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'John Key' Gets the Global Climate Wake up Call

Today is the Global Wake Up Call on climate change, with over 2300 events in 130 countries urging Heads of State to show leadership at the UN General Assembly climate summit in New York. The events are part of the Tck Tck Tck campaign, a consortium of groups, including Oxfam, Amnesty International, Care and WWF, and over one million global citizens for climate action.

In Auckland, an actor dressed as John Key in a nightshirt was seen in bed sleeping on Queen St, in the shadow of the Town Hall clock. Meanwhile, campaigners in orange and red jumpsuits shouted into megaphones, urging ‘John’ to wake up and stop sleepwalking us further into climate crisis.

“The global climate negotiations are flagging. What is mandatory right now is leadership by Heads of State who are meeting in New York. We’re calling on John Key to provide that leadership and make New Zealanders proud that we are living up to our responsibility for climate change,” said Oxfam spokesperson Jason Garman.

The crucial UN climate change conference in Copenhagen this December is at risk of failing to deliver an agreement that is fair, ambitious and binding. The main problem is unwillingness by industrialised countries to commit to greenhouse gas pollution reductions that are strong enough, or to provide the additional funding necessary for poor countries to adapt to the climate changes that they had little part in causing.

Last week Oxfam released a report called ‘Beyond Aid: Ensuring adaptation to climate change works for the poor’, warning that if aid is diverted to help poor countries tackle climate change, 4.5 million children could die, 75 million fewer children are likely to attend school and 8.6 million fewer people could have access to HIV and AIDS treatment.

“Quite simply, we caused the problem and vulnerable communities in the developing world are paying the price,” said Garman. “If we believe in justice or morality, it means New Zealand has to commit to paying our fair share of the damages. Without a commitment of substantial funding to help poor people countries with climate change, they won’t accept a deal in Copenhagen,” he added.

Eventually ‘John’ got up, breaking into a modified version of the Beatles song ‘A Day in the Life’, lamenting how he hasn’t done enough to tackle climate change. He then got back into bed and pulled the wool over his eyes.

ENDS

Editors Notes:

Photos are available for use at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oxfamnewzealand/sets/72157622296858383

Oxfam’s Feel the Heat climate change petition is available at: www.oxfam.org.nz/feeltheheat

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