Platform for Civil Society’s Climate Forum

In preparation for COP15 – UN’s climate summit in Copenhagen in December 2009 – a group of movements, unions, organisations, and individuals have joined forces in order to organize a concurrent event; Civil Society’s Climate Forum.

The basis for Civil Society’s Climate Forum is the realisation that there is no technological fix to the mounting climate crisis. No technology per se – such as i.e. nuclear power, agrofuels, GMO’s, carbon capture and storage – can lead us out of the climate crisis. Such solutions will typically lead to far larger problems than they solve. In contrast, sustainable societies require a diversity of locally based solutions – which again require significant mobilisation of civil society.

Civil Society’s Climate Forum believes that what is needed is building a finely balanced relation to nature, thus reducing consumption and production, rather than uncritically exploiting nature and believing in economic growth as is the case in global society today. To attain such change we need new ways of thinking, new cultural values, and new means of organising society.

With this starting point, Civil Society’s Climate Forum wishes to promote and debate true, renewable and environmentally sustainable solutions to the climatic changes we are facing. In other words, solutions that:

1. prioritise energy saving and energy effectiveness
2. promote the use of safe, clean, renewable energy
3. reduce greenhouse gas emissions and as such do not promote or cement the use of fossil fuels
4. are built on agricultural methods that fix carbon in the soil and reduce the use of fertilisers and which do not create a threat towards ecosystems, the climate and biodiversity
5. secure sustainable use of as well as equal and just access to Earth’s resources
6. remain critical to the blind focus on consumption which dominates the global society today

Our wish is that the above list of focus areas for the Civil Society’s Climate Forum will provide a positive platform for constructive debate and exchange of ideas. Civil Society’s Climate Forum aims at constituting a cohesive framework for a palette of conferences, workshops, exhibitions etc., to which grass roots and organisations from all over the world will contribute during the COP15 conference in Copenhagen.    

About the clima Forum

Klimaforum09 is a framework for constructive and visionary solutions – a space to promote and debate true, renewable, environmentally sustainable and socially just solutions to the climatic changes we are facing. The forum will be organised around a diversity of activities from hearings, workshops and exhibitions to actions, happenings, artistic activities and demonstrations.

Klimaforum09 is initiated by the independent association Civil Society’s Climate Forum, which is anchored in a coalition of 21 Danish social and environmental organisations and movements – supported by more than 40 international movements, networks and organisations. The association is open to anyone who wishes to participate in creating Klimaforum09 and can comply with the Platform.

Logistically Klimaforum09 will be anchored in Vesterbro (western part of Copenhagen) close to the central train station, busses and in biking distance to the Bella Center where the UN negotiations take place. Note however that the specific location is still uncertain due to difficulties regarding funding.  

Klimaforum09 will run from December 7th – 20th 2009

Klimaforum09 is part of the movement that is building up from everywhere towards the COP15. As such Klimaforum09 has already begun – and is moving beyond COP15. The following five tracks are the core of what we plan and hope Klimaforum09 can contribute with:

i) A declaration

There already exist relevant documents that can help in this preparation. Building on and in co-operation with existing initiatives that are already under development in different networks, the result will be a strong declaration with a clear political message. The declaration will be printed (short version in about 20.000 copies) and distributed during the COP15. We plan to dedicate the first 3 days of the forum to finalize the declaration. We will be looking for people with specific knowledge on different areas to facilitate this process.

ii) A catalogue of solutions

Skill sharing and presenting proposals for real, sustainable and people centred solutions as well as the critique of false solutions. The catalogue will be web-based (i.e. a wiki) so we can start now and continue to build our alternatives to the global crisis after COP15. An important part of the catalogue is that everyone can contribute – meaning you do not have to come to Copenhagen in order to let your way of tackling climate change be known.

iii) Demonstrations, happenings etc.

There will be spaces allocated for preparation for demonstrations etc. We imagine that some actions have been planned well in advance whereas others may be planned spontaneously in response to the way the negotiations are going.  

iv) Responding to things coming out of the official negotiations in the Bella Center

There will be a video uplink between Klimaforum09 and the Bella Center. Also, the program will contain daily briefings from people participating inside the Bella Center. The declaration (including the background paper) and the catalogue of real solutions will be our “handbook” in responding to the negotiations. We will assure an appropriate media center and a media team representing the different issues as well as the participating organizations.

v) Moving beyond COP15

This is a huge opportunity to build a global movement. Therefore, the 2 final days of the forum will be reserved for a debate on the way forward.