Nominations for the inaugural RTCC Climate Change Awards, due to be presented at UNFCCC COP19 in Warsaw
RTCC 2013 Climate Change Awards: full nominations
(Pic: Ansgar Walk)
Greenpeace
The Save the Arctic campaign has gained global media coverage and participation in 2013.
In March 2013, Greenpeace saw a success in VW campaign as the car company announced they will meet and support climate targets.
In January 2013:the biggest global fashion brand based in Asia, Uniqlo, and its parent company Fast Retailing Group, committed to eliminate all releases of hazardous chemicals throughout its entire global supply chain and products by 2020, in response to Greenpeace’s global Detox campaign.
Greenpeace also launched new interactive Compass platform to better engage grassroots supporters in decision-making. They have been a leading environmental NGO internationally for the past 40 years.
350.org
Global climate campaigners are organising power shifts across the world following 350.org’s Global Power Shift ‘phase 1’ Istanbul event in June.
Their Go Fossil Free campaign has grown rapidly in North America and now has campaigns in Europe, Australasia and India and Do the Math tour is arriving in Europe this autumn. In 2009, 350.org organised the biggest ever day of grassroots climate action.
Carbon Tracker
With the release of their Unburnable Carbon 2013: Wasted Capital and Stranded Assets report, Carbon Tracker has significantly raised the profile of the ‘carbon bubble’ issue in 2013 among other NGOs, investors and fossil fuel companies.
The International Energy Agency concluded 60-80% fossil fuels will need to stay in the ground in June, Storebrand and Rio Tinto divested from fossil fuels over summer 2013 and the World Bank, US Export-Import Bank and European Investment Bank have all dropped fossil fuel power projects this year. They were named NGO of the Year 2013 at the Business Green Awards.
Global Call for Climate Action
After a restructure of GCCA, the Tree rapid response communications network greatly expanded this year, equipping NGOs and communicators with news briefings and communications materials to strengthen communications for climate action and combat the climate denier media machine.
Through its Adopt a Negotiator programme, GCCA are rolling out digital campaigning training to climate campaigners this autumn.The Tree network now has desks in North America, Europe and Australia with more coming online soon.
The GCCA also provides regular email newsletters summarizing campaign highlights and news stories from around the world via its Fresh Air network of bloggers and communicators.
Throughout COPs and UN intersessional meetings, the GCCA provides media coverage, resources to campaigners and coordinates NGO communications and advocacy efforts. GCCA has previously helped facilitate the establishment of the Arab Youth Movement, ran the Date With History to give a 17-year old a platform at the Rio+20 summit and runs the Adopt a Negotiator project.
Robin Hood Tax
In January the European Union gave the green light to 11 countries to implement a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) when European Union Finance Ministers voted in favour of it with 23 votes for and four abstentions.
The proposal by the Commission was passed by the European parliament in the summer Campaign has since focused on overcoming legal challenges to the EU FTT so that it can be implemented in January 2014.
In the UK, a local councils campaign has started this summer to push for a FTT in the UK. David Hillman, director of the campaign, was awarded the Sheila McKechnie Recognition Award in September 2013. If successful, the FTT will be implemented in 11 European countries at the start of 2013. A recent open letter in support of the European FTT was signed by 355 organisations, representing 200 million people in over 40 countries.