COP17 plus green celebrities may lead to climate breakthrough

Archbishop Tutu to head a cast including Richard Branson, Bono, Leonardo di Caprio, Angelina Jolie, Arnold Schwarzenegge and many more enviro celebs

Celebrity A-listers-turned-environmental activists are set to add some sparkle to the Conference of the Parties (COP17) at the end of the month, with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie and the Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, scheduled to attend.

And as the climax of the "We Have Faith – Act Now for Climate Justice" campaign. Archbishop Desmond Tutu will lead a mass rally and concert at the Kings Park Stadium on November 27, the day before COP17 talks start in Durban.

He will hand over a million petitions calling on world leaders to take a moral stand and curb climate change.

South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma has called on all South Africans to "Play their Part" in welcoming the thousands of delegates set to attend the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference – and to wear green on Friday, 18 November to show support for the event.

"The President further calls on media to partner with government to mobilise the nation in boosting its 'green' economy and reducing the country's carbon footprint as we count down to the conference," government spokesperson Jimmy Manyi said following the Cabinet's fortnightly meeting in Pretoria on Wednesday.

The 17th Conferences of the Parties (COP 17) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change takes place in Durban from 28 November to 9 December.

Zuma's call to "Wear Green for COP 17" is elaborated in a government poster which states: "Whether it's a cap, a T-shirt or even your Bok jersey … Show your support for this conference by wearing green on Friday 18 November" – marking the 10-day countdown to the event.

Speaking at a COP 17 countdown event last month, South Africa's  International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said climate change had become "the most pressing sustainable development issue of our times.

"We all feel the impacts of climate change in the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, coastal erosion and flooding as a result of rising sea levels, increase of the occurrence of certain diseases, loss of biodiversity and economic impacts, and an increase in the number of environmental refugees."

Mashabane, who is also the incoming COP president, said that finding consensus among the diverse group of the 194 member states of the UNFCCC would be no simple task. "The conference in Durban will not be an easy meeting," she said.

"However, it will be in Durban where parties will be held accountable to the global citizenry – ordinary people that suffer daily from the impacts of climate change and who have high expectations from their leaders to show leadership by being responsible, but also bold enough to find effective solutions to the threat that climate change presents to their livelihood, quality of life, dignity, and in many cases, their very existence on Earth."

COP 17 afforded an ideal opportunity to shape the future global response to climate change, the minister added.

"There is a resurging sense that agreement and progress in Durban are possible if parties are willing to shoulder their responsibilities and properly fulfil their leadership roles."

Valere Tjolle
Valere is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite 2011 Get your copy at a special offer price: HERE