Protestors Invade Climate Group Business Meeting

For Immediate Release - 15th December 2009 14.00

Climate Activists Invade Meeting of Senior Politicians in Copenhagen

Photographs attached, video available on request. For interviews with
protesters call (045) 50108059.

Seventeen climate activists invaded an exclusive meeting between business
and government ministers at a Copenhagen hotel this morning. The meeting,
called the "Climate Leaders Summit" was organised by The Climate Group, an
international lobby group who represent business interests in tackling
climate change.

The activists entered the invite-only meeting at the DGI Byen complex at
11.00am, with a banner saying "Climate Group: Leading us into Climate
Chaos". They invaded the foyer and got to the entrance of the meeting
room, where politicians including Segolene Royal of France, First Minister
Alex Salmond of Scotland, Premier Mike Rann of South Australia, and Prince
Albert of Monaco [1] were addressing business leaders and a wide
cross-section of the global media. The activists disrupted the meeting
with loud chants of "Climate Justice not Climate Profits" before being
seized by security guards and police and dragged out of the building.

The protesters were placed on the pavement outside the entrance of the
building with their banner. However, they refused to remain silent and
instead displayed their banner, chanted, sang, and read a prepared
statement to the watching media and members of the public. The statement
[full text at the bottom of this press release] began:

"We're here today because climate change is not a business opportunity. It
is already responsible for 300,000 deaths per year - it's a global
emergency, not a chance to make money. The Climate Group supports carbon
trading as the "solution" to the climate crisis, but carbon markets are
nothing more than an excuse to continue to pollute as usual, while also
profiting from a whole new market in hot air."

The Climate Group meeting was targeted not just for the policies being
discussed, but in protest at the undemocratic way in which these kind of
events give privileged access to industry lobbyists. According to one of
the protesters, Sara Horne: "It's not surprising that delegates from the
Global South have started walking out of the COP15 summit, when the
interests of their people are being sidelined in favour of business
interests at cosy backroom meetings like this one. The Climate Group is
pushing an agenda based on profits, dubious technical fixes and failed
market ‘solutions'. We need real climate solutions - food and energy
sovereignty, localisation of production and consumption and full
recognition of Indigenous peoples' and local communities' rights. These
solutions don't make any profit for industry, however, so you won't hear
them discussed by the Climate Group."

The activists were then led away one by one by police and arrested. The
last protester was removed at around 12.00 noon.

ENDS

ACTIVISTS' STATEMENT IN FULL:

"We're here today because climate change is not a business opportunity. It
is already responsible for 300,000 deaths per year - it's a global
emergency, not a chance to make money. The Climate Group supports carbon
trading as the "solution" to the climate crisis, but carbon markets are
nothing more than an excuse to continue to pollute as usual, while also
profiting from a whole new market in hot air.

We're here as part of Climate Justice Action [2]. Like you, we have
travelled to Copenhagen because of a deeply-held belief that the world
must act now to prevent runaway climate change. Unlike you, we believe
that the solutions to climate change must be based on effectiveness and
global justice, not the needs of big business.

The Climate Group presents itself as a network of organisations who are
seeking equitable solutions to climate change. Yet with members from the
oil, aviation, and global finance industries [3], it is hard to believe it
is free from vested interests. Relationships with profit-seeking
multinationals are at the very heart of the organisation.

We want to highlight the deep hypocrisy of this meeting. The Climate Group
claim that they want to "reconcile development goals and climate
protection", but carbon trading is simply a way for the Global North to
retain its dominance and effectively privatise the future of our planet.

Similarly, the exclusivity of this meeting is an excellent example of the
way in which climate negotiations favour the rich countries who have
caused the climate crisis in the first place. Where are the cosy meetings
with indigenous peoples and Southern farmers' movements? Why are the
voices of those most affected by climate change being excluded, while
business gets this kind of exclusive access? None of this can "reconcile
development goals and climate protection".

Markets fundamentally cannot solve climate change. Their purpose is to
maximise profits, not reduce emissions. Putting business concerns, rather
than social concerns, at the forefront of solving climate change
completely ignores the fact that corporations and economic growth have
caused this problem in the first place. There are real solutions to
climate change, but you won't find them in this room."

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The full list of attendees was: Steve Howard (CEO, The Climate Group);
Helen Clark (Administrator of UNDP); Prince Albert II of Monaco; Shai
Agassi (CEO of "Better Place); Alex Salmond (First Minister of Scotland);
President Nasheed (Maldives); Premier Jean Charest (Quebec); Premier Mike
Rann (South Australia); Governor Jose Sierra (San Paolo); Minister Christa
Thoben (North Rhine-Westphalia); Predisent Jean-Paul Huchon
(Ile-de-France); President Jose Montilla (Catalonia); Governor Jim Doyle
(Wisconsin); Premier Greg Selinger (Manitoba); First Minister Carwyn Jones
(Wales); Premier Gordon Campbell (British Colombia); Premier Eva Aariak
(Nunavut); Governor Chris Gregoire (Washington); Minister Kate Jones
(Queensland); Minister Erik Van Heljningen (South Holland); Minister John
Gerretsen (Ontario); Minister Dr. Markus Soeder (Bavaria).
2. http://www.climate-justice-action.org/
3. Members of The Climate Group include BP, Tesco, Virgin Atlantic, HSBC
and Barclays. See http://www.theclimategroup.org.