It seems so terrible, I'd like them to drop the pollution down to 30%.--Andrea, Australia

Can you please drop the pollution by 20% or more?--Mark, Canada

To the COP3: Please don't pollute. If you do, in a few years you will die and the earth might be a desert because of your polluting some kids won't be able to be an adult. Sincerely, Kelsey

Dear Sirs, I write as a concerned farmer in Australia who is embarrassed by my Federal Government's refusal to take seriously the obligation on all of us thoughout the World to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases...As a farmer I see the effects of Global Warming now. This is affecting our profitability now... The Kyoto Conference must ensure that binding targets are set for all so as to give future generations the same healthy environment that most of us have enjoyaed in the past. Yours sincerely Graham, Australia

I live in Metro Manila, the most populated place here in the Philippines. It is very congested with a population of 4 million. With the many people, one of the main problems is pollution caused by the many cars that cause traffic every day. This is a concern that I would like to bring up... Krizka, Philippines

The Earth is suffering--Greenhouse Gases be Drastically cut--governments have to show the way... Switzerland

These are some of the messages from people that wanted to be represented at COP3 (3rd Conference of Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change) which ended in the early hours on Thursday, 11 December. As the organisers of this campaign we should like to thank everyone that took the time and trouble to send us a card or letter, collect signatures of their own, draw a picture, add thoughts of their own.

As you will know by now, the agreement that came out of Kyoto was not a satisfactory one:

1: it requires developed ("Annex 1") countries to reduce the generation of six greenhouse gases by on average 5.2 percent by the period 2008-2012; however, in order to stabilize carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, a cut of more than 50 percent is needed. Carbon dioxide stays in the air for more than one hundred years: the result will thus be a continued rise of carbon dioxide concentrations, a rise in average temperatures, sea levels and a move into alien territory where anything can happen;

2: in the calculation of the above 5.2 percent, so called sinks are included. Sinks are natural features like forests that take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Exactly how much is difficult to calculate. Hence emissions will not even have to be cut by 5.2 percent since the sinks based on shaky scientific evidence can be included in the calculation.

More discussion, education, lobbying is therefore needed. Please listen to the appeal of Mr. Kinza Clodumar, President of the Republic of Nauru. It must be the basis for any further action.

Chronology

11 October:

Article by Steven Hesse in the Japan Times: "Bringing future generations to the Kyoto bargaining table"

3 November:

Photo session in Takaragaike Park, the site of the Kyoto International Conference Hall, where the meeting was going to take place. Coverage by the Mainichi Shimbun ("Don't rob us of our future through Climate Change"--literally)

24 November:

Party at the Kyoto International Community House, covered by the Yomiuri Shinbun ("Children from 21 countries as the global voice")

30 November:

Presentation at the Heian Shrine in Kyoto. Delegates from Canada, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the European Union received a bundle of the cards each. Coverage by the Mainichi Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, Kyoto Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun, Kansai TV, Reuters World TV and Reuters Newsservice. The Straits Times (Malaysia) and Washington Post picked up the story. Who else published anything we do not know. (Maybe you will let us know?)

8 December:

Carolyn, Kimberlye, Nicole and Saori went to the conference site to "mingle". They talked to about sixty delegates, among them Samoan Ambassador and spokesperson for AOSIS Mr. T. N. Slade, and US Senator John Kerry (pictured with Kimberlye) who promised he would pass on some cards to US Vice President Gore. Interviews with CNN, Reuters, BBC, Yomiuri TV, Knight Ridder, the Independent, Daily Yomiuri, Asahi Evening News. Two radio stations: Deutsche Welle and InterFM (Tokyo).

throughout the conference:

we talked to as many people as possible, we gave handouts to as many people as would have them, we drew attention to the website.

What's next

As the person who kept this web site running, imperfectly, before and during the conference, I should like to add some personal thoughts: throughout the conference there was obviously no will to state clearly what the problem was, no was there any will to work towards a global solution acceptable to the weakest countries, which are going to be hit first and hardest. On the other hand, I got many messages from young people expressing their concern, and wanting to know more, and do more. I shall redesign this site as an educational tool where young people can learn about the science of global warming, and how global warming affects people on the other side of the globe, how it affects nature, and how it might affect them when they grow up.

After a few days of rest we shall also have to consider whether to start a new campaign for COP4 Buenos Aires (Argentina) in November of next year.

Thanks to all who let their voice be heard in Kyoto. Please give us your continued support.

Andreas Knobel for the Group of 21

This is a campaign run entirely by volunteers. Please help us to defray costs by sending your donation to the Japanese Postal Giro Account No. 00970-7-110524 (the Group of 21)

Campaign News

Have a look at our video clip. Kimberlye Kowalczyk is reading the G-21 appeal, and Stewart Wachs talks about the basic philosophy behind it (Thanks to Eric Wolf of IISD for making the clip). You will need the free RealPlayer Version 5 to view this and other video clips on this page.

More samples

of messages that we have received are here.

Press Release

30 November:
Presentation at Heian Jingu

About COP3...

Daily video broadcast from the conference site, and copies of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin with the daily proceedings in English, French and Japanese from the IISD. Interviews with John Gummer from the UK delegation, Bert Bolin, Chairman Emeritus of IPCC on "Science, Politics and Carbon", Alden Meyer from them Union of Concerned Scientist, and Mikhail Kokeev from the Russion delegation. All available here.

Behind-the-scene reporting by ECO, produced by the Climate Action Network, and...

let me remind you of the official UN site.

Listen to the speeches in any of the conference's seven languages. Very cool work!

OneWorld

Lots of news, alternative views etc. available from the many groups whose roof is OneWorld. Also worth visiting during those lonely non-COP months.

Climate change website at Friends of the Earth UK

Press releases, quote of the day, background information etc available here.

Resources at Libertytree

An excellent overview of recent developments, sources, literature and so on available here.