Posted on 16 December
2009 - 20:00 (CET),
16 December, Copenhagen, Denmark: As the
lights were turned back on at the conclusion
of the special Earth Hour Hopenhagen, Vijay
Nambiar, the Chief of Staff of the Secretary
General UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
said:
“Climate change may
be bigger than each of us but it is not
bigger than all of us.”
The citizens of the
UN climate summit host city turned off their
lights for an hour in a special Earth Hour
which recalled the global event in March
of this year in which hundreds of millions
of people from 88 countries and 4000 cities
and towns Voted Earth for decisive action
on climate change.
WWF Director General
James Leape and 10-year-old Anne-Katrine
Bisgaard Håkansson from Denmark handed
to Vijay Nambiar a shimmering globe, The
People’s Orb, which contains a 350-gigabyte
mosaic of the hopes, dreams and experiences
of people from every continent of the world,
from diverse communities in desert, forest
and by the sea, to create a global mandate
for action on climate change was handed
over to.
The People's Orb is
a symbol of the collective effort of all
the major climate campaigns, including Seal
the Deal, tcktcktck, Raise your Voice, 350.org,
Hopenhagen and Vote Earth. Unveiled in Sydney,
the Orb travelled to Copenhagen via The
Climate Express and was delivered to the
host city by honorary custodian, UNEP Executive
Director, Achim Steiner. A series of citizen
and official custodians have cared for and
showcased The Orb in the lead up to its
presentation.
Vijay Nambiar said the
international gathering of families, politicians,
media and mayors in Copenhagen City Hall
Square that the dedication to action on
climate change by the people of the world
has given him hope.
“The size of the challenge
has not daunted your commitment,” he said.
“With this Orb - with
the voices you have raised - you are urging
your leaders to protect people and the planet.
Together, let's make Copenhagen the place
where the world came together to usher in
a new era of hope."
Mr Leape said the time
to act is now.
“Action on climate change
has been debated for far too long,” Mr Leape
said.
“It is imperative that
on 27 March 2010 – Earth Hour 2010 – the
people of the world will feel confident
that we are heading in a positive direction
to protect our planet and make it a safer,
cleaner, healthier future for all.”
