For the climate

FOR THE CLIMATE

dlaklimatu.pl

We conduct climate protection activities as we believe that climate change is one of the gravest problems currently faced by humanity. In cooperation with the Climate Coalition we actively participate in shaping our country’s energy and climate policy and push for an ambitious agreement within the UN climate negotiations. We also inform and educate the Polish public opinion on how to counteract climate change at the individual level. Climate protection is a new and complex issue, and this is why it requires involvement of different actors at different levels. Responding to the most important challenge of the coming years, we conduct activities in the following three key areas:

Political area. It includes lobbying activities for effective climate protection legislation at the national and European level. We comment on policies and strategies and we propose new legislative solutions. The status of an observer in the UN negotiation process for the new climate agreement provides us with a better insight into global political processes. Activities within this area are conducted in close cooperation with the Climate Coalition that unites Polish NGOs dealing with climate protection.

Cooperation with the media and journalism. The Programme’s staff provides the media with valuable information on economic and political aspects of climate protection. We publish information in the press and we provide radio and TV interviews. Our internet activities focus on blogging and commenting. The programme has it dedicated website: www.dlaklimatu.pl, which allows us to effectively communicate with the world.

Increasing social awareness through educational campaigns based on direct contact with the recipients and cyberactivism. One of the PGN’s key initiatives is the campaign “From Poznan to Copenhagen – Polish campaigner for the climate,” implemented in 2009 and 2010. We estimate that we have managed to communicate its message to around 2 million Poles. We organise workshops for social activists and journalists as well as classes in schools for children and teenagers – all in all 365 classes for over a dozen thousand recipients. The most spectacular event of the campaign was “The last call for the Climate,” which was to focus the attention of the public, media and politicians on the negotiation processes before COP15.

We have also constructed a Raft for the Climate, on which in summer 2009 the PGN’s climate team rafted down the Vistula from Krakow to Gdansk. 5 all-day events were organised on the way – in Krakow, Kazimierz, Warsaw, Torun and Gdansk. They included press conferences, an exhibition “POLAND FOR THE CLIMATE,” distribution of campaign materials, collecting signatures under an urgent appeal, viewing of the film “AGE OF STUPID” and many attractions prepared by volunteers.

FOR THE CLIMATE – AGAINST POVERTY – a campaign on the impact of climate change on the countries of the Global South;

In 2008, in cooperation with Oxfam International and Heinrich Böll Stiftung, we initiated a campaign showing the dramatic effects of climate change in the countries of the Global South. Climate change has a “human face,” which we tend to forget in Poland when discussing responsibility for emissions. We also forget about funds that would enable poorer countries to adapt to the new, unforeseeable conditions. Climate change is one of the strongest barriers to poverty eradication, as it leads to a collapse of agriculture, sudden floods or droughts or limited access to water. We are one of the first to speak about this problem in Poland. We provide credible information on the situation of more vulnerable countries, invite to Poland “climate witnesses,” i.e. people living in the regions suffering from the impact of climate change, and cooperate with the Polish media, organising workshops and press conferences related to the most important events, e.g. climate summits, and preparing information materials (e.g. prior to the climate summit in Copenhagen we published a series of materials describing the impact of climate change on the countries of the Global South). In 2010 we created a spot that was shown in cinemas and on advertisement displays across Poland. All in all, over three million people have seen it. We also published an information brochure and a leaflet that were available in the cinemas where our spot was shown. In November 2010 we invited journalists from the most popular media – Wojciech Jagielski from Gazeta Wyborcza and Wojciech Bojanowski from TVN TV station on a study visit to Nigeria. During the visit the journalists could see how the living standards of the people in Nigeria had deteriorated due to the impacts of climate change. One of the results are press and TV materials that will be published prior to the next climate summit in Cancun. We are also preparing training materials for 2,000 teachers that will present the impacts of climate change in the countries of the Global South.

Campaign MODERN – ENERGY EFFICIENT – RESPONSIBLE: NEO-HABITS
The aim of this campaign, which was launched in 2010, is to promote rational energy management. Following the “learn through play” rule, we would like to promote knowledge on aware and responsible energy use, making our activities as interesting and engaging as possible. The campaign is targeted at young people, students and ordinary Internet users as well as NGOs, journalists and MPs. We believe that aware energy use is a responsible habit that is easy to develop. In 2010 we initiated a series of student debates, which are organised in cooperation with student research clubs in 11 Polish cities. We are also organising an “energy breakfast” for MPs and the students that cooperate with us. Some of the activities planned for 2011 include: a summer bicycle tour from Szczecin to Krakow, which will include three events (in Szczecin, Wroclaw and Krakow), 33 student debates with participation of experts, 3 workshops for NGOs, an Internet campaign incorporating modern communication tools, e.g. a computer game for children and teenagers, the Planet RSS mechanism and mind maps regarding energy and climate.

Strategic partners of the For the Climate Programme are: Aeris Futuro Foundation, 350.org, Climate Coalition, Institute for Sustainable Development.

Coordinator of climate projects: Aleksandra Antonowicz, ola@globalnepoludnie.pl

2010 activities within For the Climate Programme were co-financed by the European Commission (EuropeAid Programme) and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.