”.

They are entitled to their opinion, but in my opinion, the people who are most likely to be affected are young people who will have to deal with the consequences of climate change as they come to bear.

That’s why I’m speaking to more than 1000 young people at the Australian Youth Climate Coalition’s Power Shift conference this weekend in Brisbane. These are the real “little people”, and the AYCC is the very definition of a grassroots movement .We have more than 65,000 members who support the carbon price legislation.

That’s why I am writing this today, despite the fear that some shock jock or politician is going to come out and bop me on the head for speaking up. This is a really important issue, and we all need to make our voices heard to encourage change. The political squabbling needs to stop. We need action now. Even someone who barely graduated Summer Bay High, surely one of the most dysfunctional places on earth, can see that much.

Jess Tovey is an Australian actor.

Our team has been hitting the airwaves and newspapers spreading the message, check it out here:

Sashenka Lakshmanasingha is interviewed on Our World Today:
http://www.ourworldtoday.com.au/news/article/take-two-at-cop

Sashenka again in the East Torrens Messenger:
http://east-torrens-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/talking-climate-change/

Saskia in the news:

Sandy, Gemma and Sashenka in the paper:

With your help, the AYCC has been in the thick of this debate over the past year. We have:

1. Met with over 200 politicians (including the PM!) through our Meet Your Member campaign;
2. Made thousands of phone calls to politicians’ offices;
3. Helped to organis rallies attended by over 45,000 people;4. Been part of the Say Yes campaign, which today planted over 1000 of your messages of support on the lawns of Parliament, and received national media attention;
5. Launched national TV and radio ads; and
6. Had thousands of conversations with our family and friends about why we need to move to renewable energy.

Time and time again, politicians have told us that our involvement has been crucial in getting this policy over the line (Rob Oakeshott even told me yesterday that the ‘thank you’ video we sent him made his mum cry).

I wanted to take this time to say THANK YOU for being involved in making this day happen. And with your help, I have no doubt we can create a brighter future for our generation.

With hope and excitement,

Ellen and the whole AYCC team.

PS: This weekend, 1000 young people from across the country will converge on Brisbane to plan how we can build on this momentum, and move Australia to 100% renewable energy. Ticket sales for Power Shift close in 24 hours. Make sure you don’t miss out on this historic event: buy your ticket now!

Here’s what they had to say about their Power Shift experience – and what they would say to anyone thinking about booking their ticket to Brisbane.

“As a young person in Western Australia, I’ve never felt like I’ve had an outlet for my interest in climate change. On the weekend, at Power Shift Perth, that all changed.

Power Shift is run by people who are just like you. It’s not just about saving the world and climate change, it’s about bringing people together who are positive, who are motivated, and who will go out there and make a positive difference in the world. I’ve left feeling empowered, energised, and like I actually have the skills and support network to do something in my local community.

Come to Brisbane for the national Power Shift. If I could go to Brisbane as well as Perth, and do it all over again, I would. Power Shift Perth been the most powerful thing for me that I can remember.”

- Jess

Click here to get your ticket to Brisbane for 15-17th October.

“This is the first thing I have ever done like this. I have spent the last 5 years reading papers on climate change and listening to people tell me how bad it is and all I had taken away from that was a sense of dread, terror and powerlessness.

What could I do against such a big problem?

Power Shift has made me feel like climate change is even worse than I thought, but this time I don’t feel scared. I feel like I need to do something – and that I can.”

- Jane

“Do you ever feel like you want to achieve something? You feel like you have something to give and you want to be a part of something big and powerful? I’ve often experienced that feeling, but I really didn’t know where to start.

Then I heard about this big youth climate summit and I started thinking. At first I came up with a bunch of reasons not to go, but in the end I thought, “why the hell not?” Surely I can sacrifice a weekend for a good cause!

I am so glad I made that decision. And I want you to have the same powerful experience I’ve had these past three days. I dare you to give three days of your time to our generation’s biggest issue. I promise you that it will be worth it.”

- Ryan

Although I usually believe it is of little use to give oxygen to unfounded criticisms and public baiting exercises, I felt the need to respond on behalf of the AYCC, both to correct inaccuracies and to comment on Pearse’s claims about the ineffectiveness of the climate movement.

Firstly, Pearse suggests that AYCC’s funders, particularly Rob Purves, have influence over AYCC’s policy. This is incorrect. AYCC’s policy is decided by our senior staff, based on a broad declaration signed by our members groups (prominent, diverse, youth organisations) at our founding summit. Rob Purves was not involved in the AYCC in any way at the time of the founding summit, and therefore had no influence over our declaration. As he is not a member of senior staff, he continues to have no influence over our policy.

Secondly, the statement that Rob Purves is “the governor of the AYCC” is untrue. The only governance role Rob Purves plays in the AYCC is by being one of 15 people who elected our first board. Other people in this group include the founders of our youth member groups. Rob was initially invited to sit on the AYCC board, but declined. Pearse suggests Purves, and other donors, have coerced the recipients of their funding into supporting the inadequate policies of the Government. If this was true, it would follow that all those funded by Purves have similar policy positions. This is not the case. The AYCC did not support the proposed CPRS, whereas Tim Flannery, who is also funded by Rob Purves, did.

Although I believe non-profits and their funders should not be above criticism, attacking two of Australia’s most generous environmental philanthropists without doing a fact-check is irresponsible. As Dick Smith has recently pointed out, Australians give less than 1 per cent of our income away, compared to 15 per cent in the US. Philanthropists are few and far between in this country, and I hope Pearse’s article has not driven any potential environmental champions into hiding, especially when the greenhouse mafia’s coffers are many hundreds of times that of the climate movement.

Thirdly, Pearse suggests that the AYCC is in favour of clean coal and offsetting our emissions reductions. This is incorrect. The AYCC is in favour of switching to 100% renewable energy as fast as humanly possible, and reducing our emissions in line with what the science says, to get us below 350ppm CO2 in the atmosphere. We do not support clean coal. We do not support dodging our emission reduction targets by using offsets from overseas. All this information is publicly available on our website, and could have been checked by Mr Pearse with a simple Google search.

AYCC takes the view that we need to do what the science says is necessary, not what is political expedient. However, this does not mean we reject every policy that falls short of getting us to 100% renewables in 10 years. Our primary test is whether a policy does enough to get us on the path to that goal, and, most importantly, whether or not it actually blocks progress towards that goal. The CPRS failed this test. It legislated a 5% emission reduction target, which essentially locked in climate disaster. It also allowed far too many dodgy international offsets and wouldn’t have made a difference in our emissions at home.

The current carbon price isn’t perfect, but the targets aren’t locked in, so we can campaign to make them as strong as they need to be. It has a decent amount of new money for renewable energy. International permits are restricted in quantity and quality. It has a review into the barriers in our energy grid to getting us to 100% renewables.

The AYCC is proud to be part of the ‘Say Yes’ coalition because it puts aside small differences and focuses on what we can agree on, which is that we all want to create the conditions in the community so that people support a price on pollution. Of course I lament that we do not agree on more than that, but it’s a big tent, and I believe working constructively together as a unified front is a better approach than publicly criticising other climate groups before engaging in an internal dialogue first. Importantly, our involvement in Say Yes has not prevented us from continuing to campaign on our own view that the carbon price is not enough and we need to be doing much, much more.

Public infighting within the climate movement will make the community turn off even more than they already are. It makes it all the more likely that the Opposition’s woefully inadequate (non)-policy becomes more attractive. It serves to confuse the public, which is already understandably bewildered by the low-grade political debate and mixed messages sent by the climate movement during the CPRS debate. Private debate in the movement, however, is healthy and should be encouraged. Unfortunately Pearse did not contact any of the organisations he mentioned in his article to check his facts or respond to his claims before his article went to print.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about his article is the fact that in the end he comes to the same conclusion as the Say Yes coalition have: that the best the carbon price will do is create a foundation upon which we can have a proper conversation about what really needs to happen to save the climate. We agree on that. We are fighting for that. So let’s not get distracted from this goal.

IN APRIL 2009 the Los Angeles Times ran the headline: “What will global warming look like? Scientists point to Australia”. The article said events unfolding in Australia – record-breaking droughts, killer bushfires and devastating floods – gave a snapshot of our future in a globally warmed world. Nearly two years on, it seems very little has changed.

The floods that have led to most of Queensland being declared a disaster zone are a disturbing reminder that living in one of the richest countries in the world does not shield us from the devastation of natural disasters.

Read more →

The AYCC believes that the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme as it stood was deeply flawed, locking in big-polluting practices without achieving the emissions reductions that we need.

However, the Government must take leadership on climate change now, and not put off serious climate policy.

Young Australians are still deeply concerned about the impacts that climate change will have on our future and the future of people everywhere. If we don’t act now, there will be even more serious ramifications for ecosystems and populations already feeling the impacts of global climate change.

The AYCC supports putting a price on carbon, and we support the proposal by Professor Garnaut for an interim 2-year carbon levy, in order to move climate policy in the right direction.

With the CPRS shelved for the mean time, all political parties must work together to address climate change right now – including introducing a carbon price and significant energy efficiency measures. 2010 is a Federal Election year, and all political parties must turn their attention to solving the climate crisis, or they risk losing large numbers of votes from younger generations, many of whom are first-time voters.

Young people are ready to get to work on the new clean energy economy – our leaders need to get to work as well. AYCC is organizing a national Climate Reality Week starting May 2nd where hundreds of events will make the call for climate action loud and clear to the public.

From Monday 3rd May until Monday 10th May, young Australians have the chance to educate their communities about climate science and win great prizes – a $2000 voucher for Intrepid travel, $500 cash, tickets to see The Cat Empire, tickets to Woodford Folk Festival, and book vouchers.

The Competition

We’re launching a competition called ‘Reality Check’ to fight back against misinformation about climate change. We’ll give  great prizes for young people who:

• display our slogan “The Climate is Changing: We Can’t Escape Reality” in the craziest, most creative way to the most number of people, and/or
• spread our climate mythbusting fact sheet to the most number of people and/or
• show our animated video to the most number of people.
  

You can be as innovative and crazy as you want!  The competition is open for any Australian between the ages of 12 and 29 years old. There are 2 categories – school groups and non-school groups.

Click here to enter

The AYCC is also doing a speaking tour of the country during Climate Reality Week – 3rd til 10th May.  Want a speaker to come to your school, uni or community group? Email sophie.trevitt@youthclimatecoalition.org and let us know.

Got question?  Check out our FAQs and Terms and Conditions.

Thanks to these generous organisations for providing the prizes: