Copenhagen 2009 :: Stuart Scott
Podcast: Download (Duration: 19:46 — 22.6MB)
Our guest today is a leader in the world of faith-based responses to climate change. He has logged many miles traveling the world educating people about the realities of climate change and campaigning for personal involvement. He is the Director of the Interfaith Declaration on Climate Change and a fellow presenter with the Climate Project, welcome to Newlygreens on the Morning Blend, Stuart Scott.
More about his work can be found on the site for the Interfaith Declaration on Climate Change
In this interview Stuart gives us an inside look at the Copenhagen conference. A more personal report than that of the main stream media.
He has been impressed by the statements of the leaders from low-lying countries like Tuvalu and the Malidives who will be the first to feel the effects of rising sea level.
“We live in constant fear of the adverse impacts of climate change. For a coral atoll nation, sea level rise and more severe weather events loom as a growing threat to our entire population. The threat is real and serious, and is of no difference to a slow and insidious form of terrorism against us.”
-Saufatu Sopoanga, Prime Minister of Tuvalu, at the 58th Session of the United Nations General Assembly New York, 24th September 2003
Tuvalu is one of the places on earth that is most vulnerable to the affects of global warming. The threat of sea level rise may bring complete disaster to the 10,000 Tuvaluans residing on nine extremely low-lying coral atolls.
For the first time ever, leading international scientists have drawn up a report on the status of the parts of the world covered by snow and ice. The conclusion is that they are disappearing faster than anticipated. The report was presented in Copenhagen by former US vice president Al Gore. See the comments by Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs and chairman of the Arctic Council, Per Stig Møller and by Kuupik Kleist, prime minister of Greenland.
Mr. Gore said, “I wish that I had the words to transfer directly from my heart to yours the passion that I feel for this issue. For me, it raises a fundamental question: Who are we as human beings? Who are we?
If at some future date, the next generation faces the prospect of living in a world with steadily deteriorating prospects and no chance to reclaim the glories of this beautiful earth that we have enjoyed — if they look back at Copenhagen and ask, “Why didn’t you act? Why did you let this process fall into paralysis, and neither succeed or fail but become a symbol of futility? What were the arguments were again? You didn’t realize that we were at stake?”
Watch a clip of Mr. Gore’s speech here:
Stuart is now coordinating a high profile web conference with renown leaders from around the world for Sunday April 18th, 2009. If you would like to be more involved you can reach him through Twitter his user name is “StuartGaia“







