Last year, millions of people from nearly every country on the planet were united by a common purpose: to build a powerful global movement to solve the climate crisis.

The slideshow on the left is just a sampling of the more than 25,000 photos of people uniting in a global call for 350, the safe upper limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

October 24th, 2009 was called "the most widespread day of political action in the planet's history," with more than 5200 events in 181 countries. We increased pressure throughout the Copenhagen climate talks: we lobbied inside, we protested outside, and we organized thousands of candlelight vigils with partners around the world.

But now the Copenhagen climate talks have come and gone, and we don't have the fair, ambitious, and binding treaty this global movement--and the latest science--demands.

But this is not over: 2010 will be a crucial year for the growth of the movement--and for its evolution. Please join us.



350 Updates

If you had any doubts...

By May
• 14 December, 2009 - 07:02

If you had any doubts about whether your voices were heard around the world, today makes clear they were. Instead of rolling over in the face of the great powers, a hundred small, poor, vulnerable nations are rallying around the 350 flag. They may not be able to keep the fight up all week, but that they're even making it is beyond remarkable. As one activist told me today, "the 350 movement has changed the whole mood of this process. This would not have been thinkable even a few months ago."

So please keep tuned. We're going to need you poised to send emails, to make noise, to push. You can watch Pres. Nasheed and I in an hour or so from the ClimaForum at this link.

If you're the kind of person who prays, please pray. If you're the kind of person who hopes, please hope. We already know you're the kind of person who works--we're going to need that.

Add a comment

Breaking: The Fight for 350

By Jamie
• 14 December, 2009 - 05:02

It looks like we're coming closer to a showdown on 350ppm at the UN climate talks here in Copenhagen. We're getting only bits and pieces of information here, but we wanted to share it with all of you as soon as possible and then do our best to keep you updated on any emerging developments. You can also keep track of 350 related reports on Twitter by following @350 or #350ppm.

As we've been reporting, there has been growing support for a 350ppm target amongst countries, scientists, and civil society groups here in at the UN Climate Talks. Last Friday, 350.org hosted a press conference with the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS) to show solidarity with their proposal for a fair, ambitious and binding treaty that would lead us back to 350 ppm. Over the weekend, millions of people around the world joined over 3,000 vigils and rallies for survival on every continent, calling for the 350 target to be the anchor for a real deal in Copenhagen. Today, AOSIS was joined by the group of all African countries which released at statement in support of 350ppm. And in Latin America, Bolivia is putting forward a proposal that is going for 300ppm -- making our 350 a middle of the road target! 

All this means one thing: momentum. Yet, today, we got confirmation that 350ppm has been removed from the negotiating text of the treaty. We'd heard this rumor last week, but were trying to clarify what happened. Now, it's clear that all references to ppm targets have been stripped from the text. Our team on the inside has been trying to get more information, but at this point, it's unclear why or how the target was removed. While much of this process is transparent, a great deal of the key decisions take place behind closed doors.

Here's how we're fighting back. This morning, President Nasheed arrived in Copenhagen and rushed to the UN talks to make an emergency intervention at the plenary (the main negotiations) to move to put 350 ppm back in the text. The plenary was postponed because of growing tension between parties, but has just been rescheduled to begin in moments (it's about 2:00 pm right now in Copenhagen). If there is a chance, Nasheed will make an address. No matter what, our allies at AOSIS tell us that they are fighting hard to get 350ppm back into the text.

Here's how we can all help. Tonight, President Nasheed will be making a major speech with Bill McKibben all about 350 and the movement you've built. This will be a key point in our movement. We've built incredible momentum over the past months and now we've got it give it everything we've got to make sure that there's still a chance for a survival treaty here in Copenahgen not a suicide pact. Please, help us spread the word about Nasheed's address -- we'll post up video and a transcript of the speech as soon as we can. You can watch a live feed here (we're working hard to make sure it works, so please bear with us if there are any technical difficulties). It's up to you to make sure President Nasheed's words are heard.

As Bill said last week, our allies aren't the most powerful countries in the world, they don't have the largest armies, but they do have a movement. That's all of us -- let's get to work.

Suicide Pact or Survival Pact?

By joe@350.org
• 13 December, 2009 - 12:39

We're posting this flier all over the place in Copenhagen (click it to blow it up!). President Nasheed of the Maldives is the first head of state to arrive in Denmark, and the first thing he's doing is meeting with the peoples' forum! This will be a big deal -- and we're psyched to pack the house for a powerful start to the second week of the negotiations. You woke up the world for 350 on Oct 24th.  You shined the light for 350 as the key to Survival this past weekend.  Now expect to see those three numbers featured in the most fiery speech to galvanize the international climate movement yet. 

You can make this major event HUGE by bringing your friends if you're in town, and if you're not here physically, by promoting the event through your social networks. Stay tuned for us to do some live-Twitter updating & potential live footage! 

Suicide Pact or Survival Pact?
Monday, 14th December 4pm - 6:30pm
The Orange Room (Google map)

President Nasheed of the Maldives and Bill McKibben are speaking at Klima Forum!

Nasheed has been the world's most outspoken and bravest leader regarding climate change and what we need to do. He isn’t just brave because he endured five years as a political prisoner before finally ousting the country’s long-time ruler in an election last autumn. He’s brave, too, because he’s confronting head-on the question of the country’s (and the world's) survival, instead of simply focusing on easier issues. Monday will be a very important speech for Nasheed as it's his chance to address the public and the youth, and rally them to action - so come be a part of history! You'll hear a preview of what will be the most fiery speech any world leader will make to the COP, and you can show your support for the leader who is really sticking his neck out.

Moving Photos...

By Jon Warnow
• 13 December, 2009 - 10:04

...in more ways than one.  Our partners at Avaaz just put together this short animated slideshow--enjoy it, and get ready for a highlight video from the day of action in...t-minus 24 hours?

 

The Sound of 350 on BBC

By Will
• 13 December, 2009 - 08:46

The BBC picked up the story of churches ringing their bells 350 times: click here.

Here is the start of the piece...

Church bells across Britain ring in climate appeal

York Minister was among the churches taking part Bells in churches across Britain have chimed 350 times to press for a deal at the Copenhagen climate conference.

York Minster and Westminster Cathedral were among churches which joined a world event coinciding with a service in the Danish capital

The aim was to highlight the 350 parts per million some developing nations say is the safe upper concentration for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Bells are being rung at 1500 local time in churches across the world.

Other countries taking part in the bell ringing include New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and the US.

Click here to continue reading reading on BBC.

Europe

Fotos desde vigilias en todo América Latina, y en Copenhague

By kelly
• 13 December, 2009 - 07:33

Mar del Plata, Argentina

Campo Grande, Brasil

San Luis de Potosi, México

Santo Domingo, República Dominicana

Vigilia en Copenhague, Dinamarca - la demostración más grande en la historia del mundo por el clima, con 100.000 personas. 

Con mucha esperanza,

El equipo de 350

Photos, videos to follow

By Bill McKibben
• 13 December, 2009 - 07:10

 But I just came back from the Lutheran Cathedral here in Copenhagen, where the Archbishop of Canterbury and Desmond Tutu presided over a truly powerful church service, which ended with the great bell ringing out 350 times. As it did, the bells began sounding in thousands of churches across central Europe and around the world, from the south Pacific to the north of Greenland. It's one of the most powerful moments in this whole long campaign. Stick your head out the window--you may hear the sound of 350 in the air.

The movement is glowing.

By joe@350.org
• 13 December, 2009 - 06:51

Dear Friends,

Thanks beyond thanks.

It's been a remarkable day for those of us here in Copenhagen, but mostly not because of anything happening at the climate conference.

Instead it's because of what you all did out in the rest of the world over the last 24 hours. We don't have a full count of vigils around the world, but in something like 3,000 cities and towns across the planet your vigils sent the most powerful of messages to the leaders here: stop playing games, and start protecting the planet.

Here in Copenhagen, there were more than 100,000 people marching in the streets--99% of them peaceful and dignified--to call for climate solutions bold enough to meet the scale of the crisis. As the sun set on this city, thousands lit candles to stand in solidarity with those on the front lines of climate change--a moving and unprecedented moment in this movement. We've already started to get your photos in front of world leaders and the global media assembled here.

If you haven't yet submitted your photos, videos, and stories, please do so just as soon as you can by visiting this link:

http://www.350.org/vigil-report

We're projecting the images on walls and screens all around Copenhagen, and starting Monday we'll be putting them to good use as lobbying tools for UN delegates from Argentina to Zimbabwe.

A wide network of allies and individuals helped pull this amazing feat off, and thanks to them--and all of you--our collective call to action is unavoidable.  More importantly, our message was clear: the world can't afford just any climate deal--we need a real deal that is fair enough to protect those bearing the brunt of climate impacts, is legally binding and enforceable, and is ambitious enough to get the world back on a path to 350.

While there's no guarantee that world leaders will pay attention to this call with the level of ambition that's required, we can guarantee that you've given this movement another boost at a crucial moment.

We'll be in touch in the coming days, but for now know that everyone here sends their deep thanks and love.

Onwards,

Bill McKibben for the 350 Team

P.S. If you have any trouble submitting photos from a vigil using our report tool, just attach your photos to an e-mail that you send to photos@350.org, and make sure to follow the instructions below:

- Add your photos as attachments (don't embed the photos, and please keep photos less than 3 megabytes)
- Use your city and country as the subject
- The body of your email will be the caption for your photos
- Include any photographer credits in the e-mail body/caption.
- Send your email to photos@350.org

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PS - To join our list (and make sure you get updates like this before they're posted onlinel) visit www.350.org/signup

PPS - Key moments like this weekend give us great opportunities to grow this movement -- Will you help us do some digital door-knocking by inviting 35 (or more!) friends to the 350.org Facebook outpost? Here's a Twitter update you can rock out too!

Thousands of Churches Ring Bells 350 Times for Climate Justice in Copenhagen

By Jamie
• 13 December, 2009 - 05:24

This December 11-13, tens of thousands of people of all faiths will join the “World Wants a Real Deal” weekend of action with 350.org and its partners at the World Council of Churches and the TckTckTck campaign.

"Church bells are both a way to call people to worship, and in many parts of the world a way to spread an alarm," said Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org and a frequent commentator the intersections of religion and climate change. "Today they served both functions in places around the world. Faith communities are playing an increasingly important role in the fight to save the climate--they understand the risk both to creation, and to the poorest people on the planet. And they understand the hopeful role that they can play in moving political change through their witness."

Hundreds of faith events are already planned around the world. In the Netherlands, hundreds of churches will ring their bells 350 times to signify 350 ppm of carbon dioxide, the safe upper limit according to the latest science. In Japan, citizens form the shape of a 350  with traditional Aomori lanterns at the Nishibetsuin Buddhist temple in Hokkaido.

Along with galvanizing a grassroots movement around the world, the 350 ppm target has been endorsed by a number of influential religious leaders such as Nobel Peace Prize Winner Desmond Tutu, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who wrote in an open letter to over 300 million Orthodox Christians, “350 is repentance in action."

This December 13, in Copenhagen, 350.org will join Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, and other faith leaders for an interfaith celebration at which they will ring the bells of Copenhagen’s Lutheran Cathedral 350 times.

“Leaders of the world – We need a real deal on climate change in Copenhagen,” said Tutu. “Millions of people, especially the very poor, are already suffering due to changing weather patterns, droughts and floods. But none of us will be immune from climate change, we are all in this together and there is no time to lose.”

Desmond Tutu Leads Copenhagen Vigil for Survival

By Jamie
• 12 December, 2009 - 15:05

Tonight has been truly inspiring already and the sun has yet to set on much of the world. Here in Copenhagen, I just returned from an inspiring candlelight "vigil for survival" -- one of thousands around the world -- lead by Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu and joined by Bill McKibben and Avaaz.org Director, Ricken Patel. Take a look at this great video:

 

As Archbishop Tutu said, "We marched in South Africa in Berlin and the wall fell. We marched in Johannesburg and apartheid fell. We marched in Copenahgen ... and we'll get a Real Deal!"