Will you join The Wave?
Published: 3 December 2009
Author: Melanie Scagliarini
[ 3 ] Recommendations
People unite to demonstrate for positive action against climate change
With the Copenhagen conference just days away, people the world over are tying their shoelaces and limbering up for the fight of their lives: to stop climate change.
This is why Stop the Climate Chaos Coalition - a group of 100 UK organisations, from the Women’s Institute and Christian Aid to Oxfam and Greenpeace - has organised The Wave, on Saturday 5th December in London and Glasgow.
The Wave will send a strong message to Gordon Brown that people in the UK want to see their government do all that’s needed
Billed as a street carnival, The Wave organisers encourage supporters to dress in blue to emphasise the notion of pushing for a fair deal until they are "blue in the face". With tens of thousands of people expected to descend on London at midday, the demonstration is planned to be the biggest march ever - outstripping the 40,000 attendees at Put People First in March 2009.
“The Wave will send a strong message to Gordon Brown that people in the UK want to see their government do all that’s needed to deliver a strong and fair deal that puts poor people and the planet first at Copenhagen,” says Ashok Sinha, Director of Stop Climate Chaos Coalition.
What's in the diary?
In some parts, the fight has already commenced - from the polite to the not quite. Oxfam UK has already held 18,000 events - from mini-wave marches to talks and debates - highlighting the cause. Mobilization for Climate Justice held a day of civil disobedience across the US, resulting in 12 arrests, on 30th November.
During the Copenhagen conference many supporters will swarm to the city, most by train but some "even hitchhiking and cycling" Lisa Rutherford, Media Campaigner at Oxfam told Sideways News.
In Copenhagen, a tireless diary of events is scheduled - including a march by 22 Nepali sherpas and Everest summiteers, a bike ride, and a global day of action consisting of simultaneous demonstrations held in 104 countries on 11th December.
Popular mobilisation
In a move from the norm, it’s not just charities and NGOs who call for grass-roots activism. Senior political figures, including Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, have called for “popular mobilisation”.
Take action
- Join The Wave
- What you you want achieved at Copenhagen? Join the discussion
- Get more details on the conference
- Keep up with Copenhagen, follow us on Twitter
Dr Hansen, one of the first scientists to raise the alarm on global warming in the 80s, recently said of people power, “that is the kind of activism we need”.
The question remains, will you be joining The Wave?
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