Polish Prime Minister takes step towards EU leadership at UN Climate Summit

04 June 2009

Julia Michalak, Climate Campaigner Greenpeace Poland hands over the
‘Greenpeace Demands -Copenhagen Climate Report’ to Polish prime
minister Donald Tusk at the Sheraton Hotel,Cracow, Poland – 4th June
2009. During the day, Greenpeace activists from Poland and Germany
hung a huge banner reading “Time for Solidarity for climate now” in
the hotel calling on the Polish Prime Minister and the leaders of the
European countries to go personally to Copenhagen Climate Change
Summit in December this year and to show their solidarity for
developing countries tackling climate change.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk became the first Head of State to respond directly to our call for world leaders to attend the UN Climate Summit.

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Cracow, Poland — You asked and Poland answered. More than 16,000 of you have taken action and demanded that world leaders personally attend the UN Climate Summit in December. Today, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk became the first Head of State to respond directly to our call for world leaders to attend the meeting in Copenhagen by agreeing to attend the summit himself.

Activists took the demand of world leaders to the Central and Eastern Europe Heads of States meeting in Cracow, demanding a “Time for Solidarity for climate now” on the 20th anniversary of the first free election in Poland. Solidarity was an independent labour union at the center of the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union and considered to be primary catalyst of Poland’s move away from communism and towards its EU membership and democracy. Activists in Poland called on governments to step up and now show solidarity with developing countries who are already suffering the most from climate change impacts. They called on him to take personal responsibility and agree to attend the UN Climate Summit.

US lets Poland take the lead?

Prime Minister Tusk responded directly to the call by coming right out and accepting a copy of our Copenhagen Demands, shaking hands with our Climate campaigner Julia Michalak, and agreeing to show up for the UN meeting in December.

Next up? President Obama and Chancellor Merkel, who are set to meet tomorrow in Germany to discuss climate change. This is the perfect opportunity for the US and Germany to show they are serious about climate change solutions, to take personal responsibility for ensuring a good deal at the UN Climate Summit in December by committing to be there..

The climate deal negotiated in December must ensure developed countries take the necessary steps to cut emissions, tackle climate change as well as ensure that developing countries can continue to grow their economies in a sustainable way. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, science tells us that developed nations must collectively achieve emissions cuts of at least 25-40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80-95 percent by 2050. Greenpeace is calling for governments of developed countries to provide USD 140 billion a year to tackle the climate crisis and to fund both mitigation and adaptation measures in developing countries. Approximately USD 40 billion a year of this should be designated to forest protection.