2009

The first talk explored the false solutions being promoted in the name of tackling climate change including the role of the World Bank, carbon offsetting, monoculture tree plantations and agrofuels.

The speakers included Camila Morena from Friends of the Earth Brazil and Nnimmo Bassey from Friends of the Earth Nigeria and the Chair of Friends of the Earth International.

Camila looked at REDD as a false solution.

"The Amazon covers 49% of Brazil and Amazon deforestation accounts for 48% of the deforestation taking place at the moment, four times the rate of Indonesia - the second deforester" she said.

REDD, which stands for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries, will mean that forests are incorporated into carbon markets.

Put simply, a factory in Europe can offset their emissions by buying credits on the carbon market and as a result a landowner in the Amazon will be paid not to cut down a hectare of trees. The way the mechanism is set up though could also mean that deforestation actually increases under the scheme. It is flawed in many ways.

Camila said there was "tsunami of investment in REDD projects in Brazil at the moment" and said that big agribusiness, who are the owners of most of this land - not peasant farmers as we are led to believe, who are cutting down the rain forest to plant soy are now being rewarded for not deforesting the Amazon anymore.

"We are paying the kings of deforestation not to chop down our forests" she said.

In the climate talks Friends of the Earth are demanding that forests are kept out of carbon markets, that plantations are entirely excluded and land rights are enforced as the basis of any forest policy.

Find out more about REDD

Nnimmo Bassey talked about gas flaring in his country.

Gas flaring takes place when the the associated gasses that occur when oil is extracted from the ground are burnt straight into the atmosphere. This is what Shell and other companies do in the Niger Delta, often in the middle of communities, twenty-four hours a day. Not only are huge quantities of CO2 pumped into the air but also toxins that have had devastating effects on the surrounding communities.

For decades oil companies have broken the law by illegally flaring, saying it's very difficult to stop. Now the clean development mechanism (CDM) has come along, another false solution, and Shell are looking to stop these illegal flares and claim money for doing so under the pretext of reducing their carbon emissions.

Nnimmo put this question to the audience:

"If I were a bank robber and I decide to rob only one bank a day instead of ten should I be given an award? This is what is now happening as oil companies turn to carbon development mechanisms."

Find out more about gas flaring

a future without fossil fuels

In another room George Monbiot, an environmentalist from the UK, also addressed false solutions and looked at the huge levels of investment that would be needed to continue down the road of fossil fuels.

He dismissed the notion that we'll soon be at peak oil and once that runs out we will naturally progress to renewables because we will have no choice.

"The problem we're facing is not too little fossil fuels, it's too much" he said.

He explained that as fossil fuels become harder to reach, more and more money will be needed to extract them. In the case of coal there is plenty in the far reaches of Siberia and the North Sea bed. The problem is getting it.

He conceded that the path to renewables is an expensive one - around $4.2 trillion he'd calculated - and will totally change our consumption patterns but the path to our continued reliance on fossil fuel would also cost around the same amount just to continue with business as usual.

As he sees it, there are two options:

"We spend trillions on securing fossils fuels for the next generation an adapt to the the disastrous consequences, or we can invest the same amount in renewables that will last forever."

I know which one I would choose.

• Watch all the videos on the Friends of the Earth website
  

• Watch all the videos on the Friends of the Earth US website

Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) applauds the return to Honduras of its legitimate president, Manuel Zelaya, who has taken refuge in the Embassy of Brazil in Tegucigalpa. At the same time we note with grave concern the siege on the Brazilian Embassy and the increase in repression following the return of President Zelaya.

Friends of the Earth International denounces the gross human rights violations in Honduras perpetuated by the illegitimate government. This repression violates international norms and cannot be accepted under any circumstances.

The people of Honduras have stood firmly by their legitimate president and have not wavered since the day the unfortunate usurpation of power took place on 28 June 2009.

Friends of the Earth International calls on the international community to pressure the illegitimate authorities in Tegucigalpa to step aside for dialogue and for the completion of term of the legitimate president. Specifically, Friends of the Earth International calls on the Security Council of the United Nations to take immediate actions to stem the rise of violence in Honduras.

We also assure the peoples of Honduras of the continued support and solidarity of our 77 groups and 2 million members spread around the world.

Nnimmo Bassey
Chair, Friends of the Earth International

• Find out more about our response to the coup and donate to the solidarity fund
  

The drama-documentary follows an old man living in the devastated world of 2055, asking himself the question, "why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?".  The incredibly provocative and powerful film has helped bring about important discussion around climate change ahead of the Copenhagen Summit in December of this year.

• Find out where you can watch the film

The premiere of The Age of Stupid will take place worldwide on September 21/22 for International Day of Climate Action and is expected to set a new Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous screening ever. 

Global support for the film is quickly bolstering, and celebrities and politicians are lined up to take part in the premiere across the globe.  The New York premiere alone will feature Kofi Annan, Gillian Anderson, Moby, The Age of Stupid's oscar-nominated star Pete Postlethwaite and filmmakers Franny Armstrong and Lizzie Gillett. 

Many other A-list celebrities will be arriving to the Big Apple premiere by sailing boat, bike, rickshaw, electric car or skateboard before walking down the green (not red!) carpet, and Radiohead's Thom Yorke is scheduled to play a song for the global audience via satellite linkup.

There will be a global digital screening of The Age of Stupid plus highlights from the New York premiere on September 22nd at 19:00 (CEST). 

For information about where the film will be showing in your country, go to The Age of Stupid website.

The Conference aims at presenting solutions and developing policies that will result in reducing greenhouse gas emissions (for the oil and gas industry), conserving energy, reducing environmental pressure across chains of production (fossil fuels) and making sustainable use of natural resources (oil and gas).

It will bring together representatives of civil society from European and developing countries including communities affected by the industry operations, the European Commission, the European Parliament, industry, international organisations and the media.

Speakers include the Friends of the Earth International Chair, Nnimmo Bassey, our economic justice coordinator Paul de Clerk and many more. 

location, time and further information

European Parliament, Room ASP
Brussels, Belgium
09.30-17.00

Friends of the Earth Europe can reimburse travel and accommodation costs for a limited number of civil society participants.

Find out more and register for the event

The Asian Peoples' Solidarity for Climate Justice was formed to prepare the civil society program in parallel with the United Nations climate talks, September 28 to October 9, 2009, Bangkok.

In addition to a dynamic and extensive schedule of events, we invite you to participate in a peaceful and public demonstration of our collective demand for climate justice.

We demand immediate cuts: cut the carbon, cut the foreign debt, cut the false solutions, cut the World Bank and the corporations out! We demand recognition and full respect for peoples' rights, reparation for climate debts and peoples sovereignty NOW!

Join with us in the streets of Bangkok with your banners and flags to create a colourful, vibrant, energetic peoples march for climate justice. There will be a program of events at the conclusion of the march including speakers from across civil society and music.

Support the Asian Peoples' Solidarity for Climate Justice!

More details to follow shortly.

Asia Peoples' Solidarity for Climate Justice preparatory meeting was hosted by the Thai Working Group on Climate Justice in Bangkok 18-19 July 2009.

The following organisations participated in the meeting: Jubilee South-APMDD, Freedom from Debt Coalition,  SEAFISH/ Tambuyog, SAAPE Earth Rights, IESR-Indonesia, GAIA, Christian Aid, Oxfam Great Britian/Thailand, 350.org, NGO- Forum on ADB, Assembly of the Poor, AIPP, Chang Mai IKAP network/ IPFCC, Thailand AIPP, IBON Foundation/ PMCC, APWLD, ECOT, CEC/ PCWA, BIOTHAI, Friends of the Earth International, NGO-COD, Thai TERRA, GCCA- Asia, Focus on the Global South, OWINFS, Oxfam International, Third World Network, ETC Group.

2009 is the pivotal year for climate change. In December the worlds’ governments will meet in Copenhagen to negotiate measures to stop climate change. Act Now!

CLIMATE CONFERENCES IN DUBLIN, BERLIN, MALMO AND MONTPELLIER

If your are young (age 18 – 29), motivated and believe that our time has come to act, we invite you to join one of the four regional youth climate conferences that Young Friends of the Earth are organizing all over Europe.

From October 8 – 11, Act Now conferences will take place in Berlin, Toulouse, Malmo and – from Oct. 15 to 18 – in Dublin.

To apply, go to www.actnow09.eu

At these European youth climate conferences, you, and more than 200 young Europeans will learn the latest news about climate change and the status of international climate politics, discuss with elected politicians and be trained how to run climate actions, do media work and motivate more young people to join the movement.

Finally, you will find out how to come to Copenhagen in December and we will jointly plan peaceful yet powerful actions to influence this crucial climate change conference.

LEARN MORE AND APPLY!

To apply for one of the four conferences go to www.actnow09.eu

Applications for all four conferences are open until September 10th.

We, 62 young people from 27 countries, meeting in Croatia for a Young Friends of the Earth Europe gathering, express our solidarity with the people of Honduras resisting the coup d'état.

We demand an end to this undemocratic situation and we also demand that people's human rights are respected.

We highlight and value the role of young men and women in the mobilisation
to reclaim civil liberties. We learn from their strength and their courage.

Croatia, 19 August 2009

Signed by:

Lithuania - Norkutė Milda, Uktveryte Jolanta
Norway - Jacob Malin, Gran Eirik
Belgium - Roose Annelies, Dehasse Aline, Couckuyt Hanne, Guns Robin
Malta - Debono Christian 
Greece - Stavroulaki Eirini
Netherlands - Vasen Ellard, Linssen Suzanne, Engel Marijn, Dingemans Luut, Bruil Janneke
France - Huck Noémie
Sweden - Wu Lina, Lensell Erik
Hungary - Török Márton, Takács Tamás, Bortnyák Vera
Austria - Keller Roland
UK - Schneeberger Kirsty, Manson Sophie, Schrammar Chris
Germany - Holzamer Gertrud
Australia - Long Stephanie, Grainger Laura
Ukraine - Yeliseyeva Ganna, Datsiuk Inna, Viter Daryna
Spain - Gonzalez Alejandro, Torres Marta
Switzerland - Mettler Silvia
Italy - Iaffaldano di gregorio Jonas, La Rosa Mario
Cyprus - Panayiotou Stella, Kameris Petros, Agathangelou Melios
Croatia - Nožina Rina, Rumenović Tina, Krajnović Dora, Stipić Filip, Radovanovic Hrvoje, Tomac Luka,
Zokovic Ivan, Kanic Katarina, žučko Jelena, Prša Marija, Međugorac Vanja
Serbia - Anastasov Danijela, Poucki Jelena, Jankovic Nikola, Jadranka Ilic
Bosnia - Crnkovic Natasa, Perać Draško
Macedonia - Draganovski Jovan, Gileva Katerina
Argentina - Salvático Natalia
Indonesia - Ahfi Ahfi
South Africa - Mthembu Bongani
Brazil - Lamas Pucci Larissa

Keep updated on the response of civil society organizations in Honduras including that of Friends of the Earth Honduras on Real World Radio.

The Honduran people continue to risk their lives and livelihoods demonstrating in support of democracy in Honduras.

• Read some of their stories here and donate to their cause.
  

Thanks

• Read their statement on the climate, energy and natural resource management crisis.
  

This marks the start of a new state in the struggle for sovereignty and the peoples' rights, as well as the incipient democratic processes in the region. These events lead to a call to strengthen and radicalize the actions in support of the Honduran people.

The coup d'état in Honduras should be understood not only as an action against a certain people or country, but as an attempt against the social victories that have been achieved by the popular struggles determined to end hunger and injustice in the region. These violent attitudes are motivated by the interests of groups and corporations who see their political and economic privileges collapse. They don't even care to challenge the international community represented by oranizations like the OAS or the UN, which have condemned the coup in Honduras.

FoEI's mission had planned to enter Honduras by land, or by air, but in both cases we were unable to do that, so we stayed in Managua holding meetings with La Via Campesina, planning the solidarity and sovereignty strategy for the region. We urge you to increase the pressure in your own countries to publicly reject the military coup and the de facto government, and to start emergency fundraising to support Madre Tierra.

Today the debate is on the Crisis of Civilization and Research for new Paradigms. The day began with a presentation by Roberto Espinoza of the Coordination of Native Andean Organisations. He spoke about the recent resistance in Peru and noted that some of the underlying factors were the privatization of land for agrofuels production as well as moves in the destructive mining sector. The people resisted because their livelihood was being made impossible by the pollution of their waters, land and air. 6000 communities were affected and half of these have their coastline impacted by mining. He mentioned also that oil corporations have appropriated up to 15 million hectares of forest area for their activities.

Roberto stressed that the struggle of the people is not for a mere of government but for a fundamental constitutional review to defend the collective rights of the peoples’.

Speaking further on the subject of today’s debate, he said that the multiple crises the world is faced with today go beyond being a crisis of neo-liberalism. According to him, this is a crisis of civilization with soft words such as climate change being used to describe its manifestations. Man has gradually been separated from nature and consumerism is driving humanity towards destruction. He noted that oil and mining remove the soil on which the peoples depend and that the people need soil not oil!

Human wellbeing cannot be constructed on increased consumption and competition but on solidarity. Everything cannot be a commodity. Commodification leads to expropriation and control. We must defend our diversity in every sphere.

A commentator from Italy noted that what the nation (Italy) was facing is a challenge of democracy and that this is the case with other European nations. He agreed with Roberto that cultural, social and other crises all affect the peoples’ way of life and builds uncertainties and uneasiness. This uneasiness creates fears and tensions and does not create a path for the future. What is needed is a joint project that would pool resources together to effect a radical change in the way we do things. This new path must lead away from free trade, which dissipates nature. This new path must help the people recover their sovereignty from market forces.

He called for cultural change and a new discussion of the very concept of modernity. This must include the recovery of the imagination in a lifestyle that recognises human interdependency with nature.

Another high point of today’s debate was the contribution of the mayor of Iglesias. He captured the multiple crises as one of identity. He rooted his contribution to the historical realities of colonialism and neo-colonialism in Sardinia within the Italian context.

According to the mayor, the local people had over the years got to depend on what they are told was right for them rather than discovering their own realities for themselves. He regretted that today, our world views are framed by what we see on television and unfortunately the medium is largely controlled by those whose desire is to keep us under their control!

The major talked about how an agriculturally prosperous region had their livelihoods disrupted by promises of a better life through mining. While they moved to the mines all they got in return was polluted environments, health problems and a rapacious appropriation of their resources. Even coastlines that served as touristic magnets became damaged by a culture that sees concreting as a measure of development and progress.

An activist or community person from any nation in the global South could have made the mayor’s presentation as they mirrored the exact situation of things today in those climes. We saw in this presentation the clear fact that struggles of the peoples of this world can find common grounds if we are true to our sense of perception and the realities we face.

For those who do not know, Iglesias is a town in Sardinia, an island province in the south west of Italy.

I will pause here.

We are working on the outcome document or declaration for the debates on the post carbon economy. That document will be my final post on the Gsott8.

I should have mentioned that there are three of us here from the FoEI family. Anne-Sophie Simpere of Les Amis de la Terre, France is here. Also here is BAsilo Tzoy Grijalva of the Council for the Protection of the territory of Indigenous people, Guatemala. His organisation related with FoE Guatemala.

Today’s events are organised in panels and will conclude at midnight after the screening of La Ricaduta, a documentary on irresponsible extractions in the Niger Delta.  There will also be a special testimony by a citizen of Abruzzo – the earthquake region where ENI wants to extract crude. The people of Aruzzo don’t want crude extracted from their territory.
As already mentioned in my earlier post, today’s panels are focusing on oil/gas, mining and tar sands. Tomorrow the focus will be on food sovereignty matters. The three cardinal objectives of these sessions are the phasing out of oil economy, keeping the oil in the soil; community control over their resources; new frontier of resource exploitations. The idea is also to strategize on how to find allies and build alliances for the struggle. 

The first panel opened with Tom Kucharz of Ecologistas en Accion, Spain interviewing Ivonne Yanez of Accion Ecologica, Ecuador. The thrust of the discussion was the Ecuadorian Yasuni proposal in which a civil society driven process led the government to state readiness to leave the billion barrels of crude oil in the soil at the protected Yasuni Park. Ivonne traced the history of the campaign and noted that although the government was initially seeking payment for leaving the oil in the ground in a way similar to the carbon trade arguments, this has changed to the demand for solidarity funds to avoid drilling for oil in the area.

The purpose of the Yasuni proposal is to commence a process of breaking the world’s dependence on fossil fuels, and by so doing reduce carbon emissions and directly tackle climate change. She revealed that just a fortnight ago Germany offered to contribute $1Billion to Ecuador at the rate of $50 million per year over the next 20 years – towards leaving the oil in the ground at the Yasuni Park.  This proposal has thus become very concrete.

Nicholas of Corner House interviewed me on the second panel. The thrust of our discussion was our proposal to leave new oil in the soil of the Niger Delta. This proposal is similar to the Ecuadorian proposal but with some key unique aspects. The similarities basically include simply leaving the oil in the soil, defending the environment from degradation related to oil spills and gas flares and also directly tackling climate change. 

I traced the historic struggle of the Ogoni under the leadership of Ken Saro-Wiwa who was executed in November 1995 with the active connivance of Shell. Since 1993 direct oil activities in Ogoni ceased with the expulsion of Shell; and the land has from after the post expulsion conflicts known a measure of peace.

The key demand is that there should be no new oil field developments in Nigeria for the following reasons. Nigeria can easily meet a 3 million barrels production right if the Niger Delta knows some peace. Currently the nation’s production quota stands at 2 million barrels per day with another estimated 1 million barrels of crude stolen on a daily basis. The government has plans to increase daily production to 5 million barrels per day from the year 2015. We propose that Nigerians can contribute funds to keep those additional 2 million barrels per day in the soil. This comes to only $156 per year for each Nigerian. We note that not all Nigerians (for example the children) can make this contribution. But, there are many who can buy multiple units. There are businesses who can but muliple units and there are concerned citizens, organisations and governments of the world who would be willing to contribute to this fund.

The direct implication of keeping new oil in the soil would manifest in reconnection of Nigerians to the national economy. This would raise accountability and transparency in governance. It would also directly move the nation from dependence on one source of revenue and lead to a diversification of the economy in a productive way. FoE Nigeria schedules to present this proposal formally to the federal government of Nigeria by November 2009.

The other panel that shows the people resisting new oil is in Abruzzo, Italy. This is the region where a devastating earthquake occurred recently. Speaking on this was Maria Rita D’Orsagna of the Abruzzo Movement Against Oil Extraction. She said that when the idea of oil production in the area was first announced to the people the general understanding was that it would be the production of olive oil! A strong resistance is building with the realization that it is crude oil that is to be drilled for here.

The struggle against the Shell Pipeline in Ireland was presented by Nessa  Ni Chasaide of Action From Ireland (AFRI) in a day that was loaded with stories of resistance and mobilizations from several countries. The stories of tar sands in Canada and the degradation of indigenous areas were brought by Ben Powless of the Indigenous Environment Network. The mining situation in the Republic of Congo; the situations in Zambia, Guatemala, Philippines and Indonesia all took centre stage. 

The last session of the day was a panel that spoke on alternatives. The ideas that came from this panel were mainly on what people and communities can do to show that alternatives exist and that others can be constructed. The vital need to build movements was stressed. The transition to a post carbon civilization will not be easy, but must be planned for and made to happen. The need for reduced consumption and the need to change from the current fossil fuel intensive agriculture were also brought forward forcefully. Other alternatives included building designs using locally available materials and skills thereby being climate sensitive and reducing dependence of materials transported over long distances.

It was agreed that REDD was not a solution to forest protection or for climate change. The need to reframe the climate debate towards climate debt, equity and justice was emphasised.

The day ended at midnight with the screening of a documentary “La Ricaduta” – a story of irresponsible behaviour of oil companies in the Niger Delta with a special focus on ENI (AGIP).

A statement will emerge from the sessions on extractives. It is in the forge at the moment!
4/5 July will focus on Food Sovereignty issues. La Via Campesina and other groups are driving this section.

Rivera Moreno, has been one of the main activists and opponents against the presence of mining companies in Cabañas. He campaigned against the harmful effect the mining operations were having on the environment and human health.

In recent years church groups, environmentalists and civil society leaders in the region have maintained strong opposition to the operations of the companies involved urging the government to take a similar position.

In El Salvador, 6% of the territory has been acquired by large organizations for the mining of gold, silver and copper. The Canadian company Pacific Rim is one of the largest players in the country.

CESTA  are calling on the authorities to launch a thorough investigation into the disappearance of Gustavo Marcelo Rivera Moreno. In addition they express there sympathies with relatives, social organizations and environmentalists that work and fight to prevent the continued destruction of the environment in the area.

take action

There will be a period of mobilization and protest starting today until next Sunday in Central Park, San Isidro, Cabañas, El Salvador.

• Find out more on the Friends of the Earth El Salavador website
  

With regional meetings all morning, I took the opportunity to catch up on work - monitoring the media. With no luck on the international front I resorted to rather basic monitoring methods in the local newsagent, scanning every German paper in sight. The paper that had promised to cover the event seemed to feature exclusively scantily clad women and I secretly hoped that we’d been left out.

The Young FoEE delegation left the hostel around 11am to head towards the park near the Maritim hotel, where 350.org were organising a huge aerial picture, followed by a march to the doors of the Maritim where speakers, including two members of the Young FoEE policy action group, would talk about climate justice. It promised to be an exciting day spent outside along with hundreds of fellow activists and campaigners. The only downside – it was pouring with rain.

We arrived at the site for the aerial picture and were kitted out with Green hard hats (symbolising the potential for greening the economy) and white jumpsuits that were thankfully waterproof, as it became clear on arrival that we would be spending at least 45 minutes laying in the rain. The atmosphere was nevertheless one of excitement, this time like a festival with the fun.

The exact number required to pull off the human banner turned up, 450 people would form a giant exclamation mark, with the words “Yes you can” and “tck tck tck”. German camera crews arrived, and numerous other press, and the choreographer began preparing the human banner on the ground.
After 45 minutes laying on the wet grass in the rain, thoroughly soaked, we finally got the shot that was needed, which would be spread across the web and inside the conference in the eco – the NGO newsletter.  

• Watch the video here
  

An inspiring and motivating message to the participants in Bonn that the clock is tck tck tck-ing, and that we only have 6 months left to deliver a strong and just climate deal in Copenhagen.

In the article he talks about his introduction to human and environmental rights in the 1980's and how his goal since then has been to help strengthen and mobilize local communities to fight for their own interests. 

Nnimmo also mentions the dangers he's encountered as an activist and how he has used music and poetry to cope with his own struggles and to empower others.

• Read the full interview here

• Find out more about Environmental Rights Action

As the discussions continued in the Maritim hotel, Young foe-ers prepared for the following four days, with morning briefings going deeper into the FoEI position and the background and history of the UNFCCC.

Using “action preparation” as a very poor excuse to get out of these discussions my colleague and I jumped on a bus into central Bonn in search of chalk, paint, paper, fabric and general school materials. You ask why? All will become clear on Friday.

The afternoon saw the Young FoEE group split into three working groups: Action, Media and Policy, followed by three hours of discussion and training.

By the end, in short, the Action group came up with some wonderful ideas and concepts for actions throughout the week, with a teaser for the Flood in Copenhagen (FoEI's large mobilisation at the UN climate talks this December) on Thursday, the main action on Friday (more to be revealed), and further ‘fairytale’ actions/interventions on Saturday.

The Media group tried to define their role so as to best assist both the Action and Policy groups, to get the Young FoEE and FoEI positions across, and to get the most amount of media-coverage possible, while discussing the possibilities and potential for new-media.

And finally, from what I could observe, the Policy group got incredibly frustrated, and stuck in a quagmire of acronyms and detailed technical discussion.

Back in central Bonn, the REDD side event: “REDD traps: can we avoid them?” with the Global Forest Coalition, asked if it is possible to develop REDD policies that respect indigenous peoples’ rights, conserve and restore biodiversity, and do not undermine the climate regime.

• Find out more about Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD)
  

Tomorrow brings the Young FoEE-ers first trip to the conference centre, accreditation, the small task of preparing and implementing the Flood teaser action, a small amount of press work, and an introduction to Climate Justice from the Climate Justice Now!

Lots to do.

Arriving Tuesday afternoon in glorious weather, weighed down by sacks of wellington boots, flyers and other materials, not to mention our tents, we were greeted by fellow Young FoEE-ers in the garden outside our hostel.

We would not be entering the Maritim Hotel, the centre of the talks, until Thursday, and looked forward to two full days of training and action preparation.

We had no first-hand idea of how the talks were going yet, but the general feeling was one of optimism, although, this would soon be challenged.

The Young FoEE activities got off to a great start. The first afternoon was spent with introductions and to each other and the whole UN climate talks process known as UNFCCC.

After a brief overview of the week’s activities, the evening brought an unexpected surprise when members of the Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) delegation arrived for an evening workshop. What was meant to be an informal chat about the FoEI stance on the talks turned into very intense and motivating discussions.

Initially the FoEI delegation looked incredibly exhausted and frustrated by the UNFCCC processes, and said as much, giving all the Young foe-ers a bit of a reality check . But, the pessimism was soon swept aside by a motivating and passionate talk from Asad Rehman, Senior Campaigner for Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The core message of the talk was that the frustrating UNFCCC process should not be demotivating, but in fact the complete opposite: it should be motivation for action action action. This got us all very excited.  Talks continued until around midnight, and it became clear that there was a huge gap waiting to be filled by the Young FoEE activists in Bonn: an action-sized gap right outside the Maritim hotel. Plans are indeed afoot...

• More pictures of Young Friends of the Earth Europe in Bonn can be viewed here
• Follow their Twitter updates and more here
  

The forum, held by the World Water Council, is intended as a space for governments and industry to exchange ideas about conservation and the development of water resources. Critics, including Friends of the Earth International, argue that members are more concerned about restricting access to water and pushing a privatisation agenda.

By way of protest the People's Water Forum is holding solidarity events around the world to mark World Water Day on March 22 by declaring water a human right and a central component of the global commons.

• Find out more about this alternative forum at The People's Water Forum
• Real World Radio will be reporting on the forum and the protests
  
• Read the Water Forum blog from our affiliate the Corporate European Observatory