International activists light up in city for a change

Alex de Vos
Candles will light up Newtown’s Balyang Sanctuary on Saturday night as environmentalists from around the world raise awareness about climate change.
Local environmentalist Robyn Hodge said Geelong residents would join activists from 130 countries to air their concerns about the devastating effects of global warming.
She said organisers had aimed the candlelight vigil at raising awareness while encouraging residents to take part in saving energy.
“The local message we’re sending is that we all have a part to play in reducing energy,” Ms Hodge said.
“We also want to encourage people to play a part in the democratic debate, whether it’s through letters in the paper, talking to local members of parliament or talking to friends and neighbours.”
Ms Hodge said residents would gather at 8pm to light candles and join activists in making three demands of world leaders as they meet in Copenhagen to discuss global warming.
“We want a real deal; a deal that is ambitious enough to leave a planet safe for us all,” she said.
“We want a deal that’s fair for the poorest countries that didn’t cause climate change but wgi are suffering from it and a deal that’s binding with real targets that can be legally enforced.”
Earlier this week world leaders descended on Copenhagen to take part in a landmark 192-nation conference with the task of drawing up a battle plan against global warming.
Over the 12-day conference, members of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will negotiate reducing man-made carbon emissions, which have been accused of trapping heat and turning up the world’s temperature.