Dear Activist,

This December in Copenhagen, a strong and just global climate change deal needs to be signed. But it is in a series of UN climate meetings held throughout 2009 – including the recent Bonn meeting – that this deal will take shape. So what happened in Bonn?

Unfortunately, rich countries, including Australia, again avoided showing leadership on the two issues fundamental to a good deal. The first is agreement on an aggregate greenhouse pollution reduction target for developed countries. The second is committing to the establishment of a UN financing mechanism that would collect and distribute funding to enable poor developing countries to both reduce their own greenhouse pollution and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

At best, rich countries have committed to an aggregate cut of 14% in greenhouse pollution by 2020. But we need 40% cuts to give the world a decent chance of avoiding dangerous climate change. In short, we have a lack of political will from the world’s developed countries, including Australia.

Our leaders are failing to take the action required to prevent runaway climate change. We must do more.

Keep up the pressure
Read more from our climate insider in Bonn

Climate change affects us all but Pacific Island communities are at the frontline of the climate impacts now being felt around the world. Rising sea levels and tidal surges associated with more intense weather systems are damaging island crops and contaminating water supplies. Increased global temperatures are also warming the oceans and damaging coral reefs that are the basis of many Pacific island economies and a major food source on which many islanders rely. In some cases, communities have already been forced to leave their traditional island homes.

The Pacific Voices speaking tour is taking place in the weeks leading up to the Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns, 4-7 August. Taking place in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns, the tour is an opportunity for islanders from Pacific nations, including Tuvalu and Kiribati, to tell us the impacts they are experiencing as a result of climate change – and the work that they and others are doing locally to deal with them.

The Alliance of Small Island States is demanding a strong treaty with binding targets for developed nations -  to reduce greenhouse emissions by more than 40% from 1990 levels by 2020. Join Oxfam and Greenpeace in welcoming these respected Pacific speakers. Hear their stories and join Pacific climate activists in their call for Australia and New Zealand to take stronger action.

The dates for the evening public meetings are:

• Sydney, 23 July
• Brisbane, 28 July
• Melbourne, 30 July
• Cairns, 4 August

Register your interest to attend a Pacific Speaking Tour event

Somalia is a country with no taxes, no regulations and no government. And where armed conflict, fuelled by weapons flooding in from around the world, has caused a major humanitarian crisis. There are about 640 million small arms in the world - one for every ten people on earth. Ten to 14 billion units of ammunition are manufactured every year, which is enough to kill every person in the world twice over.

The world desperately needs a global, legally binding Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to stop weapons being used to fuel conflict, poverty and human rights abuses. The United States is blocking this from happening. Help create a safe and just world by supporting a Control Arms and Oxfam International campaign calling on President Obama to support an effective Arms Trade Treaty. Act now

Join Pacific voices calling for a strong climate deal

Would you trust pirates to control the arms trade?

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